Gamestop & EB Preorders on the Wii or PS3 (PS3 cut 1/2)

[staxx]

Makes me dislike EB and Gamestop more and more.

GameStop will start accepting pre-orders for the PS3/Wii on MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18. This will last for ONE WEEK only. Any store can and will stop taking pre-orders at any time (most likely when their limit is reached). I have been advised (and I advise you) to go to the store on Monday and get your pre-order in.

GameStop is NOT ACCEPTING cash, or store credit for your down payment on a pre-order. You HAVE to trade in games or accessories when you pre-order. It must total $50 or more, and it will all go towards your system pre-order. Any money you put down after $50 can be credit, cash, or whatever else GameStop/EB accepts. This applies for both the Wii and the PS3.

Any promotions on game trade-ins active during your pre-order transaction can be used toward this pre-order stuff. That means that you can take advantage of the "trade 3 games and get $10 extra" offer currently being held at GameStop/EB.

You are GUARANTEED to get a Wii, but the date you get it IS NOT GUARANTEED (he specifically told me that you are not guaranteed to get your system on launch or anytime during the Christmas season).

Stores are going to give out launch systems based on chronological pre-order order. That means if you are the first one to pre-order/reserve your Wii, you will be the first one to get a Wii on launch day.

Reservations are limited to 1 per household.

If you want to know what exactly the text says at the bottom of the flyer, here it is: "Cash or Store Credit will not be accepted. Reservations of the PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii are limited to one (1) reservation/purchase per household."

And the text near the GameStop logo at the bottom: "All trades must be in working condition and are subject to manager approval. As GameStop cannot control production and shipping issues by the manufacturer, the reservation deposit will only gurantee a spot in line when the PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii becomes available. The reservation deposit does not guarantee reciept of a system available to purchase by Christmas."

Quoted from Maxconsole.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

The whole thing is the biggest load of BS ever. I don't think I'll be doing any of my Wii business (games, or otherwise) with EB or GS. Looks like I'll be camping out infront of Best Buy for this one.

[7th lutz]

This only takes place in Hawaii and no gamestop or eb manager heard about this outside of Hawaii and it is not for anyone who lives in the United States besides that state.

[Darren870]

Im calling BS on this, ill find out from my old manager on monday to confirm this.

[7th lutz]

Im calling BS on this, ill find out from my old manager on monday to confirm this.
Unless your manger is working in Hawaii, there is now way for that manger to know about it and it is a test run for Hawaii. It is something that corperate wants to do for a test. Here is what I found it why it Hawaii only: http://www.gamersreports.com/news/3872/

If you want to call a manager or a store about it call:
GameStop #3518
Kapolei S/C
91-590 Farrington Highway
Kapolei HI, 96707 US
(808)674-1158

to make sure it is not bs. I didn't called due to me having a stuttering problem and the long distance call price.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

I'll confirm it. Although I'm not really keen on it either, it *does* keep it out of hands of the ebay-turnaround sellers. And that's why they're doing it.

[Richter]

eh just use Skype for the phonecall

[EricRyan34]

That wouldnt surprise me. But about the deposit only being made by trade ins??? I think thats BS

[Muscelli]

That wouldnt surprise me. But about the deposit only being made by trade ins??? I think thats BS

did you read any of the posts above?

[Damaniel]

Wow, as if I needed yet another reason to hate GameStop and EB -- first the forced bundles, and now this (assuming that the promotion extends beyond Hawaii). I don't ever trade in anything, and I don't plan to start anytime soon. You just know that the trade in values are going to mysteriously drop during the week they're taking the pre-orders -- $5 trade in values on XBox 360 games, anyone? ;)

Looks like I'll be pre-ordering my Wii at Amazon and paying the 4 bucks for overnight shipping (hooray for Amazon Prime!)

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I'll confirm it. Although I'm not really keen on it either, it *does* keep it out of hands of the ebay-turnaround sellers. And that's why they're doing it.

Why would Gamestop and EB care if people decided to sell their systems on eBay?

[Gamereviewgod]

Why would Gamestop and EB care if people decided to sell their systems on eBay?

