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Sony Plans Deposit Scheme for PS3 in UK?
An anonymous reader writes "Sony is reportedly in talks to introduce a new £150 per PS3 deposit scheme across retailers in the UK. The proposed scheme aims to help improve resource allocation as well as reduce the 'eBay phenomenon' which was evident with the 360's launch, deposits were secured from as little as £5 and crafty sellers would sell the console way above its retail price."
Deposits for PS3 consoles? Are they good or are they whack?
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
Will the interest accrued help bring down the price?
I have nothing constructive to add to this discussion, so I'd just like you all to know that I am going to buy a Nintendo Wii instead of a PlayStation 3.
To me this seems like a good plan, as with every console release the number of people buying systems for eBay has gone up and up. I would be surprised if even half of the people in line at Best Buy last year for a 360 were buying them for themselves...
Even better though, they have got to set a cap on the number of systems you can buy. However I do feel that all of these solutions should be more up to the retailer than anyone, which is why Sony is working with them on thinking through how to smartly work with pre-orders so people who want the consoles can get them.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
With manufacturing already ahead of schedule and Sony taking steps like this to assure a smooth launch, November can't come soon enough.
I don't think I've ever been so excited about a machine as the PS3.
It will only be a matter of time before I RIGHTFULLY pirate my copy of PS3.
fools
Well, it's a good thing I earned $1500 selling my five 360's! That means I can reserve 10!
People who work at stores that have been taking PS3 pre-orders this month are laughing at the fact that apparently PS3 pre-orders are outselling their over the counter Xbox 360 sales.
Sony and teh PS3 are teh doomed!
Heh.
So a Wii costs about the same as a deposite on a PS3...?
Futureshop.ca had something that was even better than this idea.
Once they had a tentative allocation # from MS. They began allowing pre-orders of 10 xbox360's per day for a month or two (basically had an allocation of approx 600 or so). So if all of the 10 were gone you'd have to wait for the next day.
One night I was up really really late, and it turns out futureshop.ca is PST time, so I jumped online at 3am EST and was able to secure a pre-order (didn't charge my card until the day of shipping) . And surprisingly futureshop(Bestbuy actually owns them) got my 360 out to me on launch day!
So I laughed at all the hordes of people lining up at bestbuy/futureshop on launch day.. and have been loving it ever since (well, until some good games came out, launch day games kinda sucked).
MrJynxx
Just in case you felt you weren't paying enough for the PS3.
This could give atleast a small clue towards decifering the mainstream opinion on the PS3, in the UK atleast. It'd be interesting to see how popular such an option is if it comes to be. Unfortunate that we cannot apply this to the rest of the world opinion, though.
Even better would be if the same deal could go over with the Wii. Now that would be an interesting comparison!
Demented But Determined.
Ummm... I may be getting the wrong end of the stick here, but just how exactly does that stop people selling the console for extortionate amounts on eBay? They have to buy the console for the full price before eBaying it, so that 150 UKP deposit only goes so far as to ensure they get one to sell on...
It certainly won't discourage entrepreneurs who want to make a bit of cash, and (maybe I'm cynical) looks more like Sony trying to make people commit to a purchase. I'd certainly feel uneasy ponying up a quarter of the console's price before launch.
clearly people will pay way too much to make sure they get a ps3. I have been at physical auctions before and one of the things they do if they want to sell a bunch of boxes in no particular order is have the normal bid process, then when they have a winner the winner chooses how many boxes he wants at that price, after that they ask if anybody else wants in at that price, once they are done with that they start all over. In a computer implementation of this you would not have to rebid because you have a clear record of who bid what amount.
If Sony could do this they would make more money and stop the people who resell, because if you are the wining bidder you have already demonstrated that you are willing to pay more.
If I had to run this program I would not let the stores sell until they auction site is selling them for just above the normal price. To save on shipping costs the demo ps3 could be sent to game stores to be used as the mechanism for entering the auction and the stores could take a cut of the auction price buy having the winners show up at the store to take delivery.
