Edit: Now that the iPhone has been released, this guide is no longer necessary.  I'm leaving it here because it will undoubtedly apply to future high-demand products.

Please note that eBay policy says for items that have not been released yet, a seller must have a guaranteed pre-order, with a guarantee that the item will be available within 30 days, in order to list it. The iPhone will go on sale on June 29th, and the only sources for it will be Apple and AT&T Wireless. Neither company is offering pre-orders. That means that the *ONLY* way to get an iPhone will be to wait in line at an AT&T store or an Apple store.

That makes *ALL* iPhone 'pre-sale' auctions a violation of eBay's policy, since the seller can not guarantee that they will have the item within 30 days.

Also, watch out for auctions that show up when you search for iPhone that are *NOT* for Apple's iPhone, but for another brand of cell phone that has a software modification to make its menu LOOK like an iPhone. These are *NOT* the iPhone, and are, in fact, a violation of Apple's copyright on the icons the iPhone uses. (Apple has successfully sued companies that have distributed "iPhone themes" for other cell phones.)

In addition, eBay's iPhone policy will require that any listing for the iPhone include a unique photograph of the actual iPhone being auctioned, a copy of the receipt, and with the seller's eBay user name in the photograph of the phone. (Not computer-generated on top of the photograph, but included in the original photo.) This is to guarantee that the auction is for an actual physical iPhone that is in the seller's possession already. So even when June 29th rolls around, make sure that you look only for auctions that include a real photo of the actual phone being sold, not just a generic picture from Apple's website.

eBay iPhone policy