It's less money for them. The more people that buy them on eBay, the fewer that come into their store looking for one. When that happens, they can push controllers, carrying cases, and other useless crap on them. A console bought on eBay doesn't let that happen.

[7th lutz]

It is confirmed in Canada at more then one site, so this isn't bs.

[studvicious]

It is confirmed in Canada at more then one site, so this isn't bs.

Oh it's BS alright. Whether or not it's true I have no idea. x_x

[7th lutz]

It is confirmed in Canada at more then one site, so this isn't bs.

Oh it's BS alright. Whether or not it's true I have no idea. x_x
For not being bs, I was talking it being true. the policy itself I don't like with trading in games along with when the people getting their system from preorder is bs. I felt the limit on systems for one person or household is a good thing for cutting down on systems on sold on ebay or drive away the people who sale them on ebay. I got no problem with people buying a system to sell it on ebay. Gamestop is having the right idea for selling, so more people could buy systems for launch. The went way to extreme in their policy.

[Niku-Sama]

well its monday pacific time us, some one give a heads up when they find out if we can pre order from gamestop/eb and the terms if we can....asap please!

not often i want to pre order something but i am gonna go for this on the release date.money is gonna be tight untill november.

[WanganRunner]

Is the trade-in thing for just Gamestop or also for EB?

I *hate* having to jump through hoops to get a system on launch day.

I'm just going to take a day off work and wait in line, it's the only way.

I think it'll be tough getting a PS3 on launch day, but I don't think it'll be impossible to score a Wii at Best Buy so long as you're willing to wait in line.

[c0ldb33r]

Do you get anything special if you pre-order?

[Crazycarl]

i have to wait till my store opens...give my store manager a sec. to breath. bu i'm going to find out asap

[gamegirl79]

If this is true, then I'm either:

1) Pre-ordering at Gamecrazy, whenever that might be.

2) Camping at Bestbuy or Walmart. I *hate* the thought of waiting out in the cold for something I might not get, but, I refuse to give in to this GS/EB bullshit.

How many games would one have to trade in to equal $50 credit anyway? About 3 dozen or so? No thanks! :P

[FantasiaWHT]

No go on this.

This is Hawaii and Guam only today.

My source says he believes it's unlikely that the same trade-in requirement will be used here, but concedes it's a possibility. He says that the trades in those areas are horrible, and this is an attempt to improve them (as well as test the idea of course)

[FantasiaWHT]

Can't edit, but...

I don't think this'll stop ebayers. Even if they don't have the games/systems to trade in, they'll just buy them at the store and trade them back in right away. Or if a store won't let them do that, buy the games at one store and take them to another. If a you are careful, you can do this and only lose a little bit of money (maybe $10-$20 to make the $50 you need)

Heck I remember when I worked at an EB we'd actually find ways to MAKE money doing trades... finding the 5 cheapest "non-excluded" games (usually around the $7-$8 mark) buying them for $35-$40, 10% off from the discount card, then trading them in for a preorder for a brand new $50 game, then cancelling the preorder the next day and using the $50 for whatever the customer really wanted to buy heh.

[gepeto]

I call 5 of the stores in my area. They all said they don't know when they will take orders on either system one said maybe october.

[Princess-Isabela]

I went today to a two gamestops and one eb games - they all told me that whoever said they are taking pre-orders - is lying.
and you cannot pre-order Wii nor PS3 yet(they actually said, that they are not sure whter they are going to be taking pre-orders for PS3).
there you have it.

[studvicious]

Just go here:
http://www.gamestop.com/gs/wii/wii_signup.asp

Type in your email address and they'll let you know as soon as they get ready to start something.

[biggzy]

You'd need about twenty common games or a good number of rare games to equal anywhere near fifty bucks of credit with those people. I'll wait till NEXT November before I'll hand over my games to these goons to sell at a 400%-plus mark-up.

You'd be better off to sell your games at fair market value and use the money to pay the mark-up on a Wii/PS3 from an ebay reseller. At least you'd be getting what your games are worth.

The paltry amounts they offer you are just insulting. Screw 'em.