I would say it's likley that a retailer would be more likley to see people who bought a console at a particular store come back to same store to buy games.
Let's say a Gamestop in Podunk, Iowa sells thirty consoles and 20 of them go off via eBay to the coast. That Gamestop may (stupidly) be stocking games for thirty people with only ten customers can be had, and is going to have a rough go of it.
Basically, getting a real customer to buy from a store instead of a middleman generates a lot of goodwill which is good for a store.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
A lot of speculators may be unwilling to spend $150 now to get an uncertain amount later - some will, but a smaller percentage.
Actually, I seem to remember paying $50 for a PS2 preorder before they launched, so I don't think the idea is unprecidented - they just increased the amount.
Frankly though I think the $500 cost of the console alone will deter a number of pure speculators, at least until the first round of purchases and the eBay proce starts spiking. Then everyone gets the eBay fever and goes wild...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
that there will be few if any manufacturing defects and the new Bluray drives will operate the almost overwhelming range of launch titles flawlessly as each and every game display 1080p of pure goodness where the difference between the PS3 and 360 will appear so palpable, so distinguishable that Microsoft stock will tumble upon the very whisper of the name, "PS3". Like Chuck Norris before it, the very name PS3 will command respect and strike fear in the competition.
... if Sony and eBay could get together and ban the sales of PS3's on eBay for a set period of time. eBay's probably not going to turn away the chance to make all of that money, but I honestly think it would be the right thing to do.
...but does this mean Sony is confident in their ability to meet demand for the console? If yes, then good for them, if no and they fall short and are unable to fufill are preorders there are going to be some VERY pissed off consumers out there. Not that i'm worried b/c i'm just waiting for Halo 3 to launch at the same time so I can finish playing Halo 2.
"To face death, that's nothing much. But to feel really stupid when you die, well, that would be insufferable."
As others have pointed out, it doesn't solve the problem of selling the one you've got on eBay for scad of money -- if you'd call that a problem.
The bigger problem as I see it, like the Xbox2 launch, is those dealers which take your deposit and then turn around and sell your reserved console away anyway. I don't see how higher deposits will alleviate that issue.
{ - Generic Guy - }
The PS3 is ALREADY late. It was supposed to launch last spring!
Sorry to blow through your massive Flame-On there, but the PS3 was originally supposed to launch THIS spring - in JAPAN! Is was always scheduled to launch later in the year for ths US. It is late in Japan but not yet late here. What you are thinking of was mindless speculation that Sony would be "forced" to sell PS3's earlier because the 360 was releasing last year.
Try to find any material that backs up your ill-researched assertion that is was supposed to be out spring of last year.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I have a feeling that this is so that people won't feel like they're paying $600 for a game system if they're actually only shelling out $400 for the system when they paid a $200 deposit 6 months earlier. It's a little trick, sort of like promising rebates, to get people to feel like they're paying less.
My other first post is car post.
I have never understood the prevailing sentiment regarding people who resell consoles. When the Xbox 360 came out I spent 14 hours in line. It was cold, rainy, and miserable. I sold that console on ebay for $900. Where exactly is the problem? It's just capitalism people. Where would we be without that entrepreneurial spark? The most common argument I hear is that I deprived some poor person at the back of the line from getting a console but I place no stock in it. First, that person could have gotten in line earlier like I did. Second, some guy in Houston who was either unwilling or unable to wait in line obtained a 360 at a price he was willing to pay. So where's the harm?
A PS2 owner goes into a game shop with £150 just after they start taking preorders.
On the wall behind the counter is a big, glossy PS3 propagan^Wpreorder poster. Pay £150 now, get nothing for a month.
On the left are shelves of new Wii consoles + game for £150.
On the right there's new and used X360s for £150 or less.
You can probably guess what happens. If not you'll just have to wait 5 months to find out.
