Apple iPhone 6 Plus Sold Out: Faces Shipping Delays Following Biggest Preorder Sales

Apple seems to be caught off guard with its flagship iPhone 6 phones recording the biggest ever pre-sale launch in history, with the bigger 5.5in iPhone 6 Plus going out of stock within hours after the launch day pre-orders went live on Apple Online Store as well as through its affiliated mobile carriers.

The 4.7in models seem to be pushed back with seven to 10 days ship-by dates, while the larger 5.5in variant's ship-by dates have been reportedly pushed back by three to four weeks across Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Corp. owing to unprecedented demand for the Apple phablet.

Meanwhile, AT&T has reported its biggest pre-order sales record with iPhone 6 launch in history, even as supplies are being depleted rapidly for the 4.7in version of iPhone 6 across AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile with an estimated delivery date set for 19 September.

It is not yet clear if the iPhone 6 Plus ran out of stock due to supply constraints or consumer demand for the phablet device far outweighed that of the 4.7in model.

Nevertheless, both Apple and AT&T have openly admitted about the overwhelming response received for the new iPhone launch and the record-breaking pre-sales numbers setting a new record for the company.

"Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible, with a record number of pre-orders overnight. Pre-orders are currently available online or through the Apple Store App," said spokeswoman Trudy Muller.

"This is our biggest iPhone, pre-order launch day ever," said AT&T Mobility CEO Glenn Lurie in a press statement on Friday.

Various reports suggest that the iPhone 6 launch day pre-orders resulted in a severe load on the online servers for both Apple as well as its partner resellers, which forced Apple to keep the transactions on hold for later processing to avoid an impending server crash.

Consequently, Apple's Online Store was reportedly down for initial periods after the launch day pre-orders began, which forced several iPhone fans to register their pre-orders via Apple Store app.

According to Reuters, one eBay auction for an unlocked 128GB gold version of 5.5in iPhone 6 had a bidding price starting at $1,625, while Craigslist advertised a similar offer for $10,000 with a tagline that read: "Be one of the first & few people to own this model and before the rest of the world."

It appears that the gray market dealers seem to be exploiting the unprecedented demand for Apple's new iPhones coupled with a catastrophic shortage of supplies owing to production issues and shipment delays from the company.

Nevertheless, die-hard iPhone fans may still try their luck with retail stores once the product launches or squander their hard-earned money to pre-order an iPhone 6 through the black markets such as eBay or Craigslist via auction sales.