{"id":547004,"date":"2026-03-19T15:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/547004\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:30:09","slug":"woman-paid-man-800-for-place-in-queue-to-buy-100000-of-original-iphones-before-realizing-shed-made-expensive-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/547004\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman paid man $800 for place in queue to buy $100,000 of original iPhones before realizing she\u2019d made expensive mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Woman<\/p>\n

A woman paid $800 to be the first in line at the Apple<\/a> store to snap up $100,000 worth of original iPhones to resell, but it turned out to be a costly mistake.<\/p>\n

Steve Jobs officially unveiled the Apple iPhone in January 2007 and kick-started a media frenzy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It went on sale the following June, and people eagerly queued up overnight to get their hands on one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With demand for the new device sky-high, one woman thought she had a foolproof way of earning herself some easy money, but she didn\u2019t plan for one thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search<\/a> to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology<\/p>\n

She gave the man at the front of the Apple store queue $800 to take his place<\/p>\n

Every year, Apple launches its latest iPhone<\/a> and every year it attracts plenty of media attention and, of course, plenty of sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And if you thought the hype around the newly released iPhone 17<\/a> was wild, then you\u2019d probably struggle to believe just how big the original iPhone launch was.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Apple<\/p>\n

At the time, people hadn\u2019t seen a phone quite like this one before, and they were desperate to snap one up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And a woman in Dallas, Texas, thought she had come up with a smart idea to make a heap of cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With demand for the iPhone<\/a> so high, she planned on heading out to the Apple store and spending $100,000 on iPhones, which she would then resell on eBay for more than she had originally paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the launch, a brand-new iPhone<\/a> would set you back $499, but the woman told Fox 4 Dallas that she reckoned she could sell them for a lot more online.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But of course, she\u2019d need to actually get inside the store to make the plan work \u2013 and rather than spend a night on the cold, hard ground outside, she paid the guy at the front of the queue $800 to take his place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What could go wrong? Well, there was one thing she\u2019d overlooked.<\/p>\n

Her plan to snap up $100k worth of iPhones didn\u2019t work out <\/p>\n

When the doors of that Dallas Apple store finally opened on \u00a0June 29, 2007, the woman was indeed the first to get inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, what she didn\u2019t know was that the store had put a strict limit of just one iPhone per customer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>ArnoldReinhold <\/p>\n

This meant that rather than $100,000 worth of iPhones she had hoped to leave with, she ended up only being able to buy one \u2013 and had parted with that additional $800 for nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Things worked out better for the guy whose spot she took in the queue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not only did he still get one of the brand-new iPhones, but he also made $800 in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Timeline of the iPhone<\/p>\n

2007: First generation is announced by Steve Jobs<\/p>\n

2008: iPhone 3G is launched with 3G connectivity and the App store<\/p>\n

2010: iPhone debuts with Retina Display and new glass\/steel design<\/p>\n

2011: Siri is introduced<\/p>\n

2013: Touch ID is introduced with the 5S<\/p>\n

2016: The headphone jack is removed with the 7 and 7 Plus<\/p>\n

2017: Face ID is introduced<\/p>\n

2020: iPhone 12 series introduces 5G<\/p>\n

2024: The 16 series introduces enhanced on-device AI features and camera controls<\/p>\n

2025: The iPhone 17 is released, featuring new Liquid Glass display<\/p>\n

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