The Diff Between Pre-Order and Reserved

pimptonius wrote:
Pre-ordered means you paid for it, it's yours. Reserved means there's one available for you but it you don't show up, somebody else gets it.

I like this, very succinct and, as far as I know, correct.

I'm getting nervous now and wished that I had just pre-ordered mine, instead of reserving. It would really suck if I couldn't get to my local Apple store until late that afternoon and they gave mine away and I have to wait weeks to get one. I doubt that will happen as I should be in line when the store opens at 7am, but you never know.

I think I will be more at ease when the mall where I will be picking it up determines when people can be inside the mall near the Apple store and not outside. It can still be a little chilly in the morning in Oregon, especially with how chilly this spring has been. I'll just make sure to bring my 3G, Zune, and maybe even my DS to pass the time.

I'm lucky that I live near the mall so I can just walk there whenever I want (I don't have a car) or I can just bus it there and be there at around 5:45.

I'm planning on being there around 6:30. Really just want to get there before opening, don't care if I have to wait a little longer, just as long as I get one.

Wow his is confusing to me!

i live in the UK and reserved mine at my local apple store and when i saw the email it said they will hold mine until end of business june 24th.

i did scroll to the small print you outlined and it says this

Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

im not sure what they mean by pre-auth, it doesnt say reservation is on first come first served basis, just Pre-Auth. whatever that means


lets say i turn up at my apple store at 15:30, June 24th will i get one i "reserved"?

Apple needs to step up here and clarify what exactly "reserving" means. As mentioned, at the bottom of the email seems to be a disclaimer that states:

*"Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis."*

This statement seems to contradict the idea that an iPhone 4 has been "reserved" for you. It goes on to say that it'll be held until the end of the day. So how can something be held for you if the item is subject to a first come, first serve basis? A simple statement from apple is what's needed here.

Hang on a sec. I went through the process and just wanted to pick my phone up at the apple store. No where in the pre-order process did it ask me if I wanted to pay and pick it up at the Apple store? You can ONLY reserve it at an Apple store, not pay and ship it to an Apple store. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

My thoughts exactly. This definitely seems odd how they say one thing then contradict it. I'm not too keen on the idea of queuing from stupid o clock (hence the reservation) but I do like the idea of store pickup. And I certainly dont want to come out empty handed.

How can we check this for sure rather than speculate?

i think you are right, you only have 2 options

either pay and have it shipped to your door OR simply reserve in store and pay for it on the day in store