[geneshifter]

You'd need about twenty common games or a good number of rare games to equal anywhere near fifty bucks of credit with those people. I'll wait till NEXT November before I'll hand over my games to these goons to sell at a 400%-plus mark-up.

You'd be better off to sell your games at fair market value and use the money to pay the mark-up on a Wii/PS3 from an ebay reseller. At least you'd be getting what your games are worth.

The paltry amounts they offer you are just insulting. Screw 'em.

If Gamestop (EB is dead) does end up selling the preorder Wii in bundles only, I'm camping at best buy this time around. I concur with biggzy: Screw 'em! Screw 'em good!

[flipflop711]

Why you guys stress over this? There are other companies that will sell these consoles. And do you guys really need to buy a probably buggy console during its launch day/week/month?

[Niku-Sama]

not all consoles are buged out on launch day, that seems to be a sony microsoft problem.

i dont rember game cube having problems like that on launch day

[Anthony1]

I thought I heard that the Hawaii only test was considered a failure by GameStop management, because of the shitstorm it created on the internet and everybody being super pissed at the idea of this concept being used all accros the USA.


So supposedly, when they do start taking pre-orders, you can use cash or a debit card or credit card or whatever, you don't have to use trade ins.


Right?

[studvicious]

I was at a Gamestop today and they said that they more than likely won't be taking any preorders at all. But they won't know for sure until the first week in October.

[Anthony1]

I was at a Gamestop today and they said that they more than likely won't be taking any preorders at all. But they won't know for sure until the first week in October.


Actually next week GameStop is having a big managers thing in Texas. Supposedly at this meeting they are going to finalize how they are going to handle pre-orders, and then pre-orders are expected to begin a week from this Monday, so supposedly pre-orders are going to begin Monday October 2nd. If you don't hear anything before then, it would be worth it to be at a GameStop on October 2nd as soon as they open, just to make sure.

[FantasiaWHT]

Yeah I can guarantee they will NOT be starting preorders while all of their managers are out of their stores heh.

Anthony's analysis is pretty good, but I'm not totally discounting the idea of the required trade-in. Yes, it created a shit-storm on the internet, but EVERYTHING creates a shit-storm on the internet and smart businesses don't always assume that the reactions on the internet reflect the market as a whole.

[geneshifter]

Yeah I can guarantee they will NOT be starting preorders while all of their managers are out of their stores heh.

Anthony's analysis is pretty good, but I'm not totally discounting the idea of the required trade-in. Yes, it created a shit-storm on the internet, but EVERYTHING creates a shit-storm on the internet and smart businesses don't always assume that the reactions on the internet reflect the market as a whole.

I have no doubt that they may do this in all 50 states. It makes since for them to do this because they will make more money in the long run. The whole preordering model is totally different than it used to be. I'm just not going to do it anymore. It's pointless, especially if you have a Fry's near you where:
1. they always have the new stuff in stock anyways, and
2. a lot of games come at a discount the first week.

[SkiDragon]

I was wondering if anybody knew about Gamerush preorders. I was just there and I forgot to ask.

[Niku-Sama]

i was told by my EB games manager that the should know by the begining of next week, after the whole texas thing.

eb takes dreamcast stuff still right?
if they need hardware and crap i got about 4 dreamcasts to unload, i am sure i'll come across another soon

[sisko]

i was told by my EB games manager that the should know by the begining of next week, after the whole texas thing.

eb takes dreamcast stuff still right?
if they need hardware and crap i got about 4 dreamcasts to unload, i am sure i'll come across another soon

They stopped taking DC stuff around June.

[Niku-Sama]

poopie,

wait a sec they said they wouldnt take any thing older than playstation. dreamcast is newer than that

[j_factor]

poopie,

wait a sec they said they wouldnt take any thing older than playstation. dreamcast is newer than that

Now they don't take anything older than PS2. They've stopped taking Playstation, N64, and DC stuff.

[j_factor]

especially if you have a Fry's near you

Hey, speaking of Fry's, would that be a better place to attempt to get a Wii at launch day, compared to Best Buy? Anyone here had experience with Fry's for the 360 or another launch?

[Kejoriv]

I preordered my Wii at FYE for $50 down. You guys should try that.

