Wii U eBay resale / sellout / availability discussion

speedline said:
I think what may have happened is that a lot of people were not all that happy with the Wii overall and are not going to repeat that with buying a Wii U. It is important to finish strong from one generation to the next, and Nintendo completely dropped the ball. There was no momentum going into the Wii U launch as any casual fans Nintendo gained a few years ago have forgotten about them now and Nintendo let that happen by not supporting Wii the last 2 years just about.

This also needs to be a clear message to Sony and MS-- people are not that excited about tablet controllers for consoles-- keep it simple with traditional controllers and you will be just fine.
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No offense, but there is absolutely no way we can draw that conclusion yet. First, we still have no idea how many sales there were. With that second shipment (which the Wii didn't have so soon), we have no idea how close they are with the Wii sales at this point.

Also, if sales are slow, we have no idea why yet. There's no "clear message" here. Is it lack of games people want? Is it the clear lack of advancement in graphical capability giving consumers no reason to upgrade?

This is opinion, but I HIGHLY doubt people are looking at the tablet controller and saying "no, I'd rather have a regular one" when it has all the buttons of a regular controller.
 
Plinko said:
I hesitate to declare "soft demand everywhere" yet, as it was clear Nintendo was ready with an immediate second shipment, something that didn't happen with the Wii.

I can't find the link, but I vaguely recall Nintendo saying they had a much higher amount of these ready for launch when compared to the Wii. Could be remembering incorrectly, though.
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I recall reading that too. Either way, we should have some solid numbers soon.
 
Plinko said:
I hesitate to declare "soft demand everywhere" yet, as it was clear Nintendo was ready with an immediate second shipment, something that didn't happen with the Wii.

I can't find the link, but I vaguely recall Nintendo saying they had a much higher amount of these ready for launch when compared to the Wii. Could be remembering incorrectly, though.
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Someone listed the Wii NPD at 266,000 I think. So even if they shipped 500,000, that statement would be correct.

Their financials project 6,000,000 shipped by March 31st. A reasonable person figures that's divided fairly equally by the three major territories. So if they've got 2,000,000 available units between launch and March 31st for the US, it's reasonable to assume it's not all available from the start and would be rationed out.

The soft everywhere simply means it's not a nationwide "Must Have" item that's driving people to ebay to get their fix. And when you factor in it's reasonable to assume there's less Wii U supply than PS3/360 units, it's a fair statement to say demand is soft nationwide. The supply is low enough that there shouldn't be any units available 1 week after launch (and in the heart of the shopping season).
 
1-D_FTW said:
Someone listed the Wii NPD at 266,000 I think. So even if they shipped 500,000, that statement would be correct.

Their financials project 6,000,000 shipped by March 31st. A reasonable person figures that's divided fairly equally by the three major territories. So if they've got 2,000,000 available units between launch and March 31st for the US, it's reasonable to assume it's not all available from the start and would be rationed out.

The soft everywhere simply means it's not a nationwide "Must Have" item that's driving people to ebay to get their fix. And when you factor in it's reasonable to assume there's less Wii U supply than PS3/360 units, it's a fair statement to say demand is soft nationwide. The supply is low enough that there shouldn't be any units available 1 week after launch (and in the heart of the shopping season).
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Again, I disagree with the bold statement. We have no idea how many are out there right now with the 2nd shipment in stores so soon.

I do agree that it's not a nationwide 'must-have' item right now, although the Nielsen surveys put it in a pretty good position. Who knows what will happen as we get closer to Christmas.
 
Plinko said:
Again, I disagree with the bold statement. We have no idea how many are out there right now with the 2nd shipment in stores so soon.

I do agree that it's not a nationwide 'must-have' item right now, although the Nielsen surveys put it in a pretty good position. Who knows what will happen as we get closer to Christmas.
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Would you at least concede it's reasonable to allot 2 million units in the following way:

November launch & BF reload - 500,000

December - 600,000

January - 300,000

February - 300,000

March - 300,000

If you're Nintendo, you have to make those projections based off selling out during the holiday season and thinking excess demand will bleed into the new year. And clearly you can't go Jan. - March with zero units shipped (which isn't even possible anyways. Factories have to constantly produce). So I don't know where anyone thinks higher Nov - Dec figures are going to come from. I would think I'm being generous on the top end.
 
Sometimes I think that Nintendo has the same problem as their competitors. Nintendo can't figure out what made Wii so successful and just takes wild guesses with Wii U.
 