I'm a little surprised Sony is attempting to manipulate the market with deposits etc. The people buying/selling on ebay are just responding to the demand.
Sony should respond to the demand also.
The initial release could be the premium early adopter platinum-gold-kryptonite edition with genuine plastic trim and ultrablack controller, with free HDTV TV, games, Sony Pictures DVD's and movie passes included for only $1500. They can then release progressively lower priced versions with less freebies until they get to their long term price point. This way the both the early adopters willing to pay lots of money get a premimum package and the warm fuzzies and minimal price gouging and the late adopters get it at the price point they prefer also. And the middlemen are left out in the cold. Sony could even do this with date limited vouchers and/or contest entries so that retailer stocking isn't affected and they can change direction quickly if necessary.
---
It's not piracy, it's sharing. Didn't your parents teach you to share?
The Sega Dreamcast launch was rather impressive too, I was sad to see that system fail. PS2 never impressed me much after playing the DC and I wasn't much of a Ridge Racer 4 fan. I didn't buy my XBox until it had been out for more than a year 'cause the launch games didn't impress me much. The Gamecube is a good system, but didn't have a great launch. Come on...Luigi with a vacuum?
Top Console Launches (IMO):
So you are either too young to remember anything else, including the PS2 launch, or are a true Sony fanyboy. And I don't think your parents are going to be too eager to shell out $600+ in November."The quality of life is determined by its activites."--Aristotle
The eBay prices were set by the maximum value the interested people were willing to pay. They were only so high because that's what people were willing to pay (literally - it's an auction). If people didn't bid $1200 or something stupid on an XBox360, no one would be able to sell one for $1200.
When I can buy a PS3 for $300, I'll get one. I can wait a little while.
When the PS2 launched in the UK, Sony operated a centralised pre-order scheme - you would still pre-order with your chosen retailer, but they had forms issued by Sony, one form for every allocated console. So, if you got a form, you knew you would get a console. You also got a few little extras from Sony.
Having gone through the debacle of the Xbox 360 launch - and in particular the poor ability of certain (major online, name begins with A) retailers to issue on a first-come, first-served basis - makes you appreciate what Sony did with the PS2. Furthermore, it would be possible to have Sony validate each pre-order only allowing one console per household. It's not entirely foolproof, but would be more effective in reducing eBayers [than taking £150 deposits]
The reason Sony is subsidising the PS3 by so much is to sell as many consoles as they can so the install base goes up - bigger market for their developers. If they can't build enough, the market doesn't grow much, and they might as well have not bothered subsidising them.
Oh well. For every console they didn't build, that's ~$300 saved in subsidies, at least.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
I've maintained among my friends the Sony wants to make as much as possible from the initial over-demand like the 360 had and is starting with an expensive price to make more profits early on. Once the PS3 can be found rather easily in stores they'll drop the price to something competitive.
I think their smartest move would be to simply launch the PS3 on eBay. That way they can make most money from those rich kids that I envy so much. Too bas this would piss retailers off so much it would have negative long term effects.
Option 1) A *deposit* for a PS3
Option 2) A Wii
They wont be able to resell the consoles on Ebay because at the time of purchase Sony will require a sample of your blood that will tie your PS3 to your genetic code, this does of course mean that you will be unable to lend your console to your friends as each time you play small hypodermics will come out of the joypad and sample your DNA to ensure you are the registered user of the console. No real change in Sony policy there though, because Sony has been bleeding gamers dry for the past 10 years ;)
To err is human. To forgive is not company policy.
OK, UK Slashdot readers, here's the pitch. In order to buy a PS3, we'd like you to give us £150 now, and the remaining £275 when we actually have one in stock.
Breaking down the £425 cost into those numbers is about the dumbest thing they can do in the history of dumbness. Because you know what also costs £150? Yes, a Nintendo Wii. You know what costs £280 now (and knocking a fiver off before November isn't going to cause any pain)? Yes, an XBox 360 Premium pack.
The Wii + 360 plan has been mentioned by a few people who really like their games already. But when Sony themselves rub peoples' noses in it, they're really asking for trouble.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Once the exact release dates and prices are known for the Wii, a lot of people might think twice about pre-ordering a PS3 when they know they'll get a Wii for the cost of the deposit alone, and at approximately the same time. I can see it working for now, but the closer to the actual release dates it gets, the pre-orders might be for the Wii, not for the PS3. Especially since I suspect that if the profit margin for the store is similar for both consoles, they'll push the Wii because it's less of a hassle to sell. Collecting and later deducting deposits isn't something a retailer wants to have to bother with.
Thats the big question in my opinion. If a offer like this was available in the US and Sony was legally bound to have a console for you at launch then I may bite. The problem with the 360 launch, at least in my corner of the US, was that all the game store knowingly sold more pre-orders than they would ever have gotten. On top of that the stores informed you that you would not get a launch system too close to the launch of the system. This meant that even if you went somewhere else to pre-order, chances are they would be just as sold out. This of course forced you to keep your money at a retailer that knowingly deceived you because you had a better chance of getting a 360 before Christmas from them. I ended up waiting in line at Walmart even though I reserved a system 2 month prior at a gamestop but didn't find out I wasn't getting one till a week before launch.
The deposit scheme also has the effect of spreading out the payment for the system. I could afford to pay for a PS3 + games + controller on launch day but when you add all that up at one time it presents a financial problem. Tax in my area is about 7.5% or about $45, a PS3 game is going to be at-least $60, a controller at least $40. You've spent $745 for a standard console launch package. $745 dollars poses a serious health risk for me. Mainly if I were to spend that much on games in one day my fiance would kill me. Literally. I would be a dead man. At least with a $200 deposit, I could give my fiance the appearance of only paying $545 for all that.
I noticed while in walmart that most people would instead of buying the console, they would put the console in layaway. I don't know if you use the same term in the UK but layaway is when you put money down on a product (~10%) and pay on the product over the course of weeks/months and the store holds the product for you. When you are done paying for the product you can take it home. This may be the only way people without as much disposable income can afford a PS3.
...that for the tax on the PS3, you can pretty much buy a new game for any other system?
Well, you have the price wrong, 150£ is something like 300$ .. Are you realy ready to pay 300$ for a preorder ??
If you'll look the person I was responding to was the first to use $150, I thought they might be talking about US preorders.
Also, if the price for a pre-order is really $300 it only makes the numebr of people will to pre-order to sell on eBay even smaller.
Yes I am quite happy to pay $300 for a pre-order, knowing I'll not have to stand in line or pay a terrible sum of money on eBay. I'm not really that much of a Sony fan, I just think the PS3 has some compelling features and some good games coming out.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
would just stop pissing around with these great ideas.
Whatever the deposit is, whatever else they try to do the simple fact is supply will outstrip demand and people will get pissed off and the consoles will be on ebay for silly money.
Two solutions to this, you can either increase supply, or reduce demand. We can assume Sony have maxed out the supply bit, so they now have to try to reduce demand in some way (and seemingly they've been trying their best to do this for months with the neverending fiascos).
Price of console has to be put up in some way to reduce demand. Have a pre-christmas price that's £100 more (give it to charity to make people feel good). Sell a bundle that has every game in it. Sell a bundle that has a free game voucher you can redeem every 6 months for a couple of years, bundle a guaranteed PS3 with nice big Sony flatscreen displays, just stick 25,000 (or whatever) on ebay and be done with it.
What's wrong with selling on eBay? That's capitalism baby! If sony really has a problem with it, then they just need to supply enough to the market to not have the problem. If YOU have a problem with it, then GO RESERVE ONE. PS3 is going to be a dangerous call. $600 each is a hefty gamble, especially if gamers decide that it's too much.
People who think they know everything really piss off those of us that actually do.