To 6 or not to 6 ...
By John Joyce and Steve Herring
Published in News on September 19, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Sam's Club employee Missy Subt, right, explains some of the features of the new iPhone 6 to Tonya Williams early this morning at the store. Mrs. Williams' son, Avery, was more interested in the camera than the phone.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch today had consumers out in droves -- some since as early as 10:30 last night camping out in front of area stores -- hoping to get their hands on the newest Apple launch.
No such luck for those who arrived late.
Some stores taped up signs in their windows saying the phones were out of stock, but could still be ordered. Others, like AT&T, let people inside in small clusters, and left others waiting in line for their turn.
Tonya Williams of Pikeville said she had thought about joining the early morning crush of shoppers, but that when she saw the crowds, she decided against it, mainly because she didn't think 10-month-old son Avery was that interested in the hottest ticket in town.
But by 10, she was at Sam's Club, checking out the iPhone 6 even though she wasn't planning to buy one just yet to replace her iPhone 4s.
The store had already sold out of the AT&T iPhone, but still had ones for Verizon and Sprint available. However, these were for people on a waiting list.
Sam's Plus Card members were waiting in line at 7 a.m. when the store opened for them, manager Lindsey Grimes said. There were about 15 people in line at one time, he said.
Some people even upgraded their membership on the spot just so that they could get in and hopefully be among the first-come, first-served to get one of the phones. Even opening at 7, the store could not start selling the phones until 8 a.m., employee Missy Subt said.
Sam's sells the iPhone 6 16GB for $177 with a two-year contract with a phone carrier.
The 6 Plus models aren't in stock yet, but will sell for $277.
Shoppers can get on the waiting list by visiting the Sam's Club website.
Troy Minor, store manager for the AT&T outlet at 1310 Parkway Drive, said his store sold out of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus within two hours.
"We opened at 8 a.m., and there were people camped out since 11 last night," he said.
Minor said the iPhones can still be ordered, but there might be a backlog since the online stock was made available for purchase at 3 a.m. last Friday.
Price points for the new phones start at $199, but with complete plans including unlimited talk text and 128GB data plans, the price can reach as high as $849.99 for the 6, and $949 for the 6 Plus.
In-store discounts are available for Fortune 500 companies, government employees and small businesses -- but not for reporters, Minor joked.
"All you need is five or more lines and you get an 8 percent discount," Minor said.
"But be sure and bring your badge," he added.
So what has everyone so hot about the new iPhone?
To start, the screens are much larger than with previous models.
"It's the larger display, for one, which is something our customers have wanted for a long time. And Apple is the best in the business when it comes to features," Minor said.
Customers were still waiting "behind the velvet rope" at 8:30 a.m.
"I'm highly upset," Loshonda Coley said.
She said it with a laugh, but had already whipped out her current iPhone to call around to other area stores to see who had the new products.
"We went to Target, Sam's, and then here," Katie Filion said. She and her mother, Susan Filion, hit as many stores as they could this morning to find the shortest line, but wound up at AT&T just a few people behind Ms. Coley.
And, she said, some of the people camped out in line ahead of them had come from as far as Kinston.
Another man, Jarrett Braswell, said he tried to pre-order the iPhone 6 Plus online, but was told it would not ship to him until October.
He decided to take his chances at the local stores, but left AT&T right behind Ms. Coley.
Minor said the October delivery dates were probably just Apple pushing dates out as a worst case scenario and that orders would likely ship sooner.