When pre-orders for the Apple Watch kick off this Friday, April 10, making reservations for in-store pickup will be limited to one per customer through Apple’s Reserve and Pickup service, MacRumors has learned from sources.
Would-be buyers in the United States, the United Kingdom and possibly in other launch countries will be required to present a valid government-issued photo ID upon pickup at the Apple Store where they placed their Apple Watch reservation, the publication reported Tuesday.
”Only the person named on the reservation will be allowed to pick up the product,” writer Joe Rossignol said. For what it’s worth, the limit won’t apply to online pre-orders that will be shipped to home beginning April 24.
Rossignol has learned that even though Apple was originally planning to allow two reservations per customer “as recently as March”, the company has changed its mind and is now allowing one per customer “as stock is expected to be limited.”
Apple has similarly limited Personal Pickup for new iPhones, iPads and other products in the past.
According to an excerpt from Apple’s internal memo:
Inventory is subject to change. Your reservation is valid for pickup only at the Apple Retail Store that you selected. If you do not pick up your selected item(s) by the designated date and time, your reservation will be cancelled and your item(s) will be returned to stock.
There is a maximum of 1 reservation per customer. Number of reservations may be limited. Apple reserves the right to refuse, limit or cancel a reservation if Apple determines that a customer has provided misleading or fraudulent information and/or abused, disrupted or attempted to circumvent the reservation system.
Earlier this morning, Business Insider obtained another internal memo confirming that the company has instructed its retail store employees to encourage customers to buy the wearable device, as well as the new twelve-inch MacBook, online.
The move strongly indicates that store inventory of the Apple Watch could be extremely limited when both products hit store shelves, something we heard before from supply chain sources.
Apple will start taking pre-orders for the Watch this Friday, April 10, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan. The wearable device is schedule to hit Apple Stores and select retailers two weeks later on Friday, April 24.
Walk-in purchases of the Watch without a reservation won’t be allowed.
Source: MacRumors