Mechanics of Gifting an iPhone

[Katsmeow]

I am going to be buying one of the new iPhones for my daughter. This is a gift. She is an adult and lives in a different city but is on my T mobile phone plan (she pays her share each month).

So I plan to buy the phone for her. I will use my Apple Card to pay for it. Two questions about mechanics:

1. Does anyone know if I will I be able to have the phone delivered to her which is not my address Or, do I need to receive the phone and then send it to her? I would prefer to send to her. She lives a 4 hour drive away from us and with Covid I don't want to drive it to her. But one option would be to just drive it down there and back and just stop minimally for bathroom breaks and maybe drive through for food.

2. Also refresh me. If I can get Apple to send it to her, does the phone receipt require signature? One problem might be that even if I could get Apple to send to her, it would be addressed to me.

Her apartment is not that secure and she is usually at work during the day anyway. So I usually mail stuff to her work (she works in a small shop). If she is not there when the phone is delivered can a co-worker sign for it? (But again, I think it would come addressed to me if the phone was shipped by Apple.

The alternative other than driving there would be for me to have the phone sent to me and then I could mail it insured to her at the shop. I would definitely insure it if I did that.

3. If I buy the phone, will she be able to buy Apple Care once she gets the phone? I know I can buy it when I buy the phone but I'm paying for the phone not Apple Care so prefer she buy that herself.

 

[skipro33]

Are gift cards an option for Apple products? Or maybe a prepaid debit card?

 

[TrvlBug]

We just purchased a computer for college headed niece and decided the easiest way was for her to use her/her mom's credit card and I sent her a check.

 

[Katsmeow]

Are gift cards an option for Apple products? Or maybe a prepaid debit card?

We just purchased a computer for college headed niece and decided the easiest way was for her to use her/her mom's credit card and I sent her a check.

These are good ideas but I am trying to do it for her. I think she would get frustrated with the website and ordering it. That kind of thing is not her strong point. And, stores are still closed where she is. I definitely did think of this possibility. I did think of the gift cards though. I am just worried she will end up ordering the wrong thing. And, she can't have it delivered to her place either (would have to have it sent to her work).

Maybe just getting it sent here and then either mailing to her or just driving it to her would work. We are in DFW area and she is in Houston. I have been avoided going place due to Covid for months. But we could just drive it to her and give to her (staying masked and only seeing her for a few minutes) and then we could just drive back home. We would have to stop for gas once and maybe one or two restroom breaks and maybe do drive through or take out food once. I think would be safe enough with masks and disinfecting wipes and sanitizer....

I will ask her though if she is willing to buy it herself and us pay for it.

 

[Sunset]

I would think you could buy it and have it delivered to her place, with her name on it as the addressee.

On many websites, the shipping address does not have to match the billing address, and I've used that to buy something and have it delivered to a different home.

Which website are you going to buy it at ?

 

[donheff]

Just call and inquire. I can't imagine that T-Mobile won't send the phone to someone on your plan. If you buy direct from Apple - same deal, call and inquire.

 

[braumeister]

If I can get Apple to send it to her, does the phone receipt require signature?

I have never had to sign when getting an iPhone delivered by Apple.

If I buy the phone, will she be able to buy Apple Care once she gets the phone? I know I can buy it when I buy the phone but I'm paying for the phone not Apple Care so prefer she buy that herself.

The phone will come with a free 90 days of AppleCare, and she can buy the full plan right on the phone (in Settings) any time within that window.

 

[Katsmeow]

So after looking at this more I finally found a place on Apple's website that says you can say that an order is a gift and then you can put in the name and address of where to ship it. So, after talking to my daughter (this gift is not a surprise to her) I was going to send the phone to the shop she works at. There are only 2 employees who regular work there and she usually works during the day so would likely be the person in the shop when it arrived. Still, she sometimes has a day off and occasionally works at a different shop so there is a small chance she wouldn't be there the day it is delivered. But she felt she could tell her co-worker to sign for it (if they want a signature).

But, the Apple stores where she lives are reopening on Sunday. They have been closed since March. And, there is an Apple store about 10 minutes from where she works. So, if I can do so, I plan to order the phone as a gift and then select for her to pick it up from the store.

For normal purchases she could that. I don't know if I will have that option though since the store won't open until Sunday. However, the phone won't arrive until next Friday at the earliest so I would think I could schedule pickup. But I will find out in a few hours....