1-D_FTW said:
Would you at least concede it's reasonable to allot 2 million units in the following way:

November launch & BF reload - 500,000

December - 600,000

January - 300,000

February - 300,000

March - 300,000

If you're Nintendo, you have to make those projections based off selling out during the holiday season and thinking excess demand will bleed into the new year. And clearly you can't go Jan. - March with zero units shipped (which isn't even possible anyways. Factories have to constantly produce). So I don't know where anyone thinks higher Nov - Dec figures are going to come from. I would think I'm being generous on the top end.
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I honestly don't know. I don't know how many they had at launch. If you're going to do it in a way that makes business sense, then, yes--I think that's fair. This is Nintendo, though, so who knows what they're thinking. They're in their own world sometimes.
 
Plinko said:
No offense, but there is absolutely no way we can draw that conclusion yet. First, we still have no idea how many sales there were. With that second shipment (which the Wii didn't have so soon), we have no idea how close they are with the Wii sales at this point.

Also, if sales are slow, we have no idea why yet. There's no "clear message" here. Is it lack of games people want? Is it the clear lack of advancement in graphical capability giving consumers no reason to upgrade?

This is opinion, but I HIGHLY doubt people are looking at the tablet controller and saying "no, I'd rather have a regular one" when it has all the buttons of a regular controller.
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I guess your right about it being too soon to tell about the tablet controller, but I think it's the wrong decision to place all the emphasis on it while delivering a console that is clearly weaker than what a next gen console should be (I know thats up to opinion). I think the price of WiiU is too high as well, but thats also up to debate.

If MS and Sony can deliver a well rounded, higher spec console with a tablet controller for the same price range, then I think they will eat Nintendos lunch next gen.

I plan on buying the WiiU, just not at it's current price point and after some better games are released.
 
1-D_FTW said:
Would you at least concede it's reasonable to allot 2 million units in the following way:

November launch & BF reload - 500,000

December - 600,000

January - 300,000

February - 300,000

March - 300,000

If you're Nintendo, you have to make those projections based off selling out during the holiday season and thinking excess demand will bleed into the new year. And clearly you can't go Jan. - March with zero units shipped (which isn't even possible anyways. Factories have to constantly produce). So I don't know where anyone thinks higher Nov - Dec figures are going to come from. I would think I'm being generous on the top end.
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While it may be reasonable there is no way of knowing that. Nintendo may as well have launched with 500k+ and another 300k for BF, but less shipments in December because the other two regions are joining in.
We don't know when Nintendo started mass producing Wii U's, we don't know how many they do and can produce per month, we only know that they plan to ship ~6 million till the end of March 2013.
It's simply too early to get to any conclusions, if all we know is that Wii U isn't constantly sold out everywhere.
 
speedline said:
I don't think being in stock is a bad thing at all, but it does lead you to think that demand is lower than expected since you can easily find one during the holiday rush. That could change though.
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Or perhaps they planned for demand correctly?? You have no idea which is true. This is as kooky as those comments from people that say Nintendo has intentionally undersupplied the market to create false demand.
 
You guys are assuming that Nintendo is only limited to 6 million units. They could easily sell more or less world wide by March.
 
BlackJace said:
Why is being in stock a bad thing?
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Well this is anecdotal, but around here the second shipment stores received were much lower than the first shipment. So not selling through that smaller second shipment on Thanksgiving weekend raises eyebrows. Take that with what seems like a lot of initial buyers being resellers and software uptake is going to be light as well outside of ZombiU, Super Mario U, and of course Nintendoland.

We shall see how things go from here, but demand certainly SEEMS (emphasis) to be waning.
 
Man-is-Obsolete said:
Well this is anecdotal, but around here the second shipment stores received were much lower than the first shipment. So not selling through that smaller second shipment on Thanksgiving weekend raises eyebrows. Take that with what seems like a lot of initial buyers being resellers and software uptake is going to be light as well outside of ZombiU, Super Mario U, and of course Nintendoland.

We shall see how things go from here, but demand certainly SEEMS (emphasis) to be waning.
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Eh, I think any sane person went into the launch situation expecting much less than the Wii's.

Not having any stock means there's nothing to sell, which of course isn't that great, unless you just want to play numbers.
 
BlackJace said:
Eh, I think any sane person went into the launch situation expecting much less than the Wii's.

Not having any stock means there's nothing to sell, which of course isn't that great, unless you just want to play numbers.
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it does create media interest though. reports of the console selling out nationwide would certainly raise interest from people who might not know it's a brand new console.

for example, I know people who didn't care or know about red dead redemption until the game sold out nationwide in the uk. after the reports, people who weren't interested or didn't know about the game suddenly wanted it.

it's strange how something selling out nationwide can suddenly make you want something you otherwise might not have been so interested in. it doesn't apply to everyone of course.
 
Demand is definitely lower than the Wii.
Wii was a cultural phenomenon. I had everyone around me, nongamers especially, talking about the Wii.
The Wii U hasn't/won't do that.

A touchpad device looks complicated and difficult to use. It is the opposite of the Wii's "anyone can use this!" style.

