Travel Technology - Highly disappointed in the Apple store :(

Went to the Apple store on Michigan Avenue; not a single ipod shuffle on display, not a single mac mini on display.

I can understand they don't have either in stock, but to not have anything at all on display was very dissapointing. The only thing in the entire store on the shuffle was a small poster near the entrance. This is meant to be one of the flagship stores :(

Admittedly they should at least have had some display models - but they did only come out on Wednesday!

Went to the Apple store on Michigan Avenue; not a single ipod shuffle on display, not a single mac mini on display.


You are going to buy one :eek:

I can't buy a C6 Z06 or a Viper coupe either, even though they are in every car mag this month, before the 'shuffle' announcement. And the Elise was 'out of stock' for a year. Windows95 had about a 2 year <g> announce to release timeline.

The Apple store promises delivery this week, about 10 days after the unveiling. I'm surprised it's not a month or two.

I think it's useless.

It's 2 year old technology hoping to sell because it says "Apple" on it.

No display, and nothing else that makes it stand out from all the others.

Apple could have as least added something to make it more advanced, like Bluetooth.

Very dissapointing.

You're shopping for an iPod?

I am pointing out their lack of these new products because every single time I went to an Apple store after a major product announcement they had them, usually even on the same day. I'm just curious why they don't...Perhaps because everyone else beat you to it and bought all existing stock? :D

I can't buy a C6 Z06 or a Viper coupe either, even though they are in every car mag this month, before the 'shuffle' announcement. And the Elise was 'out of stock' for a year. Windows95 had about a 2 year <g> announce to release timeline.

The Apple store promises delivery this week, about 10 days after the unveiling. I'm surprised it's not a month or two.



You're shopping for an iPod?


Considering Ebay is full of Shuffles, and I read reports of people leaving the SFO Apple store with bunches of them I expected to see them in stores, if I am not mistaken Steve even said that the Shuffle would be available right away.

Perhaps because everyone else beat you to it and bought all existing stock? :D

I didn't expect them to be in stock, I did expect to see demo models or at least an Apple genius with one to show me.

Considering Ebay is full of Shuffles, and I read reports of people leaving the SFO Apple store with bunches of them I expected to see them in stores, if I am not mistaken Steve even said that the Shuffle would be available right away.

I saw two separate Shuffles being shown off by their owners in the RCC at SFO this past Friday evening.

At least at some point they were in stock.

As I understand it, they only had them at that one store near the Expo, where they sold out of some crazy number of them to the Expo attendees (20,000 I think it was). Why they chose to do this, I don't know, although it is quite typical for Apple to introduce new products at the Expo without even display units available for the stores yet.

Yes, that's right. They were only available at the San Francisco store following the MacWorld Keynote, and what they had sold out in a couple of hours.

If you catch the Keynote, Steve mentions that the SF store would have a limited amount available that day and then they'd officially begin shipping later (I want to say 1/22, which I know is when he said that the new iLife, iWork and the Mac Mini would be available).

Sometimes hardware demo units are available for the retail stores prior to the official release, but not always. Often the third party resellers get upset when the Apple Stores are able to have demo units before they can. There are lots of factors that come into play.

If interested in checking on the availability of the new stuff, consider calling the stores (http://www.apple.com/retail). They'll be glad to tell you if they have something in stock or have a demo unit there to play with. And of course, if you're already at the store, the reps there are much more informed than your typical retail employee. They should be able to tell you the latest word on availability for new products and maybe even on demo units.

Thank you Swise for the answer. That said, I have to admit that the concept behind the Apple stores is brilliant. It puts other merchants like Dell and Gateway to shame.

I think that ScottC entering an Apple Store, is the equivalent of Osama Bin Laden entering a Gun Show :D

My wife loves her ipod, and she loved the store in Arizona.

I think that ScottC entering an Apple Store, is the equivalent of Osama Bin Laden entering a Gun Show :D

My wife loves her ipod, and she loved the store in Arizona.

I have been an Apple fan and user since 1982. I have owned probably close to 100 different machines (yes, many duplicates), including several non Apple built Mac's (during their brief stint with third party vendors), I've owned virtually every piece of hardware they ever made, including most Newtons, most Quicktake cameras, most Laserwriters and have several semi-rare machines still in my collection, including the 20th anniversary Mac (still unused in its box). I also have some of my favourite machines still in the collection, like the IIGS.

So, if anything I said or did gave you the impression that I don't like Apple then nothing could be further from the truth.

Considering Ebay is full of Shuffles,


I checked a few on eBay and many of them say "to be shipped next week", or "shipped as soon as available". The few that were in hand to be shipped are going for $50 (50%) over list, to get it a week ahead of time, again showing the irrationality of both eBay and brand fanatics.

.... the irrationality of both eBay and brand fanatics.

Or the marketing skills of Apple.

...including the 20th anniversary Mac (still unused in its box)...

That's funny, I just put mine back in the box this afternoon.

I used it for 3 years during college, then got a company issued Thinkpad T22 later replaced with several different Powerbook G4s.

Went to the Apple store on Michigan Avenue; not a single ipod shuffle on display, not a single mac mini on display.

I can understand they don't have either in stock, but to not have anything at all on display was very dissapointing. The only thing in the entire store on the shuffle was a small poster near the entrance. This is meant to be one of the flagship stores :(

They are not avlb at all till the end of Jann, thus you would not see them on display. Every Apple store I have been in once they announce something does not get the product right away. But when they do get one, they put them out right away for display.

