I am very surprised to hear that people are still waiting for phones to ship when they are readily availabe at the Apple store with no lines.
I also didn't want to risk having my 25% corporate discount removed for up to 2 billing cycles.
...another plus about going the direct fulfillment route is that you only pay tax on the subsidized price of the phone (in California, at least). This saved me $24.67 on my 16GB Black. If you purchase it at an Apple store or an AT&T store that actually has them in stock, they will tax you based on the unsubsidized $399/$499 price of the phone.
...and good news, I placed my DF order yesterday and it has already shipped out today! I think the iPhone shortage is over. Wooot!!!