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Launch day non-preoder X360 purchase options???

M

maximum360

Member
Gamecrazy tells me I'm on the list for second shipment.

Sam Goody says they'll be dead last in getting their shipment (meaning, they have no idea when they'll actually get them in the store).

What stores will start selling midnight on the 21st?

What stores can I walk in and buy one on the morning of launch day?
 
I've narrowed my options down to Best Buy, Target and CompUSA, with Toys R Us being my last resort.

I plan on figuring it all out this Sunday when the last of the pre-launch ads come out.

Anyone know who will not be selling bundles come launch day? I just want to go in, buy the unit, Project Gotham Racing 3 and some video cables. I don't want to spend like $700 on a bunch of crap I won't want :(
 
It depends on where you live.

Wal-Mart obviously will start selling at midnight since almost every Wal-Mart is open 24 hours. Super K-Marts will probably also be selling at midnight but I'm not sure about this because I don't have one near me anymore.

Some Best Buy stores will be opening at midnight but I'm pretty its only in select cities. I know that my Best Buy isn't doing a midnight opening, but they're going to open at 8am Tuesday, which is 2 hours earlier than normal..

Nobody else in my city is doing a midnight launch. Circuit City, Target, TRU and Sam's Club are all opening at normal business hours.

Haven't decided where i'm going to hit first. I'm not gonna camp out, but i'll probably get up at 6am and go check the lines. Sam's is a good possibility for me. I like the bundle they are selling - Premium system + extra wireless controller + play and charge kit for $449. Only problem I may have with Sam's is that I don't have a business membership, jsut a regular one and the business memberships will get first dibs 30 minutes early.
 
Just look for the most unsuspecting retial store were no one would think to go. Thats what i'm going to do (if I end up getting enough funds).
 
I have to work on tuesday at 8am so that narrows my options.

I found this:

* Electronics Boutiques: Store managers at EB are calling customers to bump them off of the first allocation of Xbox 360 pre-orders.
EB Games is facing severe shortages of Xbox 360 stock according to one employee who wrote in. The employee stated that his Arizona store has had over 90 pre-orders, 32 of which were guaranteed to be fulfilled, until today when the EBG head office revealed that the store would receive just 16 units on November 22nd, leaving another 16 "guaranteed" pre-orderers bitterly disappointed, and another 60-odd sod out of luck for who knows how long.
The company as a whole will supposedly only receive around 35,000 (VE3d source) / 40,000 (Kotaku source) its to distribute to all outlets across North America. Total pre-order is around 75,000 (Kotaku source)

* GameStop: Kotaku reports 18 at one store, despite 90 pre-orders. VE3d on the other hand reports that GS employee told them that everything's fine and they will be able to fulfill all preorders.

* Wal-Mart's site tells people to go to a store at midnight on November 22, the day Xbox is released in the United States. A Wal-Mart employee broke down how that fine chain would be handling the big day:
-All stores are supposed to open at midnight to sell their limited supply of 360s and games.
-Specific store's 360 supply will be dictated by corporate based on how their game sales are in general.
-Store supplies will likely be similar to what Target stores will be getting. (10 to 50)
-Only one 360 can be sold per a transaction.

* Target: 10 to 50 Xbox 360s depending on average volume of store. Every store will print up tickets representing the number of 360's and core systems they have in stock. Starting at 6:00 a.m., employees are supposed to go out and hand out tickets to people in line on a first come first serve basis.

* Best Buy: 20 to 60 Xbox 360s with a larger shipment coming "later that week." They decided to handle it like the PSP launch, handing out tickets at the door to line-waiters.

* Amazon.com Inc says the system is unavailable in the United States and warned UK buyers they may not get it by the holidays. Bids are as high as US$4,100 on EBay Inc, 10 times the suggested price of as much as US$399.99.
 
bill0527 said:
Wal-Mart obviously will start selling at midnight since almost every Wal-Mart is open 24 hours.
Click to expand...

What? Since when? None of the Wal-Marts here are open 24 hours.

Some Best Buy stores will be opening at midnight but I'm pretty its only in select cities.
Click to expand...

