Hardware Reselling the Wii U at launch date

[Deleted_171835]

Hence the word probably

There's no "probably". Give me some reasoning behind your claim.

 

[matt1freek]

The reason it was hard to find was because assholes snatching up 5 consoles at a time hoping to profit.. Personally i loathe the people that do this. Get a goddamn job.

 

[neotank19]

I think the big N will have short suplies at launch on purpose. So when our average consumer goes to the store and says "hey you got that new wii in yet" "why no sir they are all sold out" he'll think wow it must be good, now I want one.

I had a great time waiting all night for a launch wii. Some guys brought a gamecube and a tv, we played ssbm all night long.

I try and get two systems at lauch, one to keep and one to sell. I Usually end up with a free system.

 

[The Milkman]

Hence the word probably

There's no "probably". Give me some reasoning behind your claim.

The fact that that they made the mistake of underproduction last gen, and their competition also (if I recall it was hard to find a PSPGo and PS3 when they were launched, but I could be wrong) if Nintendo bares some level of common sense then they will know to atleast make a decent 2 million or more for launch, anything thay doesn't sell at launch can be sold during the holidays.

 

[DragorianSword]

Don't think the WiiU will sell that good from the start.
Probably same scenario as with the 3DS.
Sales are going to rise very slowly.

 

[tronic307]

The reason it was hard to find was because assholes snatching up 5 consoles at a time hoping to profit.. Personally i loathe the people that do this. Get a goddamn job.

Do you really remember what it was like? Toys 'R Us in Times Square sold 7800 Wii consoles on launch night. There were many other groups of people getting off the train at my station in Brooklyn at 4:30 AM, all with Wii shopping bags in tow as if it were a commute. You could not find component cables anywhere; even the Nintendo World Store hadn't gotten them in yet. I guess 'assholes' snatched those up too? I had to make my own component cable if I didn't want to play Twilight Princess in composite! Where was anyone who wasn't a dealer going to get 5 consoles at a time? How could Nintendo have predicted the Wii phenomenon, after the less than stellar sales of the GameCube? Had Nintendo pushed enough consoles to retail during the first year, us eBayers would have needed to set our sights elsewhere, end of story.

 

[matt1freek]

Do I really remember? I camped out for 3 days so I could play Zelda...yeah i think i do.
The saving grace was I camped in front of a small chain who only had 15 consoles reserved. So it was a very small group of people and we all got along great. I'm not sure how relevant the lack of component cables at launch is relevant. Meanwhile there were fights breaking out and news coverage at the best buy down the street. I think the main problem was once Joe Shmo caught wind that guys are selling these on ebay for a thousand dollars. Then every Tom Dick and Nancy wanted to snatch up however many they could afford in order to sell. The Hivemind at its best.

 

[tronic307]

Do I really remember? I camped out for 3 days so I could play Zelda...yeah i think i do.
The saving grace was I camped in front of a small chain who only had 15 consoles reserved. So it was a very small group of people and we all got along great. I'm not sure how relevant the lack of component cables at launch is relevant. Meanwhile there were fights breaking out and news coverage at the best buy down the street. I think the main problem was once Joe Shmo caught wind that guys are selling these on ebay for a thousand dollars. Then every Tom Dick and Nancy wanted to snatch up however many they could afford in order to sell. The Hivemind at its best.

Three days? My hat's off to you.
The component cable availability statement is relevant because it goes to Nintendo's failure to anticipate all demand contingencies. They likely thought that since only 1% of GameCube owners had purchased a component cable from the Nintendo online store, component cables might have a similar attach rate for the Wii. Well, they didn't make enough component cables, just like they didn't make enough Wii consoles. And that was the main problem.
Supply and demand are just facts of life. You have to make them work in your favor whenever you can, because inevitably, they will work against you. Do you think I never paid $350 for a Street Fighter IV Arcade Fightstick Tournament Edition, when those were nowhere to be found? Any time you fail to pre-order, that can happen to you. If you owned a few boxed Skyward Sword, with the gold Wiimote, stored away, or Metroid Prime Trilogy, sealed, would you sell those at list price?

 

[reshx]

its better to you :
-buy somewhere( ex: united states )
-sell to other country that will get it later( a nstc-u one)

 

[Maxternal]

You know, I kinda think the reason this didn't happen with the 3DS was it was Ninty who was actually selling them at the incredibly high "ambassador" price.

On a normal console release (unless you reserve or wait in line) you can't find anywhere to buy one EXCEPT those who already have one and are reselling it at triple price. LATER, they get in stock and you can get one at normal price again.

With the 3DS it was still you could only get one at a ripoff price at the beginning but later you could get one at a much cheaper price but this time it was Nintendo who walked away with the extra profit, not the resellers.