[Anthony1]

especially if you have a Fry's near you

Hey, speaking of Fry's, would that be a better place to attempt to get a Wii at launch day, compared to Best Buy? Anyone here had experience with Fry's for the 360 or another launch?


Not really. I don't think Fry's will get more Wii's than say Best Buy or Target or Wal-Mart or Costco. Costco might be the best place, because they usually do a special bundle and add something more for not as much money. With the Wii, I'm really hoping they include a extra Wii-Mote and a extra nunchuck for an additional $40, instead of the additional $60 it would cost if bought seperately. I wouldn't be at all suprised to see Costco do a bundle like that. Or maybe they include Zelda with it, but charge an additional $30, instead of an additional $50.


The one nice thing about Fry's, is they open pretty early in the morning on Sundays, during the holidays. They could open as early as 8am that morning, so if you are a early bird and show up early, you should be able to get a Wii from them. The best thing to do, is to talk to the department manager the night before and ask them exactly how many units they will actually have for sale in the morning when they open. Sometimes the managers won't want to disclose the exact numbers, but just let him know that you will be camping out front and you're just trying to find out the number of systems, so that if there are more people in line than systems you aren't waiting out in the cold for nothing.

Personally, I'm not going to camp for the Wii, I don't think it's going to be necessary, but I think it will be necessary to find a store that is getting a good number of them, and be there maybe an hour or two before they open. Being there all night long is probably overkill and not needed.

[Kejoriv]

I don't think it's going to be necessary, but I think it will be necessary to find a store that is getting a good number of them, and be there maybe an hour or two before they open. Being there all night long is probably overkill and not needed.

I think its gonna be hard to find. Right before the holidays. Right in the midst of all the hype from the media and the MTV specials. Hopefully you are right though, I dont want to camp out to get my 2nd one. (getting one to give as a gift)

[Anthony1]

So, do PS3 and Wii pre-orders start tomorrow? I've always heard that it will start in October, and tomorrow is October 2nd, plus the managers will be back from the manager meeting in Texas. If it doesn't start tomorrow, it is likely that it will start sometime this week or at least by next Monday October 9th, you would think. So I'm guessing this is the week to be on your toes when it comes to getting a PS3 or Wii pre-order.


Maybe a GameStop or EB employee could check in with their take on the matter.

[NinjaJoey23]

I'm calling in the morning.

[Kejoriv]

anyone receive the preorder info?

[FAMOUS]

I actually went in to EBgames about an hour ago and they told me they havent started to take preorders yet for the Wii...I asked him if he knows when they will start , he said "heres our card call us & ask as much as you can, you know as much as i do" And i only get game sh*t at this store threw this guy and i know he isnt bullsh*tting me... So im gonna call everyday and ask if the preorders are ready yet... I dont think you have to bring in used games towards a preorder thats never happened, its probably $10 bucks and your name... n-e-ways i cant wait! oh i live in scottsdale ,arizona

[NinjaJoey23]

Called this morning. They aren't taking them yet. As far as I was told, each store will know how many units they are getting, so they will only be taking pre-orders up to that point. At least this way, you that if you're on the list, you're getting one.

I'm going to call every morning. It will almost certainly be this week.

[WanganRunner]

I preordered my Wii at FYE for $50 down. You guys should try that.

I need to go do that for Wii.

I did it for PS3, or rather, LOTS of PS3's.

That's my eBay inventory, lolz.

[Kejoriv]

I need to go do that for Wii.

I did it for PS3, or rather, LOTS of PS3's.

That's my eBay inventory, lolz.

Be prepared to pay a shat load. FYE is having "forced bundles" for the PS3. I confirmed this with 3 different store managers.

[Anthony1]

I need to go do that for Wii.

I did it for PS3, or rather, LOTS of PS3's.

That's my eBay inventory, lolz.

Be prepared to pay a shat load. FYE is having "forced bundles" for the PS3. I confirmed this with 3 different store managers.


