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Grey Markets Compared - PS3 vs. Wii
Kotaku has a follow-up feature to their earlier look at the declining PS3 market on EBay. Post author Michael Fahey has now gone back and looked at Ebay sales, comparing the PS3 and the Wii. Unlike the sharp dips and spikes the PS3 market has suffered, the price seems to be fairly constant for the Wii console. From the article: "Considering the small window that the PlayStation 3 auctions had to turn a truly amazing profit, prospectors would have been better off in the long run purchasing a couple of Wiis, which have maintained an average profit margin of 45-50% since preorders became available. Definitely not a windfall, but a much more financially sound investment in the long run. Unfortunately these launches weren't about being sound financially. They were about betting on the big bucks, and the majority of the PS3 prospectors out there played the tables and lost."
I had a feeling this would happen, the PS3 is not living up to what the ps2 was able to do, the Wii by the looks of it will be on top, about time, the gaemcube was a simi-flop,
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The summary didn't like the recent thread about this, so there you go.
That said, profit margin statements can get misleading. With listing costs the same for both consoles, the Wii's profit margin is overstated. Guess what guys -- you're not going to take home the difference between ebay and the retail price, esp if you offer free shipping, as sometimes you have to do to get bidders.
By the way, if anyone knows the one-word adverb for "against the spirit of the moderation system", I'd like to hear it. Apparently, you shouldn't use the word "unjustly" for it.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
I wanna know because I'd love to be the one who records it on my cell to be published on the intertubes.
Seriously, what the hell was Sony thinking?
As a side note, it really did shock me that the wii prices were so stable. Sure, there were tards out there that sold their wii for $14000 (tried to at least), but majority of the people were pretty honest folk who kept their price in the $300 range.
Schadenfreude, thy name is me.
*cackle*
Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
Even if you bought a PS3 to sell and couldn't find the righter buyer, at least you have a PS3. :)
I suppose not one of these console scalpers cares that they hurt the market for the games on these machines. That extra $50-100 in price that is being forced on early adopters of the new consoles hurts the game publishers and in turn the consoles and the market for those consoles.
I mean really, would someone please think of the profits?!?
Just because you can, does not mean you should.
I'm not surprised. I've read in a ton of different places that the PS3 is making its way to the shelves (some units being returns from unsuccessful eBay sellers). And sometimes taking a few days to sell ten or so units in some places. I know the local Circuit City had 15 units for a few days although I haven't checked to see if they are still stocked. Why make a purchase online when you can just go to your local store and pick one up?
The Wii, on the other hand, is practically nonexistent in many places. No wonder the eBay prices are still there.
I went to a Wal-Mart the other day, looking for add-ons for the Wii. The only thing that they had available was the Classic controller add-on. No systems, no controllers, nothing. But there were two PS3's for sell, several controllers, ect.
Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines...
Funny, I was just looking at the PS3 sellers on e-Bay. This particular story is a funny read if you have some time at the office (and who doesn't, if you're reading this?) I couldn't help but think of Nelson and "ha ha!"
Speculators, meet the hard rock of economics.
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
Whoops, I meant 1 million units shipped, not 1 million shipments.
eBay scalping of systems bought in the U.S. to U.S. customers isn't grey market. It's just plain scalping.
Grey market is stuff like Lik-Sang and similar companies selling Japanese versions of consoles to U.S. customers for the purpose of playing import games.
The most common example of "grey market" sales is in the photography industry, where "grey market" imports of cameras are often cheaper than the U.S. version of that camera. Of course, you get what you pay for, and in this case there is no warranty support for the "grey market" cameras and often repair shops will refuse to even touch the grey market units (because they'll lose their certification as an authorized repair shop for that particular manufacturer if they do.)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Seriously.
Whatever you buy, you are free to to what you want with it, as long as you dont violate rights of others.
Its MY decision if i lock up the PS3 in a cabinet, burn it in a bonfire or put it on ebay.
Same with concert cards.
If people are that desperade to consume a shitty performance, maybe they should sell the cards for more money to begin with, or use a bigger place. Or more events.
But i guess people dont have real problems, so they have the push those non-issues.
HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
The price on Ebay for the Wii is dropping too. I finally bought one last night for $335 from a local buyer. There are a number of tools out there to find someone local so you don't pay shipping and no worries about what you actually get. $335 is only about $60 profit for the guy after he paid $250 + tax. I didn't even sit and wait for the BEST deal as they were all falling near that anyway. A few days earlier the average was $400 or a little more.
I won a Wii on eBay for $40. Yes, forty dollars. And the seller actually made double what he bought the Wii for. Here's what he did:
Instead of selling the Wii for $450-$500 and (Zelda:TP thrown in), the seller was instead selling cards from a 52 card deck. Each card cost $20.00. When you bought a card, the seller would write your ebay name on the card and put it in a sack.
At the end of the auction, if at least 26 cards had been sold, he'd pick a card out of the sack and they would then be shipped the Wii. If he hadn't sold 26, he would have refunded all the money.
So I bought two cards because I had some spare cash, won, and I recieved my Wii in 3 days. All but one person left positive feedback for the seller's unique selling strategy.
Instead of selling a Wii and game for 450-500 (retail 250 + 50 = 300 ), he ended up selling 30 cards for $20 each. He got $600 and I only spent $40. Win-Win situation, if you ask me (except for those who lost $20 with nothing, but hey, that's gambling).
Otherwise I would know a great strategy too: selling fire insurances to make sure your store doesnt burn down tonite.
I work with a guy whose sister thought she'd cash in by buying two PS3's and selling one to pay for her own. She put one up on eBay and someone bought it. Not being terribly eBay saavy, she didn't realize that the email she then received from "Paypal" saying funds had been transferred and to go ahead and ship the unit to Nigeria was bogus.
Now she's stuck trying to enjoy the PS3 that she basically paid $1200 for.
Whatever you buy, you are free to to what you want with it, as long as you dont violate rights of others.
Its MY decision if i lock up the PS3 in a cabinet, burn it in a bonfire or put it on ebay.
I see. There are laws against burning certain devices containing mercury under federal laws, as well as most city and county and state regulations regarding disposal of materials containing hazardous wastes.
This is why you don't see people burning their cars intentionally on the streets when they buy new ones.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I was at Toys'R Us yesterday, searching for the elusive component cable for the Wii (I had it on my GameCube, and I can't stand the crappy composite picture from the Wii anymore).
Guess what? No component cables, no Wiimotes, no Nunchucks. Only half a dozen classic controllers and games. But no Wii consoles.
And what do I see on a bottom tablet nearby? Four 60GB PS3. Normal people don't want to pay 680$CAD for a game console. Toys'R Us was still taking names on their list for the next shipments of Wii consoles.
A bit off-topic, but does anyone else feel like the audio from R-Type (virtual console, Wii) doesn't sound quite exactly right?
No, it isn't. People refrain from burning their old cars because they still have value as a vehicle or for resale or scrapping. Burning your old car is the least economically sensible option, and that is why the practice is unheard of.
Environmental laws only come into the picture after the car owner has abandoned the concept of rational self-interest.
It's also illegal and will get you into jail for a period of 3 to 6 months. Burning toxic substances is a felony in many areas.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Not to mention the many local laws stating that arson, or destruction of property, whether it is your own or not, is a fine-able offense. I've seen it used as a way to slap wrists when no other option is available.
Just because you can, does not mean you should.
Try ordering it from Nintendo.com. I did just that before Christmas, and I got the component cables within a week (well before Christmas day). You won't have to run all over trying to track one down.
I ended up getting a second remote/nunchuk direct from Nintendo too; However, I ordered at the beginning of December and didn't get them until about 5 days before Christmas.
Sadly, I'm all out of mod points :( You're absolutely right. The market will always achieve balance, and time = money. Good way to equate it, because what's really happening is people are just mad they can't have it both ways (possibly because part of the Wii's demand is it's lower MSRP).
I would be shocked if the PS3 (even the US version) wasn't RoHS-compliant.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?