There are not grandparents lining up to try the thing out.
 
Good for anyone who actually wants to buy one now. I think I have PTSD from trying to buy a Wii in winter of '06, that shit was horrible.
 
speedline said:
I guess your right about it being too soon to tell about the tablet controller, but I think it's the wrong decision to place all the emphasis on it while delivering a console that is clearly weaker than what a next gen console should be (I know thats up to opinion). I think the price of WiiU is too high as well, but thats also up to debate.

If MS and Sony can deliver a well rounded, higher spec console with a tablet controller for the same price range, then I think they will eat Nintendos lunch next gen.

I plan on buying the WiiU, just not at it's current price point and after some better games are released.
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Agreed.

I think my favorite part of this is the fact that scalpers are most likely breaking even after fees. That's just too great.
 
Safe Bet said:
I understand unexpected factors can play a role, but...

I wish more companies would wait to launch until anticipated initial demand numbers could be met.
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I see your point, but this is however very difficult because they cant know for sure exactly how big demand there will be.
 
Plinko said:
Agreed.

I think my favorite part of this is the fact that scalpers are most likely breaking even after fees. That's just too great.
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Most people thought there would be more demand. Considering folks can return it to the store, it seems worth the time since there was zero risk.
 
Safe Bet said:
20121124_183623.jpg


back in stock

wal-mart

el paso

texas

7 pm
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Same thing today at my Wal-mart, mine had 2 deluxe facing forward. I was like damn I want it, then remember no I don't! Haha I got 2 at Best Buy on release day at noon but they were both pick-ups for friends kids Christmas.
 
A friend of mine told me that when they got their shipment last week they only 2 out of 6 people have picked up their preorder at his store. That was Monday he told me that, I would imagine they're picked up by now. Regardless I was at Wal Mart earlier today and saw some in stock.
 
This is kind of annoying me. I preordered mine at a Mom N' Pop shop back in September, the day after the initial press conference.

They only this weekend got basic units, but still no blacks. So I'm waiting on my order from 3 months ago while other people were waking up last Sunday morning & impulse buying, and anybody walking into a random Wal Mart can have one right now.

As for the sales, if they've sold out by Christmas, they've done their job. The launch lineup, while vast, doesn't seem to have a huge sales driver in it. So demand right now is not necessarily indicative of demand in 10 months.

Plus, I think they did a terrible, terrible job of branding this thing. Everybody thinks it's just a portable controller for the old Wii; the name "Wii U" communicates nothing about the product. Super Wii™ would have been more descriptive and a nice nod to tradition.
 
Plinko said:
Agreed.

I think my favorite part of this is the fact that scalpers are most likely breaking even after fees. That's just too great.
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The people actually selling a wiiu console at retail price on ebay are the stupid ones. Anyone that didn't get the profit they wanted can just return an unopened console to the store for their money back.

Flipping is easy money for little effort. It just didn't work out with the wiiu, and wouldn't be a huge thing if all products met demand. Regardless of how the wiiu is selling, there being units in the store is a good thing for anyone that is actually interested in one.
 
I've heard from a rather annoyed friend that Sainsbury's (UK) cancelled his White Wii U pre-order.
This is the email he received:


Dear

We're getting in touch to confirm that an item you ordered recently from Sainsbury's Entertainment has been cancelled by the warehouse.

At the time of ordering, we believed this product was available, however we have subsequently been made aware that this product is no longer obtainable from our suppliers.

Please contact our Customer Services Helpline if you require further information.

#0 "Nintendo Wii-U Console (White)"
Wii U; £224.99

Your order number:
xxxxxx

Thank you for visiting the Sainsbury's Entertainment website.
However, we hope to see you again soon.

Kind regards,
The Sainsbury's Entertainment Team
Click to expand...
 
LiveFromKyoto said:
This is kind of annoying me. I preordered mine at a Mom N' Pop shop back in September, the day after the initial press conference.

They only this weekend got basic units, but still no blacks. So I'm waiting on my order from 3 months ago while other people were waking up last Sunday morning & impulse buying, and anybody walking into a random Wal Mart can have one right now.

As for the sales, if they've sold out by Christmas, they've done their job. The launch lineup, while vast, doesn't seem to have a huge sales driver in it. So demand right now is not necessarily indicative of demand in 10 months.

Plus, I think they did a terrible, terrible job of branding this thing. Everybody thinks it's just a portable controller for the old Wii; the name "Wii U" communicates nothing about the product. Super Wii™ would have been more descriptive and a nice nod to tradition.
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Yeah that's like guaranteed. 3D Mario? Zelda? Miyamoto game? Animal Crossing? Done

regs said:
A friend of mine told me that when they got their shipment last week they only 2 out of 6 people have picked up their preorder at his store. That was Monday he told me that, I would imagine they're picked up by now. Regardless I was at Wal Mart earlier today and saw some in stock.
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Wonder how much will be left once the EU and JPN launches come out?
 
