Scoring An iPad 2Scoring An iPad 2

My experience purchasing an iPad 2 on Friday, March 11, was pretty atypical.

When Apple first announced the iPad 2 and its retail launch date/time, I knew I was in trouble. I already had plans for the afternoon of Friday, March 11, that would have me in the car traveling 100 miles to visit relatives. I wasn't going to arrive at said relative's house until about 6PM, and had but a 60-minute window of "free time" before I had to attend my niece's performance in "The Sound of Music."

I figured I had no chance at all to get the iPad 2 on the first day of availability.

When March 11 arrived, I checked the online availability of the iPad 2 right away (online sales kicked off at 4 AM Eastern). At 6:30 AM Eastern, the shipping times were at three to five days. By the time I settled down to work for the day at 8 AM, the shipping times had already stretched to two to three weeks. Uh oh.

I started calling the Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Verizon Wireless and AT&T stores close to my home at about Noon. I was hoping I could convince one of them to let me purchase the iPad 2 early. No dice. Wal-Mart said they wouldn't have any, Target said they didn't know if they were going to have any, Best Buy said they had some, but wouldn't sell them until 5 PM, and the Verizon Wireless and AT&T stores wouldn't discuss inventory at all.

With no plan, I hopped in the car and drove down to my relative's house near the Jersey Shore. I got lucky. Traffic was light, and I arrived at 5:30PM. I immediately started calling the local big-box retailers, as there were no Apple Stores in the area. The answers I received from Wal-mart, Best Buy, Verizon Wireless and AT&T were the same as from those I got earlier in the day.

Target, however, had three iPad 2s left.

At 6 PM, after stuffing two slices of pizza in my face, I drove the 6 miles through rush hour traffic to Target. I parked and ran in (yes, I really ran). I dashed to the electronics counter and asked for the iPad 2s. A sales associate took me over to the display case. I could see at least 6 or 7 iPad's sitting there. He took one out and handed it to me. It took about 10 seconds to realize that I was looking at the original iPad and not the iPad 2.

I looked back in the case and saw that there was one iPad 2 left. I grabbed it. Thankfully, it was the exact model that I was hoping to buy: Black, 32GB with Wi-Fi only.

While the sales associate was ringing me up, another customer came in looking for the iPad 2. The sales associate told him that I was buying the last one. The look of dejection on that customer's face was plain. (Sorry, pal!)

I ran back out, drove back to my relative's and had plenty of time to spare before heading to the local high school in time to see my niece's performance. (She played the role of Elsa, and had the best voice in the cast as far as I am concerned.)

Fast forward to Saturday morning...

I took some time to set up the new iPad and then decided to go to my local Apple store just to check things out. The sales associates there told me they sold out of their entire iPad 2 and iPad inventory very quickly -- in a little over an hour. They wouldn't tell me how many they sold, and couldn't say when they'd receive more from Apple. They said people started lining up as early as about 10AM, though it wasn't anything like the frenzied atmosphere that accompanies an iPhone launch. They had gobs of accessories for the iPad 2, though, and I bought one of the smart covers.

I checked in with my local Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, too. Both Best Buy and Target sold through what little stock they were given in less than half an hour. Same for the local Verizon Wireless and AT&T stores. Wal-Mart never received any.

Of course, I live on the far western edge of the New York City metropolitan area. It gets pretty rural one you're five miles west of my house, so I can't imagine that the stores near my home received pallets worth of iPads. Target told me they only received five, all Wi-Fi models. Best Buy wouldn't say how many they received.

According to what I've read and seen across the internet, lines formed at many Apple Stores around the country. The pictures taken outside the Apple Stores in New York City and San Francisco, in particular, looked painfully long and unpleasant to wait in. Many were turned away empty handed, as supplies were depleted.

So, I admit it, I got lucky.