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To profit or play?

JPNor

Shared on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 20:47

Earlier tonight, while walking through Target price-shopping the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Blu-ray, I took a quick stroll through the video games like I always do. Impulsively I grabbed the last Kinect on the shelf. I've been good about avoiding games that I don't have the time to play, so I'm still not quite sure why I instinctively grabbed the Kinect - because it's the newest, latest and greatest piece of video game electronics?

While waiting in line at the checkout I noticed that the middle aged woman in front of me also had a Kinect. The cashier picked it up and said "This thing looks so cool" as he scanned it, and she replied with "I'm sure I'll have a hard time getting one closer to Christmas."

In Keene, NH I've had some luck finding hard-to-find electronics like the Wii two years ago. And when I hear about Wii consoles and Wii Fit balance boards selling on eBay for 4 times as much as they're worth, I always kick myself in the ass for not cashing in on the craze. So with that in mind, I have the Kinect sitting (unopened) in front of me as I contemplate what to do with it. On the one hand, I've read through the reviews including some blogs on this site, and it really seems like a lot of fun. On the other hand, I don't have a huge ton of time to play video games - and the Kinect may just be this year's Beanie Baby. I'm kind of leaning toward the former - but if I see this on eBay selling for $1000 in a month, and can't get one in the store any longer, I'll be kicking myself in the ass again.

Anyone know what to expect this Christmas? Will the demand overwhelm the supply, as was the case with the Wii in 2007 and 2008? Or should I just shut up and play the damn thing?

Comments

BalekFekete's picture
Submitted by BalekFekete on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 21:22
I picked one up on a whim Wednesday myself, mainly with the same idea in mind. However, so far the supply is either sufficient or the demand low enough that they're still available e.g. on Amazon. Soo, I don't think it'll be something that draws a huge premium in the weeks to come. Could be wrong of course... That said, I opened ours this morning and - it's damn fun provided you get Dance Central. The Adventures game that ships with it is OK, but the Dance Central kicks all kinds of ass. The family loves it, and I can't help but think it'll be an absolute riot at the next party we host. I always thought Rock Band would do that, but as it turned out the guitar or drum was too much for someone to pick up and play automatically. This however is totally intuitive...someone can be playing in a few minutes tops.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 11:48
I work at GS during the holidays. We received just enough Kinects in to cover our pre-orders. This will definitely be the Wii.Wii-fit item this Christmas. I can't do the buy and sell cause I will get fired (surprisingly, they track employee name variants on eBay pretty heavily to try to curb this type of activity). With that said, when the PS3 came out (and I was not working at GS) I bought 3 before Christmas and sold each for $1,000, including the first one I got at launch at Best Buy. I walked out of the store and some guy offered me $1K CASH. I couldn't resist. His loss as the systems flooded the market right before the holiday and most people who held onto them to sell at the 11th hour lost money. I broke even on the other two that I had and to this day do not have a PS3. Moral of the story, seller beware when trying to fleece the marketplace on big ticket items for Christmas. I believe that karma is a bitch and in my experience you are typically lucky to get away unscathed with this type of thing and much less likely to really make any $. With that said, good luck regardless of what you decide to do. If the market will bear the cost, it's fair game IMHO.
Waterborn's picture
Submitted by Waterborn on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 11:50
To clarify my statement above (just re-read it) the second two PS3's I bought during launch season were bundles and cost almost $1,000 each, which is pretty much what I got for them 3 weeks prior to Christmas back then. The first one was a 20 GB console only.
BalekFekete's picture
Submitted by BalekFekete on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 13:23
In looking today, the big retailers are sold out online including Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. I went over to GameStop to convert my Edge card to the new PowerUp card, and lo and behold...they had a few spares above and beyond the pre-sells. I couldn't resist - I picked up 3 and will be putting them up on Craigslist for $210 shortly - $50 profit which, once all three are gone, will cover my home system. That's all I'm interested in. :D

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