Why not call one of the stores closest to your home and inquire when they are expecting shipments? They probably won't hold a phone for you, however, if you stop by right after they receive a delivery, you may just be able to buy one.

Let us know how you make out (and if you went in this morning) - this is likely your best option in getting an elusive 6 Plus 128Gb in less than a month.

Hmm...how about the Apple Store iOS app?

Kind of hard to access that when I don't have an iPhone. (As I mentioned upthread, mine was stolen in Dublin.)

I'd be surprised if the iOS app's availability differed from store.apple.com's.

I wasn't able to get to the store at the 10am opening today due to an appointment, but I did stop by and one of the employees said they had Verizon ones in stock today but no AT&T (she confirmed with a proprietary app on her employee iPhone). I asked her what time of day shipments arrive and the phones are released for sale. She said it varies--sometimes morning, sometime night, sometimes middle of the afternoon.

I asked her (just for grins) whether availability in the store was different than online, and she very quickly said absolutely not; if it's in the store and available, it's available online. I clarified once more, "So there's no point in coming down the store--I can do the exact same thing by just refreshing the website?" and she said, "Absolutely." Not 100% sure I believe her, but there was no hesitancy on her part. (Maybe they're trained to say that? She seemed sincere.)

Thinking she had access to secret inventory on her company iPhone, I then asked if she had the ability to check availability at other stores nearby (well, the next-closest is an hour and a half from me), and she just walked to a desktop machine and fired up store.apple.com.

I'm beginning to think the time I spend on this is better spent researching a cheap but decent digital camera to order from Amazon before I depart for Asia/NZ and just ordering the phone for it to be here when I get back.

This adds on to the amount of misinformation I myself have been given by Apple store employees (and read about countless others) - don't believe her. I've had employees straight-up tell me on the phone that I cannot buy a non T-Mobile iPhone 6 for full price, yet I did just that with a Verizon "device-only" purchase.

There's definitely additional inventory at retail stores that does not show up online. I myself was in line couple of weeks ago (since I wanted to buy "device-only" and also trade in a phone) and saw phones offered to others in line that were not in the online inventory.

If you really want that phone, get in line between 8 - 9 am tomorrow (and the next couple of days if needed); it's really the only way. There's almost no chance of snagging an AT&T 128Gb iPhone 6 Plus (especially black) online.

This being Lancaster, PA, I don't think there will be a long line before the store opens, so I'd imagine showing up at 9:55am is fine, but you may be right.

So are you sure that they receive inventory during the day but do not offer it for sale until the following morning? If so, that does contradict some (but not all) of the things I've read online.

Not sure about them holding inventory - I think if they receive it during the day, they'll sell it to people waiting in line (and/or put some/all of it online).

The main thing though is that the online inventory is a subset of the actual store inventory; so it's worth going by the store (and typically first thing in the morning appears to bring the most success from what I've seen).

Update from visiting the Apple Store again just now:

New availability popped up online sometime this afternoon for an AT&T iPhone 6 in 16GB--obviously not what I want, but it was indicative that a shipment had been received by the store. I stopped back by on my way home and the inventory in the store mirrored what was available online--only the 16GB iPhone 6.

I asked the guy (different than this morning) about shipments, and he said the same thing about time (they can be received at anytime) but he did further clarify that they are available for sale after they are scanned in, about an hour or so after they arrive. He also admitted that if they receive a very small quantity--say, 2--of a particular device, it may not show online. He said I could call the store, but again, if there are only a small quantity, they may just say they don't have them (even if they do) in order to avoid having people drive all the way to the store just to find them already gone.

I'll try the first-thing-in-the-morning thing soon, and if I show up at 9:55am only to find two people in front of me in line who will grab the device I want, then you have my permission to say, "I told you so." Otherwise, I'll remain skeptical that showing up at 8am is helpful in any way, since FedEx doesn't deliver in the middle of the night, and phones clearly (based on my experience today) are sold throughout the day as shipments arrive.

I suspect a better strategy will be to set alerts on all the iPhone tracking sites for new availability in any model, which is indicative of a shipment arriving and being scanned in, and then to skedraddle over to the store (it's about 10 minutes from my house) immediately thereafter to see if they have any in my model that may not be showing up online.

Perhaps set up a TaskRabbit or something like that to have someone wait at the store for you for when the shipments come in?

Haha. Not available in my area (according to the website), and at the rates for some I checked elsewhere, I might as well buy a fully unlocked one.

Apparently unlike some FlyerTalkers, I don't have unlimited funds to throw around. I can do the 128GB 6 Plus plus AppleCare and a leather case, but much more than that and I'll need to start cutting into my travel budget.

Arrived just before open. One family was there ahead of me. When they let us into the store, they told us "No iPhone 6 Plus in T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T." That actually mirrors stock that I saw online yesterday--the 16GB for Sprint showed up yesterday.

So, I'm not sure they receive and process new shipments for sale overnight (unless FedEx delivers something early in the morning, which I suppose is possible).

That's too bad.

But they likely get their deliveries at about the same time every day. Any chance they'd tell you roughly when, so you could show up an hour later?

Well, three separate people there told me that it varies--some come in the morning, some come in the evening...

Just tabbed over to my Gmail account and saw that the Pentagon City store got one in. Unfortunately, since I don't currently have a phone, I can't receive push emails, and by the time I looked at my email on my laptop, it had been an hour since istocknow.com had sent the email. Of course the device was gone.

Ugh, can't believe my luck. I'm even going down to DC tonight to meet friends for dinner and could totally have stopped by that store--it's not even out of my way.

Not having a phone really sucks.

Perhaps just order the phone you want and get a cheap temp phone?

I have some old unlocked GSM non-smart phones. PM me if you'd like me to send you details.