Thread: Why do people love to stand in line...

... to be among the first to buy a new product?

This is puzzling to me. What could prompt someone to spend many hours, if not days, standing in line in front of a store to buy a new electronic gizmo on the day it comes out, when

a) you can get it easily without standing in line just a couple of miles away from the hotspot center of the city?

b) you could easily get it the next day?

c) a week from now nobody will give a rodent's rectum about who was the first one to buy it?

I understand that some people really have nothing better to do and it may be fun to stand around waiting, if you're really into it. On the other extreme, I have recently heard of the mayor of a city who thought he had nothing better to do than standing in a line for days in NY to buy a new you-know-what.

What's your take on reasons for this behavior?

standing in line is a social activity with mob mentality.
its a "stamp of pride" to show your love for a given franchize.
others are just so excited about a new gaming console their brains short-circuit.
a lot of impatience is involved too.
some people just can't wait to get home to play their new playstation 3, other view that whatever they are waiting in line for as one of the highest status symbols available within their group.
most lack a bit of purpose in life.
theres probably something primitive in there. hunters waiting for prey and such.