Plays Well With Others

The Holiday Crush…

Playstation 3

Last night, with the release of the Playstation 3, the holiday crunch has officially begun. On the local news, they showed lines of 500 or more people standing outside of one retailer waiting to get their hands on the latest version of the video game. Even more fascinating was that when the reporter asked people why they were willing to stand in line so long, the reply was usually “eBay”.

The latest Playstation sells for around $500-600, if you can manage to get your hands on one. The lack of supply, which some say is intentionally created by these large companies to create a buzz for their product, has created such a demand that people are willing to bid over $3000 for the latest Playstation console on the online auction site. No longer are people standing in line for hours or days so they can surprise their kid with the gift of a lifetime, instead businessmen are standing in line hoping to snag something that will reap them a profit of over 500%. Their screaming kid… well, they’ll get over it. And chances are in a few months when everyone’s forgotten about the PS3, they’ll be able to get one for way under the initial $500 pricetag.

TMX Elmo

Another high demand item this year is the TMX Elmo. This stuffed animal normally sells for around $50, which I personally still find pretty pricy for a doll made of fabric and stuffing. But, since stores are sold out already, tons of them have hit the auctions of eBay, selling for double or triple that amount. And there are plenty of people willing to pay up to own one. I can only imagine that if you’re buying it on eBay, you’re planning on keeping it or giving it as a gift to your spoiled little brat of a kid that’s probably going to toss it aside a few days after Christmas.

I remember many, many years ago when the Tickle Me Elmo came out, they were in such high demand that people were literally getting into fights in the stores to get one. There was one instance of two women rolling around on the floor of a Toys R Us, fighting over the last box. I can just imagine that mom explaining the scratches on her face to her little darling, “Well, when you want something badly enough and some bitch is trying to snag it from you—you have to beat the shit out of her. Merry Christmas, honey.”

And finally, big screen plasma’s are in demand this holiday season. Most stores are offering some kind of deal on 42-inch plasmas at reduced costs. The problem is that most of them are sold out already. And so, that customer, already in their store, is going to start to look at higher priced plasmas to fill the need or start looking online. I’m not sure if this is a typical bait-and-switch move just to get people into their store or if they just have low inventory from their supplier. Who knows.

I find it unfortunate that this is what the holidays have turned into. People fighting over a video game or a stuffed animal in hopes of reselling it for some inflated price. The retailer uses the buzz to get people into their store, and the customer uses the product to make a profit. And in the end, you have some poor schmuck that paid way too much for something that no one will even care about in a few months or when the PlayStation 4 or Elmo 15th Anniversary edition comes out.

At the end of the day, these manufacturers are working overtime to make sure there are shortages which create buzz, which create demand, which means that their products sell out of stores. I don’t know how this helps them in the long run, but I guess if they can sell their initial product for $500 a piece rather than $199 a piece, that’s good for their current quarter balance sheets.

Update: Looks like people selling those PS3’s on eBay are now able to get up to $30,000 for one—check out the photos at the bottom of this site. Wow, that guy must be feeling pretty stupid right now since others are getting them for between $6,000-$10,000. Um, folks. It’s a hunk of plastic with some chrome trim and there aren’t even that many games out for it yet. What the hell are people thinking???

Related Story:
Sony’s Playstation 3 is Not Worth the Hype

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2 Responses to 'The Holiday Crush…'

  1. personal avatar
    James | 17 November 2006

    Keep in mind I have no way of substantiating the legitimacy of those screen snaps… I grabbed them off ACTUAL ebay auctions… but there’s no telling if they ACTUALLY ended up spending the marked amount.

    If so YES stupid doesn’t even begin to describe these folks.


  2. personal avatar
    Greg | 17 November 2006

    I’ve heard that people are actually messing around with these auctions at this point, making false bids just to drive the price up and screw with the folks hoping to make a quick dime off some other idiot willing to pay premium prices for a game console that isn’t even that impressive.

    Gotta love commercialism. I’m sure the Japanese are loving stupid Americans right now willing to pay thousands for a console they can make for $800.


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