What's Wrong With Apple's New 2-iPhone Limit?

Apple announced Thursday that it would no longer sell iPhones for cash (or gift cards), and would now limit purchases to two per person. When I read this, the first thing that came to mind was that APPLE IS HAVING SUPPLY PROBLEMS. Sure enough, Apple essentially admitted as much. A spokesman told the press: "limiting iPhone sales to two per customer helps us ensure that there are enough iPhones for people who are shopping for themselves or buying a gift." That means allowing anyone to buy as many phones as they wanted for whatever purpose would lead to shortages, which would hit their stock price. They're doing this just before the holiday season, when parents are most likely to buy an iPhone for everyone in the family. Suddenly, that's not possible. It's also a policy that favors city and suburban people and shafts rural residents. Reselling iPhones is essentially a distribution channel for people who can't make it to the local AT&T or Apple store. Apple shouldn't care how customers get their iPhones -- and probably wouldn't if it weren't facing shortages.