It's supply and demand, basic economics. If the DEMAND is high enough that people will pay triple price for it, that's really what it's worth. If a store thought they could get away with selling it with a huge markup I'm sure they would. If they played they're cards right they'd still sell out (after waiting for all the other stores to sell out first) but they'd make bank on the deal. In that case, [member='matt1freek'] would have to phrase it this way:

The reason it was hard to find was because groups of assholes (stores) snatching up 500 consoles at a time (straight from Nintendo) hoping to profit. Personally I loathe the people that do this. Get a goddamn different job.

Either way, you would still be able to find one. You'd just have to pay top dollar for it.

 

[lovewiibrew]

Thanks everyone for the spirited debate/tips/comments.

To note: I do have a "goddamn" job. I work about 60 hours a week. But anytime I see an opportunity to make money, I take it. Who wouldn't? And to once again state to those who say I could be stuck with a bunch of Wii U's, that's what receipts are for. I may not be able to sell them for a mark-up, but I will try and if I don't, oh noez, I has to go to the store and return them. I'm hoping to essentially have a free Wii-U. Thanks to the posters who commented on their past experiences selling the Wii at launch. I do not think this launch will be as big but I do hope otherwise. I am not "rich" by any means, but I do work hard for my money and this is another way to supplement my income. If I am a "bad person" for marking up past retail, then get your ass in line for hours to get one at the retail price, or pay more to ensure you get one. Again thanks for your comments folks, very interesting.

 

[VampireLordAlucard]

It's supply and demand, basic economics. If the DEMAND is high enough that people will pay triple price for it, that's really what it's worth.

Here's the problem: the demand is artificial.

Say 100 Wii U are available, and 100 people want one. Then 50 resellers buy them up. This creates an artificial demand. There was plenty of supply for the people who actually wanted it, but resellers push the price up. Awesome for resellers, terrible for the 100 people who wanted to play video games.

 

[Maxternal]

It's supply and demand, basic economics. If the DEMAND is high enough that people will pay triple price for it, that's really what it's worth.

Here's the problem: the demand is artificial.
Say 100 Wii U are available, and 100 people want one. Then 50 resellers buy them up. This creates an artificial demand. There was plenty of supply for the people who actually wanted it, but resellers push the price up. Awesome for resellers, terrible for the 100 people who wanted to play video games.

At least the textbook answer to that is that if those 100 people were willing to pay the higher price that the retailers were putting it at, then the original retail sellers were selling it too cheap. If the prices was already right, raising the price would reduce the demand. (fewer people would be willing to pay the higher price and the resellers would be stuck with their extra consoles)
If the resellers DO sell all their "overpriced" consoles, that means there was still (already) enough demand for people to be willing to pay the higher price.
In that case, had the original RETAILERS sold at that high price, they would have still possibly sold out and no one would feel cheated. The only reason why people feel cheated with resellers is that they saw the cheaper retail price. If they're still willing to pay the higher reseller's price and were not willing to do what was necessary to get the lower price (stand in line, reserve, etc.) then no matter how much they complain, basically they're just paying extra for the convenience of not having to do that which they were not willing to do.

 

[ouch123]

It's supply and demand, basic economics. If the DEMAND is high enough that people will pay triple price for it, that's really what it's worth.

Here's the problem: the demand is artificial.
Say 100 Wii U are available, and 100 people want one. Then 50 resellers buy them up. This creates an artificial demand. There was plenty of supply for the people who actually wanted it, but resellers push the price up. Awesome for resellers, terrible for the 100 people who wanted to play video games.

At least the textbook answer to that is that if those 100 people were willing to pay the higher price that the retailers were putting it at, then the original retail sellers were selling it too cheap. If the prices was already right, raising the price would reduce the demand. (fewer people would be willing to pay the higher price and the resellers would be stuck with their extra consoles)
If the resellers DO sell all their "overpriced" consoles, that means there was still (already) enough demand for people to be willing to pay the higher price.
In that case, had the original RETAILERS sold at that high price, they would have still possibly sold out and no one would feel cheated. The only reason why people feel cheated with resellers is that they saw the cheaper retail price. If they're still willing to pay the higher reseller's price and were not willing to do what was necessary to get the lower price (stand in line, reserve, etc.) then no matter how much they complain, basically they're just paying extra for the convenience of not having to do that which they were not willing to do.

I think I just gained a level in microeconomics.

 

[Deleted-188346]

But anytime I see an opportunity to make money, I take it. Who wouldn't?

People with ethics.

 

[Hanks6]

it won't be anything like the wii launch. higher price, higher availability and in the current market, lower sales.