11-23-2006, 07:11 AM
Hey all! I finally got my Wii, after some days of making rounds around the retailers in my city, everyday starting at 8 am. Here's some piece of advice for anyone who still hasn't got their Wii, this is how I got mine.
I got tired of looking around (plus, I was spending quite a bit on gas), so I just decided I would take a look at eBay. I didn't want to do that previously because of the reports of over-inflated prices. But truth be told, Wii prices have come down a lot because there's the general sensation that if people don't sell now they won't make any money, especially with black friday and promises of re-stocking on almost all shops.
BUT... here's the trick. Search for people making auctions within 10 or 20 miles from you. This way you can contact this people and tell them that you can buy their Wiis ASAP and you can deal personally (meet each other somewhere). I found out this is a lot more appealing to a lot of sellers than the idea of having to ship their Wiis and wait for payment. Besides, many of the people selling their Wiis saw an opportunity when the system came out and thus, ARE NEW EBAYERS!!! Which means that their reputations are low, they don't completely know how to sell on eBay, and are rather nervous, especially with news of scams all over the internet these days given the enormous amount of publicity these console availability issue has got in the media.
How much to pay for your Wii? First, this way neither you or the seller pay shipping (that's somewhere between $15-$40 less). Then, many people are trying to sell their Wiis but still make some money (or they'd just return them to the store), so they will sell just enough to make around $10 or $20, plus the cost of the taxes they paid.
How much did I pay for my Wii? For a new sealed system, plus the Zelda game, I paid $330. That's not too bad considering that here in IL we pay 7% taxes
Wii = $250 plus taxes --- $267.5
Zelda = $50 plus taxes --- $53.7
Total if buying from the store = $321.2
For $9, I'd rather forget all my problems, forget about how much gas I'm spending on gas, and forget about lines tomorrow on black friday, people fighting over the system, having to get to the store at 4 am, and perhaps not getting anything until a 3rd batch of shippings.
Anyway, these are just a few ideas. In my area (Rockford, IL) I found at least 3 people willing to sell like this, especially people who got their Wiis very recently (like one or two days ago, which there are many surprisingly) and just put up the auctions, and after a couple of days no one has given them the money they wanted.
I got tired of looking around (plus, I was spending quite a bit on gas), so I just decided I would take a look at eBay. I didn't want to do that previously because of the reports of over-inflated prices. But truth be told, Wii prices have come down a lot because there's the general sensation that if people don't sell now they won't make any money, especially with black friday and promises of re-stocking on almost all shops.
BUT... here's the trick. Search for people making auctions within 10 or 20 miles from you. This way you can contact this people and tell them that you can buy their Wiis ASAP and you can deal personally (meet each other somewhere). I found out this is a lot more appealing to a lot of sellers than the idea of having to ship their Wiis and wait for payment. Besides, many of the people selling their Wiis saw an opportunity when the system came out and thus, ARE NEW EBAYERS!!! Which means that their reputations are low, they don't completely know how to sell on eBay, and are rather nervous, especially with news of scams all over the internet these days given the enormous amount of publicity these console availability issue has got in the media.
How much to pay for your Wii? First, this way neither you or the seller pay shipping (that's somewhere between $15-$40 less). Then, many people are trying to sell their Wiis but still make some money (or they'd just return them to the store), so they will sell just enough to make around $10 or $20, plus the cost of the taxes they paid.
How much did I pay for my Wii? For a new sealed system, plus the Zelda game, I paid $330. That's not too bad considering that here in IL we pay 7% taxes
Wii = $250 plus taxes --- $267.5
Zelda = $50 plus taxes --- $53.7
Total if buying from the store = $321.2
For $9, I'd rather forget all my problems, forget about how much gas I'm spending on gas, and forget about lines tomorrow on black friday, people fighting over the system, having to get to the store at 4 am, and perhaps not getting anything until a 3rd batch of shippings.
Anyway, these are just a few ideas. In my area (Rockford, IL) I found at least 3 people willing to sell like this, especially people who got their Wiis very recently (like one or two days ago, which there are many surprisingly) and just put up the auctions, and after a couple of days no one has given them the money they wanted.