~icorproadie

They're actually having a special event at the stores this Saturday (Jan 22) with focus on the Mac mini, iLife '05 and iWorks '05. I did call the store here today about iPod shuffles, and they said they did have a few for a short time and sold out the same day. More should be coming later this week, and they should be on hand for that event Saturday even though it's not a specifc focus for that event.

And I believe I had that number wrong by a factor of ten. 2000 iPod shuffles at the SF store, not 20k. :eek:

Did you pay the full price for your 20th Anniversary Scott? :D I haven't had mine out since I moved over a year ago. I need to find a place to put it and maybe rig up a way to have it play music from somewhere else on the network. It's too cool looking to sit in a box.

I tried to buy a shuffle this weekend at the Apple store in SFO. No way. The displays were up, and all the salespeople had a shuffle around their necks, but none of them were for sale. One of the frazzled-looking sales associates explained that they only get one shipment or so a day, and the shuffles sell out immediately. No accessories for the shuffle (i.e. $29 armstrap) yet either -- she said it would be a few weeks before they got anything. Her voice full of dread, she informed me that the first mini-Macs are set to arrive this coming weekend.

Should have used the web in the first place. When I looked on Friday, the estimated shipping time for a 1GB shuffle was 1-2 weeks. When I placed my order Monday night, it was 3-4 weeks. At least there's free shipping.

Did you pay the full price for your 20th Anniversary Scott? :D I haven't had mine out since I moved over a year ago. I need to find a place to put it and maybe rig up a way to have it play music from somewhere else on the network. It's too cool looking to sit in a box.

No, it was presented to me as a gift from Apple Nederland.

It's never been unpacked and the box has never been opened. :D

It reminds me how much I miss the old Apple logo and the creativity they used to have, with things like the development team names molded on the inside of the machine.

Apple has certainly changed over the years, somehow I don't see them keeping the music division as part of the main corporation for much longer. Spinning off the ipod/itunes division is something I think would make sense, they have a lot more they can do in the home.

No, it was presented to me as a gift from Apple Nederland.

It's never been unpacked and the box has never been opened. :D

It reminds me how much I miss the old Apple logo and the creativity they used to have, with things like the development team names molded on the inside of the machine.

Apple has certainly changed over the years, somehow I don't see them keeping the music division as part of the main corporation for much longer. Spinning off the ipod/itunes division is something I think would make sense, they have a lot more they can do in the home.

Many companies started taking out the easter egg credits and the like because their developers were being snatched as a result of their names being published. Competing companies would look up the names of the developers in th ephone book and make them offers that couldn't be refused during the dot com bubble (free, gourmet lunch, massages, car incentives, options, etc).

So giving the folks credit for their hard work became a liability. Sort of unfortunate, really.

Considering Ebay is full of Shuffles, and I read reports of people leaving the SFO Apple store with bunches of them I expected to see them in stores, if I am not mistaken Steve even said that the Shuffle would be available right away.

Is there an Apple store at SFO (the airport, rather than the city of San Francisco)? Last night I recalled this post and decided to look for it in the airport during a long layover. It seems like an appropriate place for one, but having checked Apple's site, SFO's site, and Yahoo's yellow pages prior and not finding a mention, didn't expect to find one.

After walking all of the terminals (including international gates!, just tell them your going to a restaurant on the other side of security and they let you through) I didn't find it, but did I just miss it?

There is no Apple Store at the Airport. The only one in San Francisco is located in downtown San Francisco at the corner of Market and Stockton St.

I think ScottC just used SFO instead of typing San Francisco.

There is no Apple Store at the Airport. The only one in San Francisco is located in downtown San Francisco at the corner of Market and Stockton St.

I think ScottC just used SFO instead of typing San Francisco.

Correct, just call me lazy...

Correct, just call me lazy...

lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy

:D

There is no Apple Store at the Airport. The only one in San Francisco is located in downtown San Francisco at the corner of Market and Stockton St.

I think ScottC just used SFO instead of typing San Francisco.

You can pop over there if you have a long enough layover though.
Take BART from SFO to the Powell Street Station in downtown SF, walk towards 4th Street, follow the Apple ads, take the last tunnel off to the left and go up the stairs and take another left. Worship the Steve, duck back into BART the way you came and get on a Millbrae/SFO bound train, mission accomplished!

You can pop over there if you have a long enough layover though.

You can do that, but you may discover they don't have any.

I was in San Francisco last weekend (on a ... uhhh ... mileage run) and they had stock neither of iPod Shuffles nor of Mac Minis. :td:

You can do that, but you may discover they don't have any.

I was in San Francisco last weekend (on a ... uhhh ... mileage run) and they had stock neither of iPod Shuffles nor of Mac Minis. :td:

Buying them on line from the Apple store may be easier. I've had mine for over a week.

I went into the Apple Store at the nearby mall (Short Hills, baby!) last weekend.. no Shuffles. The "genius" didn't know when the next shipment will be, when the last shipment was, how many are in the shipment, why Apple does this lame short-supply thing all the time, etc...

Then I walk into the store this past Friday after work - voila! They had a number of the 512MB iPod Shuffles available. Bought 1 for my friend.

Turned out the shipment never made it that week.. but someone found a box of these in the backroom. Geniuses, indeed. :rolleyes: