I doubt it. I bet they will think the quite opposite come release day when every major news outlet will be spashing their new console all over the place. Sure they may cover the ebay angle, but it's free advertising around the globe.

Exactly. Sony created this mess, not the consumer. They could have easily waited until March when they had 2 million ready to go. If they are so confident in their brand name why is releasing a paltry amount, creating this nightmare, for Christmas a big deal?

Then again they could have gone without BlueRay and released last year alongside the 360 and blown the 360 out of the water.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the pre-order only hold a place in line for you on release day, if you haven't paid for it in full yet then you haven't really bought it.

Honestly, I don't know. I assume the "pre-order" means that on the day before launch you'll get a call saying come pick up your PS3 tomorrow.

I haven't pre-ordered from EBGames in years but I did pre-order Halo2 from the Game Crazy down the street from my house so I could have it at midnight on release day and that's how they did it.

I think when you pre order you can put money down on the item--maybe even the full price

This is a lot of discussion over something that, from what I read, is actually not going to be happening...

It's really a non-issue for me, and I pre-ordered 2 of them (made me cancel one of three). I will get more money if I actually have the system in my hand when I post the auction, and that's exactly what I intend to do.

If you are mad at anyone, blame Sony

I know but there are kids out there (here?) that are so mad at not being able to afford a console that they rejoice when a corporation tells people they cant resell hardware they bought. So I guess now the thread is about educating people the real problem is the console manufacturers.

Its probably a good idea too, because im sure there will be plenty of people showing up at the store on 'release day' only to shake their fists for not knowing anything about the launch.

how can you get mad about not being able to afford something, though?


That would be like me getting pissed because I cannot afford that Ferrari Enzo I wanted. Sure, that's quite the exaggerated response, but the fact people are re-selling the system has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they can't afford one (two separate issues entirely).

They could always wait for the price drops, but you and I know that will never happen haha

hell, I know of a few EB stores where I could slip some extra $ to the clerks and have a few people on the list bumped a few. you know, the people like #6 or #7, could be told they only got 5 or 6 and then I could get myself one. maybe I should do this and get in on the ebay situation.

I was upset because I actually pre-ordered 3 systems from 3 different stores. It wasn't until later that they told me "you can only have 1 pre-order per district" which would have been nice, had it been brought to my attension beforehand.

I put one of the systems in my fiancee's name, and one is still in mine

I suspect the bitterness comes from old school gamers who are mad that the price of gaming is going up. The consoles, games, online features are pushing prices up everywhere. To them the scalpers are evil wannabe gamers who have no right to even own the console--the consoles should only go to 'real' gamers.

If you count in inflation, the price of console gaming has gone down considerably between the launch of the Atari 2600 and today.

I can see where that argument is coming from, but it is ridiculous none-the-less. How could someone even begin to quanitify how much someone "deserves" a system?

If you compared it to ticket scalpers online, it's no where NEAR as bad as that is. If someone pre-ordered a system from EB/GS, they had to physically be at the store, and put down their 100 just like everyone else. I made sure I was in that line, 3 times mind you. I knew what I wanted to do, and I made it happen.

If they were too unfortunate to get one on pre-order, they only really have themselves to blame. I was oblivious about the xbox 360 launch. Did i get mad at Bill Gates cause I couldn't get one? NO, but i DID make sure that I would do everything at my power to make sure I didn't repeat the mistake


Groucho : you are precisely correct. If you note how much the Intellivision was when it was released, it priced for over 200 dollars (i believe it was closer to 250). If you factor in inflation, would be about 5-7s more than what the PS3 is selling for.

there is a disclaimer that a pre-order doesn't mean you will get one on launch day. you are simply given priority based on your place in line.

I agree with Ebay's rules and limits on selling pre-orders, but i predict there will be a lot of pissed off buyers and sellers on Nov 17 when they don't get their consoles.

I think thats part of the frustration for some people--they're not sure they even want the new generation, then at the same time the price/availability chooses for them. They miss the old school games and resent changes in the industry. They probably feel pretty hostile and alienated as their gaming world collapses around them.

really I see the problem as the video game community refuses to wait for anything, and will pay whatever the asking price is. Obviously, some people don't have the luxury of paying 4 times the retail price, but it's too bad for them really.

The people lashing out over this is just childish. If you aren't sure, wait. Even though I'm selling both of my PS3s, I'm still going to wait until they actually release a game I feel I MUST have, which doesn't seem like it would happen any time soon

Well, let me put a little prospective on it from someone who has very happy to get a 360 system and who went through the whole release day hoopla and experienced greed in people.

I was ready and able to purchase a 360 system on launch day.

I was at one of the local stores, a Wal-Mart, that had any significant stock of the item and were allowing people to line up before hand. They had a section all reserved, employees watching over. They gave out free bottles of water, donuts a couple times and had a big cake carved up about an hour before launch.