FYE will be lucky to even get one or two units per store. So if you aren't the first or second dude on the list, I wouldn't expect to get one from them before Xmas. I'm on a list at GameCrazy, and they will actually get a few more units than FYE, but only a few more, and I'm 10th on the list, and there isn't a chance in hell they will get 10 PS3's at launch. In fact, I'll be lucky to get one from them before Xmas.


As for the forced bundles, if you are going to Ebay the system anyways, a forced bundle might not be that bad of a deal. Let's say you are forced to buy 5 extra games or something. Even if you had to sell those 5 games at a $15 loss each, you would still only lose $75, but you would have a PS3 that could fetch up to 2 grand. You do the math. I would love a forced bundle at this point.

[ubersaurus]

Apparently, Game Rush is planning on taking preorders on the wii.

Right now they're just getting phone numbers to call people at when they start, but the girl I talked to confirmed that they will be doing so.

Haven't heard anything about Gamestop, though.

[mills]

I just spoke with a manager of Game Crazy he said that chances are no preorders will be accepted for the WII and it will most likely be a "first come first serve" deal. Due to the fact that Nintendo hasn't released any numbers for them.

[Trebuken]

The manager at EB said there would be no preorders for the PS3 (managers choice?). They will only be receiving eight or nine units and they will be sold first come first serve (camping).

As for the Wii; they have received no information on how many systems they will receive, amd cannot make a decidsion on whether or not they will take preorders until then.

Seems unlikely I will get a PS3 at launch...doubt I will be willing to camp that long...


Later,
Trebuken

[kainemaxwell]

I need to go do that for Wii.

I did it for PS3, or rather, LOTS of PS3's.

That's my eBay inventory, lolz.

Be prepared to pay a shat load. FYE is having "forced bundles" for the PS3. I confirmed this with 3 different store managers.


FYE will be lucky to even get one or two units per store. So if you aren't the first or second dude on the list, I wouldn't expect to get one from them before Xmas. I'm on a list at GameCrazy, and they will actually get a few more units than FYE, but only a few more, and I'm 10th on the list, and there isn't a chance in hell they will get 10 PS3's at launch. In fact, I'll be lucky to get one from them before Xmas.
.

Crap, I hate when we have to do forced bundles. And for your info, when the 360 came out, launch day we had 7-8 of them.

[DonMarco]

So, do PS3 and Wii pre-orders start tomorrow? I've always heard that it will start in October, and tomorrow is October 2nd, plus the managers will be back from the manager meeting in Texas. If it doesn't start tomorrow, it is likely that it will start sometime this week or at least by next Monday October 9th, you would think. So I'm guessing this is the week to be on your toes when it comes to getting a PS3 or Wii pre-order.


Maybe a GameStop or EB employee could check in with their take on the matter.
Hey, here's an idea! How about not calling in every day and just wait for news to surface on the internet (like the first post in the thread). Odds are that when Gamestop corporate-then-regional-then-local management knows, someone will run home and post a single post about it somewhere on the internet. 15 minutes later the info will be on IGN. 10 minutes later it will be on Slashdot. 5 minutes after someone will post that info in this thread.

Just an idea, that's all. Odds are equally good when this news breaks the stores will be closed. OR the date for starting to take preorders will be days off. Or maybe even weeks. Or maybe never!!!

Did you ever think of that?

IDEA!!!

[Anthony1]

So, do PS3 and Wii pre-orders start tomorrow? I've always heard that it will start in October, and tomorrow is October 2nd, plus the managers will be back from the manager meeting in Texas. If it doesn't start tomorrow, it is likely that it will start sometime this week or at least by next Monday October 9th, you would think. So I'm guessing this is the week to be on your toes when it comes to getting a PS3 or Wii pre-order.


Maybe a GameStop or EB employee could check in with their take on the matter.
Hey, here's an idea! How about not calling in every day and just wait for news to surface on the internet (like the first post in the thread). Odds are that when Gamestop corporate-then-regional-then-local management knows, someone will run home and post a single post about it somewhere on the internet. 15 minutes later the info will be on IGN. 10 minutes later it will be on Slashdot. 5 minutes after someone will post that info in this thread.

Just an idea, that's all. Odds are equally good when this news breaks the stores will be closed. OR the date for starting to take preorders will be days off. Or maybe even weeks. Or maybe never!!!

