Best Buy joins AT&T and Apple Stores in selling out of iPhone 4S

The steam train that is iPhone 4S sales continues to roll on as Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores are now selling out of the model as well, reports Tiernan Ray for Barron’s.

The news comes from William Power of R.W. Baird who wrote in a note that the ‘vast majority’ of Best Buy stores that were checked in the firm’s study were sold out of iPhone 4S models. Many of the stores even had a notice added to the automatic phone systems informing customers that they were out of stock, presumably to head requests off at the pass.

Because Best Buy places orders in such large quantities, Power says that it is a “litmus test” for iPhone sellouts.

AT&T stores are still mostly out of iPhone 4S models although they are getting regular shipments. A local AT&T outlet told us that it was getting 40 calls a day from customers looking for the devices.

Most Apple stores are still sold out on a daily basis even though they are getting shipments almost every day. Many stores have lines set up outside that allow them to pre-assign existing iPhone stock per customer so that they know when they are sold out.

Apple’s reservation system for iPhones is up and running at Apple.com, but once again the stocks there are limited. iPhone shipments are scheduled for 1-2 weeks on its site.

The iPhone 4S continues to show unprecedented demand, especially for a device that was deemed ‘disappointing’ by many pundits and analysts on its announcement.