I called around local stores furiously Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Costco, Best Buy, WalMart, and Target all said they would be getting the phone but NOT on release day. Radio Shack in the mall had them in stock by Saturday, but couldn't sell them till Sunday. Radio Shack closest to me didn't know what I was talking about.
I was about to call it quits and just order from amazonwireless when I checked out my local AT&T store on Sunday. They had them in stock, for $199. BUT, they were giving away a free case (blah), a free car charger (meh), and either a free "premium" bluetooth headset or a free 16gb SD card. Since I already had a 16gb SD card, I went with the bluetooth headset. They let me pick out pretty much any headset I wanted in the entire store. They recommended a Motorola one that cost $99. For free. I felt like I got a pretty good deal.
Oh, and the lady who sold it to me was nice enough to ask me if I
wanted her to transfer contacts and set it up for me. I asked if it was possible to get it in a box unopened, since I already had a 4g SIM card from a previous Thrill upgrade. She had absolutely no problem with that and let me have it unopened in the box. And she gave me her cell number to call if I had any problems. I'm telling you, if I wasn't happily married I probably would have called her to ask her out, she was
that nice (and knowledgeable). I couldn't believe it.
The assistant manager came by to ask if everything was going OK. I asked him if something strange was going on because this was very un-AT&T-like to give me free stuff, be utterly pleasant, and agree to everything I asked for. He just kinda laughed. Told him I was very pleased, and thanked both of them for the great experience I had. It was really surreal.