14 DAY TRIAL // While the hardcore campers have been waiting in line for the iPhone for the better part of the week now, the more casual ones are just now coming into play. While camping, selling spots in line and even the product itself is well known from the console industry, Apple is seeing it for a mobile phone, an industry first.
Enterprising souls are already working on making a profit out of this by getting in the game. Even if they are offering line waiting services, their spots or the iPhone itself, the prices are rather high and for the device, some are asking up to three times what the store does. Greg Packer is spearheading the effort; he can be considered a sort of a professional at this. Outside Apple's glass cube entrance, Packer is the first in line, as he has been for many such opening events and will probably continue to do so. But Packer is first because it is his hobby, not because he's looking to make a profit.
The iPhone is highly coveted by many, unfortunately, since the launch is on a work day, not everyone can afford to sit in line for hours, if not actually days, in order to ensure that they get one. Supplies running out is the single biggest fear of iPhone buyers and a possibility that is all too real. Both Apple and AT&T have tried to avoid large groups of people at well known stores by making it very easy to find all stores that carry the device in the customer's area. Also, a limit of one iPhone per customer has been imposed to ensure that everyone has a chance to get one and there is no hoarding.
These measures, if anything, have only made the prices go up as more and more people move in to capitalize on the launch.