Did you ever think of that?

IDEA!!!


Actually, I try my best to call GameStop and EB daily and check in with them directly. Sometimes there are employees that find out about things a few days in advance and then post it on DP. That's what I was asking about. I'm definitely trying my best to check in daily, because I honestly think the preorder thing is going to start on a certain day, and it's just going to happen. I think the corporate offices normally have a morning email that all the GameStops and EB read, and I think one day it's going to be in their morning email. I call every day when I remember, but the honest truth is that calling might not be good enough. I can call them at 10:01 am, and they could say, "We are starting today, we are starting right now, and by the time I get over there, 10 people could have already pre-ordered the thing and I'm SOL. So if one of the DP members is an employee of EB or GS, maybe they get the early word, and can post it a day in advance, then I know to actually be waiting in front of the local GS to open the next day.

[Princess-Isabela]

I went to a gamestop yesterday and they told me that they wont be taking any preorders and you would have to camp to get one.

[NinjaJoey23]

Well, this is definitely not the case for EB.

[Trebuken]

Well, this is definitely not the case for EB.

My EB manager said it is true for the PS3, though suggested that stores with larger allocations may do things different. He is only expecting 8 or 9, and said first come first serve...

Later,
Trebuken

[Anthony1]

A easy way for stores to handle preorders, is to do a forced bundle, but in addition to that, require that the full amount be paid off at the time of preorder. That would drastically reduce the number of people that would want to do a preorder. Require the person to buy:


1. PS3 system $599 (if they only have a 20gb available, then they refund $100)
2. 3 PS3 games at $59.99 each
3. Extra Sixaxis wireless bluetooth controller at $49.99
4. Any other PS3 accessory that is $29.99 or more


This would require the person to pony up $859.94 plus tax. Figure about 8 percent tax, and they would actually have to pony up $928.74. Now, there are tons of people that really want to get a PS3, but how many of them really have $930 to pony up, right there on the spot to be able to preorder it? Not many. This would solve alot of their dilemas right there. Also, the could do their best estimates on how many units each location would receive, and only offer that number for pre-order, and hand out a flier to everyone preordering that clearly states that they aren't guaranteed a system prior to Xmas, and only cash will be refunded, not trade ins.


Many people would bitch and argue about how unfair this is, but personally, I would jump at the chance to give $930 to EB or GS to ensure I get a PS3 on day 1. Because all those accessories and games could be sold seperately on Ebay or Craigslist for a slight loss, and I need a component cable anyways, and if I ultimately didn't fully enjoy my PS3, I could still sell it for $1500+. So I wouldn't have any problem whatsoever with that type of deal.

[gepeto]

A easy way for stores to handle preorders, is to do a forced bundle, but in addition to that, require that the full amount be paid off at the time of preorder. That would drastically reduce the number of people that would want to do a preorder. Require the person to buy:


1. PS3 system $599 (if they only have a 20gb available, then they refund $100)
2. 3 PS3 games at $59.99 each
3. Extra Sixaxis wireless bluetooth controller at $49.99
4. Any other PS3 accessory that is $29.99 or more


This would require the person to pony up $859.94 plus tax. Figure about 8 percent tax, and they would actually have to pony up $928.74. Now, there are tons of people that really want to get a PS3, but how many of them really have $930 to pony up, right there on the spot to be able to preorder it? Not many. This would solve alot of their dilemas right there. Also, the could do their best estimates on how many units each location would receive, and only offer that number for pre-order, and hand out a flier to everyone preordering that clearly states that they aren't guaranteed a system prior to Xmas, and only cash will be refunded, not trade ins.


Many people would bitch and argue about how unfair this is, but personally, I would jump at the chance to give $930 to EB or GS to ensure I get a PS3 on day 1. Because all those accessories and games could be sold seperately on Ebay or Craigslist for a slight loss, and I need a component cable anyways, and if I ultimately didn't fully enjoy my PS3, I could still sell it for $1500+. So I wouldn't have any problem whatsoever with that type of deal.

I don't know. 930.00 Bundles wont fly in my area. That is too much money out the gate. The only thing it does is buy sony time to make more chips.

