Randy, Nick, and Andy took off work tomorrow so that they could sit all night long outside Target, so that when the store opens tomorrow they would be able to each buy a brand spankin' new Playstation 3. I went by Target today around 12 noon, and already there's a line of about 20 people waiting to buy the 12 the store was selling. I went to KMart then, and the electronics guy told me that they were supposed to get 2 but he had just received a call that none would be coming. He did have some advice, though- he said he had just talked to someone at Sam's Club and they had theirs in stock already, and the line outside the store wasn't long at all. So, off I went to Sams and low and behold- 2 people were in line! I was excited- I called Randy and he was excited too- but all hope faded fast as the first guy in line told me that the manager had just come out and said that they only have one to sell- maybe another will come overnight. That's one. A single solitary Playstation. That means one of the guys in a line of two will be able to get one. What a crock of you-know-what. I went home and called every store in Ventura County that would possibly get some in, and most of them said they were getting 2 or 3 but had lines atleast 20 people long. Fryes' manager said that store was getting 20 consoles, but 40 people were already in line. I even called stores in Indiana where my sister lives, her best friend lives, and my parents live (three separate towns). Same story there- 20 people for every 1-2 consoles. I'm holding out hope that my step-dad's friend who is a manager at Target will be able to get one for him. But, as the old saying goes, I won't be counting my eggs until they're hatched.
Sorry Randy. I tried. I think we should just boycott Sony for good. Corporate jerks (that's the nicest thing that can be said about them).
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16 comments:
Yeah. What a racket! They should be boycotted.
Those pre-orders Sara was talking about were for the Wii, which IMO is way better then the PS3.
Don't get too upset though there are a million reasons not to get a PS3 right now, I'll share the few that come to mind.
You really need an HD-TV for the "next gen" to show through that pricey box.
It's freakin' $600, the $500 one sucks.
The wii is only $250 and the 360 which has better games is $400.
There are no games right now for the system that are good, Resistance isn't nearly as good as Gears and Ginji isn't all that either.
The controller doesn't do rumble.
It doesn't do 1080i nor does it upconvert DVDs
Doesn't play all ps2 games.
There are a ton more reasons but there's always a reason to not buy something $600 when you can't use it.
Either way, there's only 150-200K systems for North America, that's not much. especially since sony said it would be 1 million months back.
I understand though, I slept out in front of target years back for a PS2 and it rained. so maybe I shouldn't be talking.
I am going to go to my secret spot Sunday morning for the Wii though.
There's one big reason to wait in line to purchase a $600 PS3 that doesn't require an HD-TV, a video game, a rumbling controller, or even hands or arms or eyes. That reason is to turn around and sell it. Yes, I'm sorry Sara, but we were going to be those people that were not going to keep and play the Playstations. I guess I'll have to sleep in instead.
Dan, based on Kristi's comment, I wouldn't be surprised if your secret spot didn't have enough. I know she didn't mention where you're going, but based on the numbers from the places she did mention it seems unlikely that they'll have very many.
PS - It's a pretty bad move (IMO) for them to release with that few units anyway. Seems like it would have been better to spread rumors that there wouldn't be many but then overdeliver, because then you'd probably sell a lot to people looking to do the resell thing, who will just think they're lucking out, in addition to all the people who actually want one. It would be pretty funny if that were their actual strategy.
Making too few before the release also seems like a bad move because if they aren't very good (like Dan suggests) word will get around and round 2 (once they get around to supplying it) will be a lot smaller than a big round one could have been.
Haven't you heard of the tornados in North Carolina and Alabama? Got a roof over your head and all your love ones safe? Don't feel too bad.
Sara's right, it's also funny because a lot of people are doing just that and I'd be surprised if eBay wasn't flooded with them today, saturating the market and making those 1K profits dwindle to $300 and making that 4 day wait in the cold worthless.
JaredB: the secret spot isn't getting any PS3s, I'm talking about the Wii which they're getting 24.
I just looked and the PS3 is selling for about $2500-$2700 right now on ebay. There's one even going for $3100!!!! Geez oh pete.
I read yesterday (Randy already knew this so you gamers may too) that Sony is actually losing money on the PS3. The cheaper one is $499 but costs Sony $803 to make. EACH. Why would a company do that?
My understanding from the news was that they were going to be putting "rules" or limitations on ebay sales. Why are people so damn obsessed with money making schemes and video consoles. All that freakin money good be going towards buying stuff for needy people at holiday time.
Right now it looks like they are averaging around $1200. The price definitely dropped a lot since e-bay was flooded with them. If I had one, I think I would want to wait a couple weeks to list it. You'd still be able to get it out by Christmas, and there will probably be fewer out there, so it would sell for more. Of course there are probably thousands of people thinking the same thing.
i don't see how all this work can actually be worth your time. from a purely economic stand point, take your hourly rate working for whereever you work, double that, and if the return on your time in line is less...it's not worth it. if you make $50k and you're waiting in line for 12 hours to sell a $600 box for $1200, you're just about breaking even.
I don't make money other than when I'm at work, so I'd rather think of 8 hours if I'm taking one day off work even if I wait in line 12 hours. $600 in 8 hours is $75/hr. Not too bad if you ask me. Even 12 hours is $50/hr. That's definitely more than $50k. Granted I think two days off would have been needed to get a PS3. In that case you're talking about missing 16 hours of work, which means if you make $37.50/hr, then it wouldn't have been worth it. $37.50/hr is still well above $50k/yr though.
And these guys actually enjoy doing the sit in line overnight thing. They've done it for other things too, and have a great time. So it's more like play than work. A game. A challenge. Strategy. The thrill of the hunt. All that. Worth a day off even if they don't make money, I think.
to each his own...
Just buy a Wii or did I miss the point?
Whatever it's all about Super Nintendo anyway.
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