I bought my first iPhone 2 years ago in October of 2011. I got the 5th iPhone then, the one called the iPhone 4S (or force for short). Two years have passed and I was eligible for a subsidized upgrade on the 7th iPhone, which they call iPhone 5S (is that SS or 55?). I decided I wanted to get the new upgrade, so I went ahead and ordered one online just after midnight when they went on sale. I ordered from Apple’s website, but there was no option to select in-store pick up, which I would have preferred. Instead, all shipping options suggested that the phone might not be delivered until October, because it wouldn’t ship for 1-3 business days. Still, I placed an order to ensure I’d have a spot in line in case I couldn’t find a way to get one from the retail store later.
When I left my house in the morning, I decided to drive past the Apple store to see if the line was short enough while I was on my way to work. What I found was a huge line of people wrapping far around the building more than an hour before the store was set to open. I decided that my time would be best spent going to work and performing my work duties for the day. After I completed my tasks of the day, I decided I’d give the Apple store another shot, just in case they got another order in. It turned out that they actually had one left of the exact model I wanted when I walked in the store to look at them, but someone else got in the line seconds before I did and got to walk away with the phone. However, only 30 minutes later, the store decided to release the other unclaimed phones that were reserved by people earlier in the day. This included the phone that I got to buy and take home.
I guess the moral of the story is to buy things because that is one way to get things.