LiveFromKyoto said:
This is kind of annoying me. I preordered mine at a Mom N' Pop shop back in September, the day after the initial press conference.

They only this weekend got basic units, but still no blacks. So I'm waiting on my order from 3 months ago while other people were waking up last Sunday morning & impulse buying, and anybody walking into a random Wal Mart can have one right now.

As for the sales, if they've sold out by Christmas, they've done their job. The launch lineup, while vast, doesn't seem to have a huge sales driver in it. So demand right now is not necessarily indicative of demand in 10 months.

Plus, I think they did a terrible, terrible job of branding this thing. Everybody thinks it's just a portable controller for the old Wii; the name "Wii U" communicates nothing about the product. Super Wii™ would have been more descriptive and a nice nod to tradition.
Click to expand...

This is kind of the elephant in the room I think. Wii was the only console I have ever bought at launch window because it had motherfucking Zelda.
 
gamergirly said:
Yeah that's like guaranteed. 3D Mario? Zelda? Miyamoto game? Animal Crossing? Done
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Not bad, as far as appealing to the GameCube audience. Where I have my doubts is how that appeals to the Wii audience. In a thread (and one of many) about demand for Wii U, which for better or worse is burdened by expectations from the Wii, I'm not sure how relevant those games are actually going to be.
 
leroidys said:
This is kind of the elephant in the room I think. Wii was the only console I have ever bought at launch window because it had motherfucking Zelda.
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If there was more of an indication as to when exactly Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 were coming out I'd definitely feel more comfortable dropping cash on a deluxe set.
 
My anecdotal sales evidence: As of last night at about 7pm, one Wii U basic was available at the local Target, didn't see any Wii U's at the adjacent Best Buy.
 
OldJadedGamer said:
I played the same Zelda game on my GameCube though.
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Released a month later.

brinstar said:
If there was more of an indication as to when exactly Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 were coming out I'd definitely feel more comfortable dropping cash on a deluxe set.
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Same here. Or almost any software announcements. Before the Wii came out, we had seen Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, SSBB, Fire Emblem, and Mario Galaxy.
 
I was just at Walmart picking up Wii Play Motion that I ordered last night for $15. I only wanted it for the cheap black WM+ to match my Wii U.

Anyway, online said in stock, but they were out and didn't know when they'd get it.

Went to BB to pick up a secret Santa gift and they were out and two separate people asked about it.

A little anecdote for the thread.
 
axisofweevils said:
I've heard from a rather annoyed friend that Sainsbury's (UK) cancelled his White Wii U pre-order.
This is the email he received:
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Well, nobody wants white, so he should be able to just walk into a store and buy one.

I went to Best Buy and Target in Fresno, CA last night. Not a single Wii U to be seen.
 
oatmeal said:
I was just at Walmart picking up Wii Play Motion that I ordered last night for $15. I only wanted it for the cheap black WM+ to match my Wii U.

Anyway, online said in stock, but they were out and didn't know when they'd get it.

Went to BB to pick up a secret Santa gift and they were out and two separate people asked about it.

A little anecdote for the thread.
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Seeing similar things. Phoenix area is pretty empty. Some stores report online they have inventory but once you go in there is nothing. In fact most walmart video game sections look like a nuke went off.

Did get the 25th Anniversary Princess Bride blu ray for only $3.96 though heh
 
I finally got one. A friend picked one up this morning, apparently this toys r us got another shipment in (even on Sunday, weird). This would be this store's third shipment that I know of.
 
CosmicQueso said:
Or perhaps they planned for demand correctly?? You have no idea which is true. This is as kooky as those comments from people that say Nintendo has intentionally undersupplied the market to create false demand.
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it's not kooky, they created a limited amount to create hype for the system.

all you have to do is look at the supply launch availability and how many consoles the big retailers had... Not much, with slow trickle down of more shipments. Problem is, they're still not selling out with the low quantities they've been shipping out.

I predict a price cut coming within a few months.
 
elostyle said:
I finally got one. A friend picked one up this morning, apparently this toys r us got another shipment in (even on Sunday, weird). This would be this store's third shipment that I know of.
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So a 3rd shipment already out? That's good news for Nintendo, I guess.
 
Tinkleberry said:
it's not kooky, they created a limited amount to create hype for the system.

all you have to do is look at the supply launch availability and how many consoles the big retailers had... Not much, with slow trickle down of more shipments. Problem is, they're still not selling out with the low quantities they've been shipping out.

I predict a price cut coming within a few months.
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This is insane. There is no proof for this whatsoever.
 
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