UPDATED 06:12 EDT / SEPTEMBER 17 2012

iPhone 5 Pre-orders Sold Out: Try These Stores

Hours before Apple unveiled the iPhone 5, their online store went down with a “We’ll be back” sign that cycles through different languages.  Aside from that AT&T’s site was also down but it features a countdown timer with “Excited? So are we! We’re counting down the minutes to the big event,” plastered on their site.

So what was that all about?  It was a no brainer–it’s because they were doing some upgrades in preparation for the iPhone 5 launch.  This is something that usually happens when Apple unveils a new iPhone.  Remember last year when they launched the iPhone 4S?  Apple, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon struggled to keep up with pre-orders and a lot of consumers complained that their orders weren’t processed.

Well it looks like Apple and the carriers learned their lessons quite well, as they had a smooth pre-selling time last Friday, which just lasted an hour.  Yes, pre-orders are already sold out.  So if you want to get your hands on the iPhone 5, be ready to fall in line on Friday, September 21.

A little advice: if go and buy your iPhone 5 in retail stores as carriers will most likely pressure you into getting a new service, extend your contract or sell you other “amazing deals” which can make the whole buying process tiresome and frustrating.

Try these stores

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So here’s a list of legit retail shops where you can buy your iPhone 5.  Oh, and a little heads up, without carrier contracts, the iPhone 5’s price starts at $649.

Apple – of course this might be the first choice for Apple fans aside from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon so expect the lines to be really long here.  Their doors will open at 8:00 AM Friday but I’m sure people will start camping out on Thursday or even earlier as it seems the iPhone 5 is the fastest selling version of the iPhone.

Walmart – You can pre-order by depositing $25 and just come back to pick it up on Friday or when the iPhone 5 will be available.  You can go check that out when you visit the store this week.  They’re unsure if the iPhone 5 will be available on Friday.

Best Buy – With a $50 deposit, you can make sure you’ll have an iPhone 5 ready for pick-up on Friday.  They aim to fulfill iPhone 5 demand on Friday.

Radio Shack – Like Best Buy, $50 will give you an assurance of the iPhone 5 but the thing is, you might get the device on Friday, if not, you’d have to wait until Monday.

Everyone’s expecting the iPhone 5 to be sold out in the first week of release.


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