When it's a lure to act like a complete idiot.
Today was the day that Henrico County was to sell off 1000 used, 4-year-old iBooks for $50 each. (And by "used," they mean "used by students who didn't have to pay for repairs if the computers got broken.") One per person, Henrico County residents only (and you had to prove it), and cash or checks accepted. Today's sale was postponed from last week, when people actually came all the way from Florida to try to buy one of the iBooks.
So what happened today? Stupidity and greed at its finest. Over 5,000 people showed up. For 1,000 computers. People started arriving at 1 a.m., when the gates were to open at 7 (for a sale beginning at 9). Orderliness and civility went out the window.
I'd actually considered going by the sale. For about 30 seconds. Until I realized that (a) these computers were 4 years old, and (b), even if they worked, they weren't compatible with either my home or work computers, so what's the point? I'd do better putting the $50 towards a new, functional, bare-bones laptop that comes with a warranty.
Pretty simple analysis, you'd think. Even simpler if you add in the cost of taking time off from work to go to it, or even the opportunity cost of standing in line for a long, long time if you're off on summer vacation. But a level of analysis that's beyond some people.
Still, what about the people who showed up late? When there's already 4,000 people in line? Can they possibly be thinking, "Lookit all the people ahead of me! I bet that in each group of 5 people, 4 people are here just to keep the one person who's buying a computer company, so there will surely be computers left when I get to the front of the line!"? Apparently so.
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