Apple iPhone X sold out in 20 big cities

LOS ANGELES — Consumers turned out in droves over the weekend to buy Apple's most expensive iPhone ever, the iPhone X, and in less than three days, it was as good as sold out. 

In a spot check of availability for the new iPhone Monday, USA TODAY could only find units available for same day retail pickup in Tacoma and Spokane, Washington. An earlier check, on Sunday, found it sold out in 20 big cities. 

Consumer enthusiasm vanquished any doubts that Apple would be able to persuade buyers to spend $999 on up for the state-of-the-art phone, its most expensive yet, though it suggested a supply bottleneck — related to specialized components of the phone — could temper sales. 

Apple shares (AAPL) ended up 1% at $174.25, a record. 

According to Apple's website,  the new phone, which starts at $999, was unavailable for pickup in the following: New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Washington, DC, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Delivery times for online orders were 3-4 weeks, according to Apple. An Apple representative didn't respond to a request for comment. 

The iPhone X went on sale Friday at 8 a.m., and started selling out by Saturday afternoon. Long lines returned to the Apple Stores from eager consumers hoping to buy one, something Apple didn't see with the release of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in September.

"Lines were stronger than we have seen in years across Apple stores and rivaled iPhone 6 first day build up," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with GBH Tech Research. The last of the great fan lines at Apple Stores was for 2014's iPhone 6. 

Many consumers on the line were buying two each, either to re-sell or to give as gifts. Ads for iPhone X units at inflated resale prices from $1,500 to $5,000 began appearing on secondary markets like eBay and Craigslist over the weekend. 

More:iPhone X buyers plan quick resale for a tidy profit

More:I've had an iPhone X all week. Here's what's easier and what's still a struggle

More:Want the iPhone X? It doesn’t have to cost you $1,000

Gene Munster, an investor and analyst with Loup Ventures, said these were the longest lines since 2014's iPhone 6 release. The iPhone 6 was the last time Apple introduced a re-designed and re-imagined phone, as it did with the iPhone X.

"The iPhone X line counts exceeded lines for the previous 3 iPhone releases, including lines 57% longer than the iPhone 7 lines," Munster wrote in a blog post.

The iPhone featured an edge-to-edge OLED screen, promising richer and stronger colors, the ability to unlock the phone with facial recognition and produce animated emojis based on your facial expressions. 

It was expected to go quickly. The company is using several new parts that haven't been used before in mass production, causing the hiccup. 

The iPhone X initially was available as a pre-order on October 27th, but the initial shipment for November 3 delivery sold out within minutes, and many customers were promised deliveries of anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks. However, Talking Tech's order was cited as November 10th to 17th, but then arrived early, on Friday.

New iPhones from Apple have traditionally sold out by late Sunday on opening weekend, with the exception of the 8 and 7. 

Follow USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham on Twitter, @jeffersongraham