Quick, painless way to buy an iPhone 5: Don't plan

The 32GB iPhone 5 I purchased today. It was a quick, easy get.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

Here's the easy way to buy an iPhone: Don't have a plan.

I didn't intend to get an iPhone today. And I didn't even begin to think about it until after 10 a.m.

That's when I called a friend -- who I knew was at a local shopping center -- to check out the line at a Verizon store. "It's not really long at all," was the answer I got.

"Wait, this is the first day of iPhone 5 sales and this is Los Angeles. And you're telling me there isn't a long line?" -- was, more or less, how I responded.

So, I had to see this for myself. By the time I got there the line was down to five or six people (just after 11:00). After 15 minutes I was in the store and they had just what I needed (see photo above).

It seemed too easy. Earlier in the morning, I had confirmed with a rep at the Apple Store in Century City (near Hollywood) that there was a long line (he said it was at least a two-hour wait).

So, I can conclude a couple of things. One, Apple pushed out plenty of inventory to low-profile outlets, like my local Verizon store. Two, high-profile Apple Stores -- like the one in Century City -- are the last place you want to go.

I'm already planning not to plan when the iPhone 6 arrives.

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