I was just channel flipping and CNBC (which I normally do not watch), was showing a clip of the line outside the Manhattan Apple Store; there were quite a lot of Chinese nationals waiting in line; actually, lot more chairs (for the rest of the buyers) in between the line waiters (many of them blocked their faces as the camera panned by).
There are also similar reports for several of the Apple Stores in Japan where they are leaving chairs in the line with one or two line waiters watching over those seats.
This actually makes sense since the iPhones are being held up for sale in China until all the necessary regulatory approvals are received by Apple. Plenty of these line waiters are being paid to purchase the phones to take back to China, which will then be flipped/scalped into the gray market where units will sale for more than double the retail price.
Apple in recent years has placed purchasing limits on the number of units one person can purchase. For 2012’s iPhone 5 launch, Apple also required iPhones to be activated (for on contract phones) before it left the store and this year, that same requirement will likely be enforced (that the phone is tied to a carrier plan). But it’s a price the resellers will pass on to the buyers anyway (who are more than willing to spend big money anyway to get their hands on the phone). For non-contract/unlocked iPhones, that step isn’t needed since the full price is being paid.
