Why Wait in Line When You Can Buy Online? iPad 2 Fans Answer

Published March 16, 2011

By Beth Pinsker, dealnews Editorial Director

There were hundreds of stores selling the iPad 2 and iPad 2 Accessories on its release day last Friday, but still thousands lined up around the country at Apple stores to get their hands on the new gadget the very first day. Why? Instead of sitting for hours in the cold, the rain or the hot sun, they could have just ordered online. For the iPad 2, online ordering actually started 11 hours before stores opened, and if you got a purchase through by 4 am, you only had to wait a week for shipping.

But that's not good enough for some people, and that goes for other Apple products, concert tickets, Black Friday deals and other must-haves that turn otherwise normal consumers into dedicated campers.

We wanted to know what was behind this urge to wait, so we headed down to the Apple Store in SoHo New York, where there were several Best Buys within walking distance, not to mention Verizon and AT&T stores with no lines. Still there were about a thousand people circling a city block. Here's what they said about staking (out) their claim:

What do you think? Would you ever wait in a line like this?

What's the longest you'd wait in line to buy something?customer surveys

Beth Pinsker is dealnews' Editorial Director. She was most recently the Editor of WalletPop.com and has been a life-long bargain hunter. Follow her on Twitter — @bethpinsker. You can also sign up for an email alert for all dealnews features.

Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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