I ordered my Apple Watch Series 6 the same day it was announced at the September Apple Event. There was no In-Store Pickup option available at that time, so I elected to have it shipped and was given an estimated ship date of October 16-22. Great. As a total Apple fangirl who loves to get the latest products as early as possible, I was disappointed, especially since the Apple Watch isn't a yearly purchase for me. I'd been rocking my Apple Watch Series 3 for three years and was looking forward to the substantial upgrade.
All over the internet, I saw the photos and unboxing videos as the first round of Apple Watches started to arrive on people's doorsteps on September 18, release day. When I woke up the next day, it occurred to me to check and see if my local Apple Store had any in stock. I had nothing to lose.
So I started the process of placing another order. Lucky for me, this time, In-Store Pickup was an option! I grabbed it and took the first available time slot, which was just over an hour from when I placed the order. I immediately canceled my initial Apple Watch Series 6 order. My order was still listed as "Processing," so I could cancel it with no issues. Keep in mind that if your order is already listed as "Preparing to Ship" or "Shipped," you will not be able to cancel it. I would probably have done this anyway and just returned the second Apple Watch, but you may feel differently.
As soon as I got the email from Apple letting me know my order was ready for pickup, I went to the store. (Ok, I may have actually been parked in the parking lot already when that email came through.) Even though my allotted pickup time was nearly a half-hour out, they allowed me to pick up my Apple Watch as soon as I got there. There was no line, and the store was set up to manage everyone's pickups smoothly. I literally walked out of the store before my allotted pickup time, just over an hour after placing the order.
I can't promise this would work out as smoothly for you, but it's certainly worth a try if you're as anxious as I was to get your hands on the Apple Watch Series 6. You can also try this at other locations and possibly take advantage of Apple Watch Series 6 deals.
