Get Your System on Launch Day

3. Camp wisely

Everyone knows you can camp out at the store before they open, but there's a smart way to do it and a way that could leave you high and dry (and cold, if you are outside in the Midwest). Most campers will tell you that you have to know the rules ahead of time, so that means talking to the store manager and finding out how their system works. You could camp all night, only to find out they have randomly assigned tickets for anyone waiting outside the store at 7am the next morning. Also, while a store like Best Buy does not take pre-orders, it's not clear how many they will have on launch day, so it's best to ask your local manager about that, too. If they give you a shrug and an "I don't know," move on to the next retailer.

One note about camping: there will always be people trying to cut, have friends hold their place, or wait in their cars instead of the line (especially in cold weather) and roll up at the last minute and claim they were there already.

We're here to put this in writing, so you can print it out and have it with you: those tactics are bullshit. If you want the system, you need to wait in line, no matter what the weather, just like everyone else. That's the official rule.