<p>I called and they won’t let me buy it before 12/27 (his upgrade is due then) at the upgrade price…even if it can’t be turned on until 12/27. SOOO…bummer to not have it to open, but I want him to know he is receiving it as a gift. How do i go about doing that. i thought about having an image of one and putting it in a box to open. Seems sort of lame to not actually have the goods in hand…but not sure how to do this. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I’d put a photo of an iPhone 6 inside of a small box and then put it in a big box and use lots of cool wrapping. It’s two days later–so it’s not like he’ll have to wait forever. You could also buy a phone cover for the iPhone 6 and include that as well.</p>
<p>Agree, We will likely do something similar, as 12/31 is our renewal date. We will wrap a small box with photo of iphone and perhaps other phones too as we are all undecided as to which phone we want next. </p>
<p>S is trying to buy one for his GF whose bday is today - no stores around here even had one in stock yesterday! They claim they will get more in during the week. He took one of our iphone boxes we still had from an older model and wrapped that up with a promise of a “date” to go and replace hers. 
</p>
<p>Get a cover for it and put the image of the phone in it with the arrival date.</p>
<p>Verizon is our carrier and for my son’s college graduation 2 years ago I called and asked for an early upgrade (2-3 weeks). They wouldn’t let me upgrade early. I happened to read something, I believe on CC, about how to ask to speak to another level/type of employee other than the ones that normally answer the calls at Verizon. So I called back and mentioned that I’d like to upgrade early as this was going to be his main grad gift, and the guy couldn’t have been nicer. Said no problem at all - early upgrade granted, phone shipped out, arrived in time for Commencement :). Maybe someone else knows more? Good luck!</p>
<p>^^^Agreed. I have T-Mobile, but this strategy has worked for me with all types of situations. The regular-level person will say ‘no’ to most ‘unusual’ requests. Ask to speak to a supervisor, and emphasize how long you have been with them, etc. Also, they keep your call history, so if one supervisor doesn’t agree, try again. Most of the time, your request (within reason, of course) will be granted by the first supervisor, but one time (and I honestly forget what it was for) I had to call back three times. However, on the third time, they said ‘yes’.</p>
<p>You might have better luck by calling about the cost to migrate your service to another company. Inquire about the cost of terminating your contract early (as I assume you are in that grey zone that has a contract but an early upgrade) and the chances that you end up speaking to a retention person is high. They have more authority to bend the rules, and at worst, you might end up with a little credit. Losing an iPhone customer is not what companies want. Make sure to tell them that it would be save you money by paying them off and switching to XYZ. </p>
<p>You definitely want to get to a retention person. That’s the key. Be polite but firm about what you will need to remain with the carrier. You’ll get the phone!</p>
<p>Verizon says they’ll do 30 days before on the phone but that policies vary at stores. You shouldn’t need to go to a retention person to do within 30 days.</p>
<p>I ordered a 6 at my local Verizen store for a Christmas gift for my son who was due for an upgrade December 7. I explained to the man who waited on me that it was to be a gift but because S was having problems with his current phone, I might have to cancel the order and let S buy his own phone out in LA. It took two days for the phone to arrive and I decided to walk to the store to pick it up (see thread on maintaining weight during the holiday). When I got to the store after my 1.2 mile walk, I was told that the phone had to be activated before it could leave the store. Needless to say, I was a bit upset that I had made that walk in the cold for nothing! I couldn’t activate the phone or my S would be without a phone for two weeks. Two years ago when I got S the iPhone 5, I purchased in the first week of December and he activated it on Christmas. According to my salesman, Apple has strict regulations against doing that. It didn’t make sense to me but I don’t want my very nice Verizen man to have problems, so I am not saying that I got my phone.</p>
<p>I always buy my iphones at the Apple Store. Verizon doesn’t really have great customer service.</p>
<p>Best buy will upgrade up to a week early. That’s how I got my early upgrade when I needed it.</p>
<p>Thanks all…I will call back today. We have always purchased our new upgrades at the service co…never bestbuy. So, they I’ll sell you the phone at the upgrades price and then Verizon will just turn it on at the renewal date?</p>
<p>Stupid question…we have Verizon and have always got our phones at the same Verizon store in town. What is the process if I go to the Apple Store to purchase a phone? First of all, you’d have to pay full price, right? Won’t get any discounts? And then, if you buy from there - how do you add this phone to your carrier (Verizon)???</p>