Hardware Where should I pre-order my 3DS?

[R2DJ]

Firstly, no I'm not asking where exactly should I pre-order the 3DS. I can't choose between the two: online or in-store.

I've recently placed a £13 deposit at my local Gamestation store for the blue 3DS and Street Fighter. Granted that I leave it up to the day of release, I am guaranteed to have both. What I don't like is the price tag, which is £230 together (£200 for 3DS + £30 for SF). The good thing about this though is that it will grant me peace of mind since I'll know the 3DS is just walking distance from my house.

However, I was browsing through a number of online sites and I found a very excellent deal from Amazon. Basically, for the same price tag as the one in Gamestation, I can get a 3DS (£196), a FREE screen protector, any 3DS game for only £15 and any 3DS case (can choose between the Expedition or the Executive case) for £10. No wait, it's actually £5 cheaper! Excellent! I can get more with the price I'm paying in-store. But I've had some worrying problems regarding delivery for the past few months. Firstly, I've read some reviews from people saying Amazon sometimes deliver items late, especially pre-orders, with some of them arriving a week later than the estimated delivery date. Secondly, I've ordered a Halo/Fable and Crackdown/Mass Effect double pack from HMV and it was shipped by DHL. It was delivered within the estimate date but the postman didn't even bother knocking. It was raining the day it was delivered and I only knew it was there when my friend brought it inside! Grrr... Now, the icing in the cake: I have had problems with Sky with their router delivery. Currently I am awaiting my 4th router, since the other 3 got delivered to the wrong address. What's weird is that it's Royal Mail that delivers it. Royal Mail delivers my letters and some items I've bought online (mostly from eBay and game sites) successfully so I can't see how they deliver it to the wrong address! I've told Sky to deliver it to my mate's address so hopefully everything will be fine!

Let's get back on track. So, I want opinions. If anyone from the UK has had a good or bad experience from Amazon, especially pre-ordered items/bulk items, please share. The Amazon offer is very tempting and looks to be the wiser option but there's a chance it won't come to me. Also, regarding Amazon, the 3DS and the screen protector are available on the 25th but the game (any) and the case are available on the 26th so if I choose Amazon, they'll ship everything to me when all items are available for dispatch. If I choose the "Ship items when available", I'd have to pay £35-45 just for that.

I'd appreciate all the feedback as I'm torn between two options. Thanks.

 

[notmeanymore]

If you want it Day 1, pick a game store. If you can wait, pick Amazon. This is pretty simple.

 

[Blaze163]

I preordered mine from my local GAME store months ago. While it'll cost a little more than ordering it online, I'll have better facilities available, and given that they treat me like a celebrity in there I can try a few of the games before I buy anything, thus preventing me from buying something crap.

The bad news is that I won't know if my paycheck will be enough to actually buy anything until a few seconds after midnight on the 24th. If it's good enough I can go straight to the midnight launch from the cash point, if not then it's the walk of shame home in the dark

At least I don't have to spend £30 on Nintendogs now I have my beloved Husky puppy. He's so sweet

 

[R2DJ]

If you want it Day 1, pick a game store. If you can wait, pick Amazon. This is pretty simple.

I do want it on Day 1 but I'll get 2/4 of the offer that I can get if I wait for another few days. The question is will it be worth holding off to get screen protectors + case + savings?

 

[Cloak519]

I've never had a bad experience with Amazon. Ever. And I buy things from there every three or so weeks lol.
However, I found out earlier on in a similar thread that Morrisons have a pretty sweet deal - £187 for the unit alone. If you're willing to go to a store and pre-order, that is.
I personally prefer that to Amazon's bundle deal. I would have liked Amazon's deal but the lack of Street Fighter as a game option put me off.

 

[InvaderGir2982]

Hi, My friend pre-ordered the legendary edition of Halo reach last september from Amazon UK, I pre-ordered mine from GAME, I got mine about 8 in the morning on the day of release, he got his in the afternoon of the day after. I mean a day isn't so bad. It's really up to you if you can wait a day. If it was me, I would be on the safe side and keep the Gamestation pre-order as I think Amazon have had their pre-orders going since the 19th of Jan, so they must have quite a few by now.

As I say it's really up to you, but I would consider keeping the Gamestation pre-order for the security of knowing you should, as you suggested, guaranteed to recieve one on launch

I hope this helps

EDIT:
Thought just occured, you could pre-order the Amazon 3DS, wait and see how things are leading up to the release, then if Amazon can't give you a 3DS for launch you could get one from Gamestation, if they can buy it from their and cancel Pre-order for Gamestation (I presmue you can do this, I'm not sure I always pre-order online)