So I had to jump through some hoops but finally was able to get my black 8x in store last night!
I preordered on Monday, rep told me it would ship Tuesday - yesterday I called customer service and had them put a ticket in to cancel my original order as I wanted to just pick it up in store...luckily I had 2 lines available for early upgrade, as I was told mu upgrade eligibility on the original line would not change back until 24 hrs after cancellation.
After using another line to upgrade, I got a shipment notification for my preorder

but I suppose I just refuse delivery when it comes so I can get my refund for that order.
Good luck to all still waiting! 8x is an amazing device. Battery life is meh, I charged to 100% last night at about 1130, its 630am now and I have about 50%. Granted, I have been fiddling with it for about an hour and a half.