by In yet another sign that Apple’s iPhone 5 stocks are returning to normal, Apple has lifted its limit of two iPhone 5’s per customer. The top boilerplate in this image is from last week when Apple began selling the GSM iPhone 5 unlocked in the U.S., and the lower boilerplate is from today.
In recent days, we’ve seen ship times for some countries drop as low as 2-4 business days. Additionally, an Apple Retail source tells us that the prior restrictions on retail iPhone 5 purchases — two per transaction and a ten-phone lifetime limit — have been changed to ten phones per transaction and no lifetime limit.
While normal customers are unlikely to need to purchase ten iPhones per transaction, the limits are likely aimed at the well-documented reseller phenomenon where entrepreneurs purchase Apple products in bulk and ship them to countries where those products are not yet for sale.
Since many of these devices are purchased for resale in China, it’s possible that Apple’s launch of the iPhone 5, iPad mini and 4th-generation iPad in that country later this month could lessen reseller demand.
The iPad mini retains its two-per-customer limit, however. Attempting to purchase more than two on the Apple Online Store displays the following notice:
A maximum of 2 iPad can be purchased per customer. Please adjust the total quantity of iPad in your order before checking out.
