Originally Posted by
jackal
I wonder if someone were to have checked online right before they walked in, would store.apple.com have showed availability or not? That's the real question--if not, then that bodes well for just periodically walking into my local Apple Store and hoping to snatch one up.
From what I've read (and been told by some Apple store employees), the stock online is a subset of what the store has. Apparently, if the store stock gets over a certain amount then they'll put them into the online inventory. It's certainly worthwhile to get to a store early (maybe an hour or two before they open) especially midweek when it seems they get deliveries. Don't go on a Sunday or Monday morning.
Are you looking for the iPhone 6? That should be pretty easy to get (vs. the Plus). Also, if you're not signing a contract or Next plan with AT&T, you could just buy a Verizon or T-Mobile at full price ("device-only") and use it with AT&T - they're all unlocked at full price (except the Sprint ones).