[staxx]

I just spoke with a manager of Game Crazy he said that chances are no preorders will be accepted for the WII and it will most likely be a "first come first serve" deal. Due to the fact that Nintendo hasn't released any numbers for them.


Well as stated in my other post, Game Crazy are indeed doing preorders on the Wii. In my area they started the preorder today.

[NinjaJoey23]

My EB manager said it is true for the PS3, though suggested that stores with larger allocations may do things different. He is only expecting 8 or 9, and said first come first serve...

Ok, yeah, I was told by the local EB that they would be taking preorders and that they would probably start this week.

[Anthony1]

My EB manager said it is true for the PS3, though suggested that stores with larger allocations may do things different. He is only expecting 8 or 9, and said first come first serve...

Ok, yeah, I was told by the local EB that they would be taking preorders and that they would probably start this week.


All the EB or GS people that I have talked to said next week at the earliest, and that there might not be preorders for PS3 period. It's interesting how you end up hearing all kinds of different stories about this. Bottom line is you can't really take anybodies word for it, you gotta check in daily.

[Anthony1]

I don't know. 930.00 Bundles wont fly in my area. That is too much money out the gate. The only thing it does is buy sony time to make more chips.



$930.00 bundles don't really fly anywhere, but that's exactly the point. These stores are only going to get 7 or 8 to 12 PS3's per store anyways, and even though $930 is a huge freaking sum of money, I'm sure that they will eventually find 7 or 8 or 12 people to deal with that and Pony up the cash. Most people are going to buy the System and at least one game and one $29.99 accessory anyways, so you are only forcing them to buy 2 more games and a extra controller. Again, the worst case scenario for the guy buying it, is that they have to sell the extra games on Craigslist or Ebay at a slight loss, but ultimately they still end up with the thing they are salivating over.

Really the hardest part is having that much scratch on hand right then, to pay the thing in full, right then, on the spot. But I guarantee you there would be people that would do it. Remember the PS3 comes out November 17th right? You know damn well, it will be cold as fuck on November 17th, waiting out in front of some Wal-Mart or Target, freezing your ass off to get one of these things. I would be willing to pony up the cash, even for extra shit I didn't want, just to have to avoid all that drama.

[DonMarco]

Has any of you broken down the number of how many PS3 systems will be in each GS/EB store on day one? 400,000 in North America and 100,000 in Jay-pan. Of the 400k, what percentage will the Wal-Marts, Circuits Cityes, Amazons and Best Buys get?

In a perfect world, I'd imagine all stores would get 5 to 20 systems, depending on their store performance and presell records (boring like that). In a more perfect world, Sony would just auction all the PS3s off through eBay, cut out the middle men. In the most perfectest world imaginable, the Dreamcast would have beaten out the PS2 five years ago with an arcade-perfect Virtua Fighter 4.

[Anthony1]

Has any of you broken down the number of how many PS3 systems will be in each GS/EB store on day one? 400,000 in North America and 100,000 in Jay-pan. Of the 400k, what percentage will the Wal-Marts, Circuits Cityes, Amazons and Best Buys get?

In a perfect world, I'd imagine all stores would get 5 to 20 systems, depending on their store performance and presell records (boring like that). In a more perfect world, Sony would just auction all the PS3s off through eBay, cut out the middle men. In the most perfectest world imaginable, the Dreamcast would have beaten out the PS2 five years ago with an arcade-perfect Virtua Fighter 4.



Well, the first thing, is to remember that the 400K number is for North America, which includes Canada and possibly Mexico as well. I'm pretty sure that Mexico won't be getting any, but they will definitely allocate some of that 400K to Canada. The question is how many? Maybe some Canadians can chime in on how many of the supposed 380K Xbox 360 units made it to Canada on launch day? Supposedly the 360 had around 380,000 units available for it's launch day in North America, so if you look at the number of 360 units that most stores got, the number of PS3 units should likely be somewhat similar. Of course, Microsoft and Sony probably have different sweatheart retailers, and will allocate their shipments a little bit differently, but probably not dramatically differently, so I would look to the numbers that stores got of the 360 on launch last year as your best indictaion.

