What's your time worth?

[ucfgrad93]

I camped out over night for the iPhone 4 launch. It was a lot of fun and I really had a great time. That said, however, I would never do it again. If people want to camp out, I don't have a problem with it.

 

[Cabby]

When I have "fun" doing something I have a desire to do it again... At least 3 people in this thread alone said how great an experience waiting in line is, but would never do it again. Waiting in line is never fun, especially when you're spending hundreds of dollars to do so.

 

[karmamule]

When I have "fun" doing something I have a desire to do it again... At least 3 people in this thread alone said how great an experience waiting in line is, but would never do it again. Waiting in line is never fun, especially when you're spending hundreds of dollars to do so.

I would have done it again except that I *had* to be at work by 7am, so it was not a possibility for me. I had a blast waiting in line for about 3 hours the last time I got an iPad, and would happily do it again.

 

[randy98mtu]

I would not do it again today, but for the first iPhone, it was a lot of fun to go get in line, and I will never forget it. One of my brothers had then very recently passed away, and in the numbness that follows something like that, I was wandering around the house sort of aimlessly wondering how to get my day jumpstarted... noticed there was a calendar entry "iPhone launch!" so I actually got in my car and drove the 90-something miles to an Apple store to get one.

It was a way of resuming ordinary life instead of just sort of holding my breath waiting for someone to say it was okay to do anything but cry and be angry over a sibling's death. Sure, it was a temporary break in the long path grieving seems to require, but it was nonetheless an important one for me. I was like a zombie until I broke out of the post-funeral "Now What?" mode.

That day I met some kids on line who had just cut their band's first CD and were all excited to be getting iPhones even though they were standing in line holding a heavy box of their albums, handing it back and forth when their arms got tired, passing a few album freebies out to the other people queued up for the original iPhone. Even on the way back out of the store we were all in companiable little groups, strangers to each other but walking together, and joking a little about how forlorn the Verizon kiosk looked in that stretch of the mall that afternoon, with their clerks standing idly as the parade of iPhone bags went past them to the parking lots.

So if you have never waited online in an expectant iPhone queue, I'd say try it once anyway; for me it was lots of fun. What is one's time worth? Depends on how you value your time. It's not all about money, that's for sure.

That's a really great story. Thank you so much for sharing it. Glad it was something that was able to snap you out of it and get you back in the game. That's awesome.

 

[takeshi74]

Is it worth it?

Subjective as on any topic. It's obviously worth it to those that go through it or else they wouldn't do it.

 

[Number 41]

My time isn't really all that valuable. Unless you're a doctor or a lawyer that bills at four figures an hour, your time probably isn't all that "valuable" either.

Plus, ordering online requires I either take a day off work to be at home for delivery or drive after work to a UPS processing center to pick the package up.

 

[Redskins]

Yup I woke up at 7 got to the best buy mobile at 7:30 out at 8:00 enjoy waiting for your iphone in the mail....

 

[TheKrs1]

These people are most likely jobless and paying their iPhones out of welfare

I have taken time off from work for every Canadian iPhone launch to date. I make decent money, have a good job and contribute to society. That being said, I have also been able to secure two devices and sell the second one on ebay for enough of a profit to pay for my new phone purchase.

This year I couldn't take the day off of work (as my Wedding is next weekend and i'm taking a few weeks off for my honeymoon right after). So I stayed up to 1am MST and ordered online. Unfortunately my new phone is shipping while I am on my honeymoon. That would be fine, but I was expecting the device to ship next week... and my current phone is already on e-bay. My mistake.

 

[asleep]

While it's hilarious to read, and I can appreciate the enthusiasm, I don't really understand the waiting in line bit, or trying to "beat the system" with a Target/Radio Shack/Best Buy pre-order that you know won't actually work. Hitting refresh on your email over and over just waiting for that email confirmation from these large retailers that have proven time after time they can't be trusted to pre-order anything for release day delivery.

Is it worth it?...

I'm hoping to get myself into a Samsung Galaxy commercial by standing in line at the Apple store.

 

[bp1000]

Ironic isn't it

People who value money over time stand in line to sell the phones to people who value time over money.

Then there is simply the die hard fans who want to be part of the experience.


I would simply order online and just wait for delivery. As i'm a business customer i just wait until they ring me to say they have allocated available stock to my name on the list.