Available Now: Preorder Wii U at Walmart in store using lay away. $349

What a bunch of greedy people in this thread... looking to price gouge parents who want to buy one for their kids Christmas present.

Quote from Asryn : What a bunch of greedy people in this thread... looking to price gouge parents who want to buy one for their kids Christmas present.

I don't see a lot of greed in this thread, unless you are referring to the few folks who said they ordered two, but it's a jump to think that that means they are looking to price gouge.

On the other hand, it's no different than a ticket scalper standing in line for hours to get tickets to re-sell. They put in the time and effort to get the product, and are certainly entitled to profit. If one doesn't want to put in the time scouring the internet and threads to find a popular item, then if they still want the item, they can expect to pay a premium.

All businesses are "price gougers" - you think Walmart is buying the systems at MSRP and selling them at no profit? Of course not. They are buying them at a lower price direct from the manufacturer or distributor, who refuses to sell to the consumer at that low price, and then selling them higher for profit. They are just one more step in the chain. The chain looks like this:

Factory -> Manufacturer (factory makes initial profit on item)
Manufacturer -> Distributor (manufacturer makes a profit selling to distributor)
Distributor -> Wholesaler/Retail (distributor marks up item more for profit)
*optional* Wholesaler -> Retail (wholesaler marks up item more for profit)
Retailer -> Consumer (Retailer marks up item more for profit)
Consumer -> Consumer (Consumer marks up item more for profit)

i am going to walmart after work to reserve mine today. i have gone to 5 different game stop stores and no one has room for me to reserve other than wait for a 2nd or 3rd shipment. For a company (nintendo) that everyone likes to hate on .. "the wii sucks.. nintendo sucks.. they are not for hardcore games.. games are stupid.. dont buy one.. " all the typical noise other non nintendo fans say.. this console is getting hard to get a hold of.

This is coming from the same people who hate on the console.. why? because 12 year olds dont reserve consoles.. and the few parents that do maybe do it for xmas.. but parents dont generally go out and reserve a new console for their kid.. its usually the cheaper console that will suffice. The people that actually want the console cant even get a hold of it.

I guess I'll go do this later. Although, I've been burned on the last two Nintendo console and had previously sworn never to fall for it again.

Quote from SDCali : i am going to walmart after work to reserve mine today. i have gone to 5 different game stop stores and no one has room for me to reserve other than wait for a 2nd or 3rd shipment. For a company (nintendo) that everyone likes to hate on .. "the wii sucks.. nintendo sucks.. they are not for hardcore games.. games are stupid.. dont buy one.. " all the typical noise other non nintendo fans say.. this console is getting hard to get a hold of. This is coming from the same people who hate on the console.. why? because 12 year olds dont reserve consoles.. and the few parents that do maybe do it for xmas.. but parents dont generally go out and reserve a new console for their kid.. its usually the cheaper console that will suffice. The people that actually want the console cant even get a hold of it.

It's hard to get a hold of because of very limited quantities and people per-ordering to resell. Not because it's going to be a great gaming console.

Got one in VA this morning. No need for two.

Quote from eryeal : I don't see a lot of greed in this thread, unless you are referring to the few folks who said they ordered two, but it's a jump to think that that means they are looking to price gouge. On the other hand, it's no different than a ticket scalper standing in line for hours to get tickets to re-sell. They put in the time and effort to get the product, and are certainly entitled to profit. If one doesn't want to put in the time scouring the internet and threads to find a popular item, then if they still want the item, they can expect to pay a premium. All businesses are "price gougers" - you think Walmart is buying the systems at MSRP and selling them at no profit? Of course not. They are buying them at a lower price direct from the manufacturer or distributor, who refuses to sell to the consumer at that low price, and then selling them higher for profit. They are just one more step in the chain. The chain looks like this: Factory -> Manufacturer (factory makes initial profit on item) Manufacturer -> Distributor (manufacturer makes a profit selling to distributor) Distributor -> Wholesaler/Retail (distributor marks up item more for profit) *optional* Wholesaler -> Retail (wholesaler marks up item more for profit) Retailer -> Consumer (Retailer marks up item more for profit) Consumer -> Consumer (Consumer marks up item more for profit)

I hate to point this out, but game consoles are one of the few exceptions to the profit for the final retailer rule. Often the manufacturer and retailer make little to no money on a game console when it first comes out. It is very likely they make maybe $4 or even lose a dollar or two selling the console and expect to recoup losses in the long run selling games.

Quote from Asryn : What a bunch of greedy people in this thread... looking to price gouge parents who want to buy one for their kids Christmas present.

If i were a parent I would have made a little more effort to pre-order. The limit is 2; its hardly a opportunity to buy and sell a ton. In my case I want one for myself and one for my nephews... so move along with your poorly directed moral code.

Quote from Metric : If i were a parent I would have made a little more effort to pre-order. The limit is 2; its hardly a opportunity to buy and sell a ton. In my case I want one for myself and one for my nephews... so move along with your poorly directed moral code.

Yeah because parents are totally reading gaming new sites everyday and know about every video game product coming out before it hits the streets. Most parents wont know about the Wii U til a few weeks before Christmas when their kids ask for it.

Nice attempt at trying to make yourself feel better by screwing over others to make money though.

Quote from Asryn : Yeah because parents are totally reading gaming new sites everyday and know about every video game product coming out before it hits the streets. Most parents wont know about the Wii U til a few weeks before Christmas when their kids ask for it. Nice attempt at trying to make yourself feel better by screwing over others to make money though.

Yes, they should be up on current trends, like furbies and zu zu pets in the past...

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? perhaps you cant read but buying one for myself and one as a gift for my nephews isn't making money you clown.

I'm sorry, if someone is buying something, does no research, and agrees to the purchase price (especially if above retail), they only have themselves to blame for that.

Quote from Metric : WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? perhaps you cant read but buying one for myself and one as a gift for my nephews isn't making money you clown.

Sure its for your nephews... Why else would you get all defensive when I called out people on price gouging parents for the Holidays...

Quote from Asryn : Yeah because parents are totally reading gaming new sites everyday and know about every video game product coming out before it hits the streets. Most parents wont know about the Wii U til a few weeks before Christmas when their kids ask for it. Nice attempt at trying to make yourself feel better by screwing over others to make money though.

Nice attempt at trying to provide some rationalization.

1. New game consoles are not "every video game product" - they only come out once every few years, and generally there is a lot of talk or buzz for months, up to a year, about it - not to mention all the pre-ordering advertising.
2. No, parents aren't reading gaming sites - THE KIDS ARE. If they want this, they've known for months and months, and have been bugging their parents for months and months. Maybe your kids are different, I don't know. But my kids start telling me months before Christmas about what they want - especially if it's a "big" item. That's the whole point of advertising - to get the word out BEFORE the launch date.
3. Stop preaching about making money - if you don't like the market system, move somewhere else. Do you also yell at every gas station owner that's trying to make a bit of money on their gas they sell you for profit? Do you go into Toys R Us and rant to their CS personnel about their mark-ups? I guess you must HATE Apple for their ridiculously high margins on every product they sell you as well. It's called business - buy low, sell high. All businesses operate inherently the same way.

Quote from Asryn : Sure its for your nephews... Why else would you get all defensive when I called out people on price gouging parents for the Holidays...

Troll on.