I've been in a hot debate with a buddy of mine and I wanted to get some additional knowledge before I slap him in the face.

So today was a big day with facebook being released. I'm sure we all watched the prices skip between $38 (IPO price) and $42.

My buddy says he got in at $33. I immediately called BS. I'm going to copy and paste his response:

"I got a call from my broker at 12:30 that the buy order was approved at $33."
I said BS.
He responds "Large firms bought the stocks in high volumes a lot lower than 38. 38 is what they are trading at to the public. My dads broker gave me 100 and my dad 900 shares at $33 and some change."

Now here is what I know..It IS possible for a firm/bank/investor to have made deals with FaceBook prior to them going public..where by when one day, FB goes public, the "firm" gets x amount of shares at $33 in exchange for a very large amount of cash today.

IF that were the case, what my friend is saying is NOT correct. On top of that, I don't care if my brother is asking for shares, I'm not selling them for less than $38.

I still don't want to call BS if it IS possible for him to have these shares at $33. So I ask you knowledgable people - What are realistic ways my friend could have bought shares at $33..