29 Nov 2007
As consumers gear up for the Christmas rush there have been reports of panic buying of Wii consoles.
Nintendo sold 350,000 Wii systems in the US during Thanksgiving week, along with 653,000 DS portables and a further 300,000 Wii consoles the week before.
But the consoles are reaching double the normal retail price on eBay.
Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, told Associated Press: "I could not find a single Wii on the shelves. Literally as I was walking into a Wal-Mart at 11am someone was walking out with the last one."
Fils-Aime said that Nintendo had reached its production limit of 1.8 million consoles a month, and denied that the company is deliberately restricting supply.
"A shortage benefits no one," he said. "We are disappointed because we did not accurately estimate demand. We need to be more bullish about the potential for the Wii."
Amazon sold out of one batch of 1,400 units in just 10 minutes of trading, the retailer reported.
Nintendo has sold over 15 million Wii consoles worldwide, nearly half in North America.
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Do you agree?
Wii for sale
I waited 2 hours in freezing cold weather with a friend to but two Wii's. One for my kids and the other to sell...My hope is to make $400 on selling the one to help pay for both....I have it listed on Ebay and have not had a bid...I did a 3 day listing so that I could get it mailed before Christmas....Where else can I sell it before the Holiday is over?
Posted by: Valerie 19 Dec 2007
wahhhh...
Stop your crying. I had the foresight to wait outside in the freezing rain to secure two games...One for my daughter who gets straight A's on every report card, and one to sell. You're damn right i'm going to profit.
Posted by: Jeffrey 01 Dec 2007
Which came first?
The Chicken or the Egg?
Posted by: Jim Smitty 30 Nov 2007
Greedy People
I think its a shame how greedy people buy multiple Wii systems to only sell them double or triple the amount they retail for or how a store may recieve a shipment of Wii's only to be gone before the store opens to the public because sale associates have sold them to friends and family.
Posted by: Me 29 Nov 2007
greedy? idk.
Oh yeah? I think its ridiculous that there are people willing to pay those outrageous prices and creating a market for it.
Posted by: shamus 29 Nov 2007