[SarKenobi]

I REALLY don't want to get my Wii from GameStop/EB Games. It's not the only damn game stores in the world. I'll probably go for GameCrazy as soon as they get announced for my hood!

[FantasiaWHT]

What's funny is I'm actually deciding where I want to buy my PS3 by which nearby county has the lowest sales tax... I thought I'd only ever do that with cars, lol.

[Nature Boy]

I find the idea of accepting preorders only using trade-ins to be ... amusing.

The corporation says to itself "hey, if we take the $50 in trade ins, we can turn that into $200! Which makes stocking these things with zero markup a little more palatable ..."

Of course they never actually put themselves into the consumer's shoes. "Jeez, do they really think I'm going to give them games I spent $200 on in addition to the $600 cost of a system, plus new games, plus an extra controller?? Where's my local TRU again?"

(Prices are totally made up, but you get the idea).

As a Canadian I can't provide any info on the 360 launch, as I didn't preorder one, but I did preorder a PS2 and can say that the TRU I did that with got in approximately 50 units total. 360s definitely felt more scarce, but that's just an opinion.

[Anthony1]

Here is the latest rumor regarding PS3 preorders at GameStop and EB, courtesy of Kotaku:

"Each gamestop store will receive an average of 6 systems (more for higher volume stores, less for dead stores). 1-2 systems can be given to employees at the store manager's discretion. The rest are given out to the store's "regulars". If a manager feels he has a customer who is very loyal (shops there often, reserves many things), they call them and ask them if they want to guarantee one of the remaining 4 consoles...and aparently all 4 of the remining consoles are handed out in this fashion."


This is pretty shocking to me, and I'm not sure it's exactly legal. I mean, if you are a store selling products, don't you have to make those products available to everyone? On one hand, you could say that GameStop and EB can do whatever the hell they want with the PS3's they get, but on the other hand, if they are going to put them up for sale, don't they have to make them available to everyone? If they really went with this tactic, I would imagine that the backlash would be pretty harsh. I'm not sure this is the smartest idea. Here is a scenario that would be played out a million times:


Customer walks into a EB or GS on the morning of November 17th and approaches the counter


Customer: "I would like to buy a PS3 please"

Employee: "Sorry we are sold out"

Customer: "How could you be sold out, you just opened the store right now, and I'm the first person in line?"

Employee: "We only got 6 PS3 systems, and they are already on hold"

Customer: "But when did you start preorders? I called every single day to check on pre-order availability and they said there would be no preorders for PS3"

Employee: "We didn't do pre-orders"

Customer: "Then how could they be sold out?"

Employee: "We were told by our Corporate Office to hand pick our most loyal customers, and to offer them the chance to put a PS3 on hold"

Customer: "That's BULLSHIT!"

Employee: "Tough Luck Sucka!"



Repeat 10 million times.

[Trebuken]

Looks like I'm going to get some bills played. Won't be able to buy a PS3.

Wonder if I can bribe my local EB manager...? Maybe I can get hires for a couple weeks just to get a system...?

I'm not one for camping...I'd like start a fight when someone in front of me allows their buddies to cut in line after waiting half a day...then I'd spend Thanksgiving in jail...

PS3 or Turkey? Tough one...depends whose cooking this year I guess...

Later,
Trebuken

[Nature Boy]

and I'm not sure it's exactly legal.

Why wouldn't this be legal exactly?

You might not think it's fair, but that's hardly a legal issue. You're certainly entitled to shop for the hardware at *many* other places who won't be indulging in this practice (if it's even true).

To be honest, that line of thinking is what makes the consoles sell for so freaking much on eBay. People who can't get them through the regular channels freak out and are willing to pay whatever it takes.

[vincewy]

update:

EB/GS will take preorders on Tue 10-10, I've heard many stores have people camping out for preorders already, that's just crazy, people seem to have a lot of common sense (sarcasm), the only reason to camp out for PS3 is trying to resell on eBay, even that could go wrong in many ways.

1. Exorbitant fees eBay/Paypal charges.
2. A large amount of defective units.
3. Getting chargebacks from Paypal for many reasons.