In my opinion, it was some gimmick on the part of Apple. In an attempt to fool the masses. It is ironic, since most that love apple would usually question big business. But for some reason, no one ever questions what apple does.
I live in the DC metro area. I didnt get to my local ATT store until 10am. I walked in, there were about 10 people in the store. I asked if they had any iphones left and to my surprise, the sales person said yes. He told me they only got about 100 and they still had plenty left. He said they only got the gray model.
I then see the article on this site, about the guy that paid $1500 for a gold version from the store in Miami. All of those people, and only 3 gold for the entire store????
In my opinion, Apple tried to fool the masses and they only fooled the fanboys. They intentionally kept supply low, did not have a pre order and wanted to be able to say they sold out. For some reason, they think that makes them look like a great company. But it makes them look like another year went by, and they still haven't figured out how to determine the number needed for opening week.