Did Verizon exaggerate demand for the BlackBerry Storm? A number of stores reported that they had fewer than 25 of the phones when they opened for business on November 21, the day the Storm went on sale.

Verizon Wireless said that it sold out of the Storm shortly after opening many of its stores. Customers began lining up as early as 5:30am in many parts of the country, but the phone inventory was exhausted almost immediately. (Reporter's Notebook: RIM's BlackBerry Storm-ed)

Customers were told that the stores would have the Storm shipped to them from the warehouse in five days. Since then Verizon Wireless has changed its shipping time.

Customers who signed up for the phone in the last week are being told that it will be shipped to them by December 15, a far cry from the five days they were being promised a week earlier.

“Verizon wanted to get the Storm in its stores for the holiday season even if they ran the risk of not having enough of a supply,” said a source close to Verizon.

Not having enough of the phones in its stores turned out to be serendipitous for Verizon because it added to the Storm’s cachet.

“I don’t think they did this deliberately to manipulate demand or create the illusion that the phone was sold out in record time,” the source said. “But I am sure there were quite a few lengthy discussions about the balance between holiday availability and the limited supply.”

A number of Verizon Wireless stores including two in Dutchess County, New York reported that they received fewer than 20 phones for the Storm’s launch a week and a half ago and have received none since then.

Verizon Wireless spent heavily on advertisements for the BlackBerry Storm which, despite some less than stellar reviews, drew a lot interest from the “CrackBerry” crowd. (BlackBerry Storm Hits Verizon, Vodafone)

The long lines, which were dutifully reported in the press, certainly helped create added buzz for the phone. (iPhone in Path of Verizon Storm)

“And at a time when people are talking about having bread lines like they had during the Great Depression, here you have lines of people waiting to pay $200 for a high-end phone,” the source said. “That’s big-time buzz.”

Verizon Wireless did not provide specific numbers of phones sold or in inventory but the company said that the Storm is one of the company’s most popular phones to date.