I arrived 12 hours early and secured myself a place in line at #21. When the employees did a count and asked what system everyone wanted, all the Premium systems were spoken for when they got to me, as they only had #20. As I didn't really want the core system because to turn it into a premium system, it would be a lot more then the price difference in the two versions.

I waited because I was hoping someone would change their mind before hand, or not have enough to pay for it, etc. Wishful thinking on my part, but I was at that key spot in the line. If I was further back, I'd have cut my losses and either went to another store or just resigned myself to not getting a system at launch.

What I discovered in my 12 hours of waiting angered me a great deal because I was actually wanting the system to play and enjoy.

Of the 20 people ahead of me, the first two people in line were brothers from the same household. And even though the store had a policy of one system per person per household, they got around it by each having a parent with them and acted like they weren't all in the same house.

One kid kept disappearing from the line for hours at a time, with no one holding his spot. The store refused to remove him from the line and he still ended up with his premium system. had the store had the balls to do something about it, I would have had the system I wanted. We were all seated in seats and everyone had a slip of paper with their number on it.

Of the remaining 17 people. I'd say half of them were getting the system for themselves.
The others, and the ones that pissed me off, were getting a system to sell on ebay. One or two of them said they actually have people in 2 or 3 other stores waiting to get a system to put them all on ebay. One guy said that he didn't even want the system, he just wanted his 4 pre-orders to make some cash.

There's nothing that can be done about it, and that is how people are as long as you have parents and people buying them at inflated prices on ebay.

It doesn't mean people can't get mad about the whole thing and lash out at the practice.

I have my Core system. I bought the wireless controller, the hi-def cable pack, the hard drive. So I essentually have the premium system now. Except that I don't have the chrome drive face and I paid about $100 more then a premium system.

I'm still playing it to this day and don't regret my purchase. But that doesn't mean I wasn't very upset release night.

I'd say if you were in spot 15 for example, you probably wouldn't have had a problem with the entire fiasco. You are right about greed, but that's human nature, and we'll never escape that.

As far as people selling it, it really makes no difference what their motivation is for buying a system. they had to wait that 12 hours just like, and apparently they waited even longer, considering they were in front of you.

They should have kicked that kid out of line. I guarentee you, if I were in that posistion (mr. 21 in line) i would be like "Ok, if hes leaving, I'm going to McDonalds. WHO WANTS SOMETHING ", which in turn would get me out of line for an hour, + have the crowd favor, which would make the waiting seem even less.

I wonder how many people selling them on ebay will ship without signature confirmation? a person could easily just place a call to their CC company and say "I bought this PS3 on ebay and the guy never shipped it to me. I want to do a chargeback."

hmm, that's an idea...

delivery confirmation + insurance would take of that

considering almost everyone and their grandmas are selling this thing on ebay I'm sure a few people could take advantage of "the CC chargeback".

I take it you've never had a package with delivery confirmation get delivered elsewhere?

I would have had to stand in line on launch day at some retailer like EB or TRU for the PS2 or PSP just like everyone else, the systems weren't made available to Sony employees until months later and even then it was thru limited quantities. Plus it's at it's lowest price point already for the discount basically paid for tax.

I'm saying if you do get insurance and delivery confirmation, it's no longer your problem where the system ended up. If it was "lost", the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the transit service. Not the seller

Having things be non-transferrable is not anything new. There's lots of things that are non-transferrable. Pre-orders (not consoles) can be one of them. While EB can't control the aftermarket, they can be nice to their core customers, not the people who are just buying it due to arbitrage.

Put it this way: If I was a store owner, I'd have no problem doing that.

Sony should've made 500,000 "limited edition" white PS3s. Each comes with four controllers, a game, poster, shirt, numbered lithograph, Blu-Ray movie, Super Audio CD, etc. Add in some ceramic statue or whatever. Basically add in about $100 worth of crap. Retail this one at $999.

Then they could've made 10,000 "unique collector's" PS3s. Make them gold or silver and part of it be real 24k gold or platinum or whatever. Have the case be a limited art print, one of 12 designs. Start pre-orders a year early, 1,000 consoles with each design. One design per month. Unveil each design in a different global city (NY, LA, Tokyo, etc.) Sell these for $1999 to $4999.

I guarantee you that the market would hold this. There's 10,000 people worldwide who can and will spend $1499+ on a custom-ish golden/jeweled PS3. There's another 100,000 that will gladly pay $999.

The idea is that you profit at every point where someone is willing to pay that amount.

LG makes gold-plated HDTVs that they sell for ~$50,000 (IIRC).

Sony is basically leaving at least $100-250 million on the table. Money that they need.

I think sony was already going in 100 different directions with this whole generation. Adding/removing features at the last minute etc--no way could they even get their act together with the 3rd party companies needed to make what you were suggesting. It would have been a good idea though