I hate this, same thing with iPhone. Do they really not think to make more to get them out sooner?
It looks a lot better for a company when a product is sold, out of stock, and in demand, rather than having inventory sitting around collecting dust.
Being that this is Google's first launch with Pixel, they had no idea what the actual hype and demand for the product would be. This decision was likely made months ago, and Google expected Samsung's Note 7 not to falter. For a company like Google, which isn't as big as the cellular device juggernauts like Samsung and Apple, they likely wanted to have enough phones to break even and make a little profit.
Now that they see how many folks are anticipating the release of their phone not through Verizon, they'll adjust their expectations for next year, but don't expect a overproduction of phones. What would the perception be if they actually did overproduce phones?
"Oh man, Google's phone must suck. They still aren't sold out..." .... "It's probably not as good as an iPhone then. I'm going to buy an iPhone."
Nobody in their right mind would wait a month for no good reason when they could walk in to a Verizon store and pick one up right away
Eh... Folks who aren't on Verizon or who don't want to switch carriers will wait because that's probably the best (or only) option for them? (I'm on Verizon and I pre-ordered through them). Just how it is, like how Apple was exclusive for a while.