Yep, there's only like 12 Best Buys across the country having midnight openings.

Only problem I may have with Sam's is that I don't have a business membership, jsut a regular one and the business memberships will get first dibs 30 minutes early.
Click to expand...

Actually, business card guys get a whopping 3 hours headstart.
 
maximum360 said:
* Target: 10 to 50 Xbox 360s depending on average volume of store. Every store will print up tickets representing the number of 360's and core systems they have in stock. Starting at 6:00 a.m., employees are supposed to go out and hand out tickets to people in line on a first come first serve basis.
.
Click to expand...

With my situation, Target is sounding a bit better. I could show up around 3am or so and just play Mario Kart for a couple hours.

Does anyone know if Target is forcing bundles or not? Or heck, just which places actually are forcing bundles would be great.
 
Yeah.. I didn't even think about this. Last time around big box retailers were not forcing bundles, but they seem to be all the rage this time around.

Any word on who's doing what with their systems? I was planning on hitting Walmart since we have a couple open 24 hours around here.
 
Getting to Best Buy at 3:00am myself for the 7:00 opening. They're getting like 45 premiums. If that doesn't work, I'll hit Toys R Us when they open.
 
Plan A: Still waiting on Gamestops confirmation as to wether or not I get one at launch.
(If not, I'm pulling my money out.)
Plan B: Going to hope I can get one from the Xbox 360 Zero Hour event.

Plan C: Waiting in line at the Hawthorne Best Buy in Cali.

Plan D: Going to the Target store where I work at.

Plan E.... Haven't got there yet.

But if all fails....Theres no telling what I'll do . . . ;-)
 
Ramirez said:
My Wal-Mart is only getting 8 HDD packs and 10 tard packs,I plan on going VERY early... :lol
Click to expand...

How did you find that out? Seems like a very low number.

My plan is Walmart at midnight then CompUSA or Target or Circuit City in the morning if that fails.
 
VALIS said:
My plan is Walmart at midnight then CompUSA or Target or Circuit City in the morning if that fails.
Click to expand...

I think I might try this myself. Hit up WalMart at midnight and if I fail, go the few blocks down the road to the Target. . and if I fail there I'll cry and desperately drive like a lunatic to the CompUSA a town over.
 
Sl1p said:
I think I might try this myself. Hit up WalMart at midnight and if I fail, go the few blocks down the road to the Target. . and if I fail there I'll cry and desperately drive like a lunatic to the CompUSA a town over.
Click to expand...

:lol I have a feeling I'll need a full tank of gas and will go home on E...with no 360 and no sleep.
 
Ramirez said:
My Wal-Mart is only getting 8 HDD packs and 10 tard packs,I plan on going VERY early... :lol
Click to expand...


Ouch. Good luck. I'm trying to find out (no one knows ANYTHING there) how many my walmart is getting in...that will determine how early I'll arrive.
 
One EB manager has a conspiracy theory about EB not having enough and GS getting alot more. Maybe GS is taking systems from EB and rerouting them to GS stores.
 
iceDragon7 said:
Plan A: Still waiting on Gamestops confirmation as to wether or not I get one at launch.
(If not, I'm pulling my money out.)
Plan B: Going to hope I can get one from the Xbox 360 Zero Hour event.

Plan C: Waiting in line at the Hawthorne Best Buy in Cali.

Plan D: Going to the Target store where I work at.

Plan E.... Haven't got there yet.

But if all fails....Theres no telling what I'll do . . . ;-)
Click to expand...

i got the shaft from gamestop. i prepaid in august and they told me that the only people guaranteed are the ones who preordered in may or before. i ended up paying them a visit last night and getting a 100% refund on everything.

i've heard bad things about camping at best buy. the BB near my house made it mandatory to purchase a service contract for the PSP launch. a bunch of people walked out on them. i say go to target or walmart before BB. fuck BB. and fuck gamestop. (yes, i'm bitter).
 
How did you find that out? Seems like a very low number
Click to expand...

Yea my mom went to school with the head of electronics,so she gave us the dirt...we called another Wal-Mart and basically got nothing for answers =\

I'm gonna try to go down real early and scope things out,if there happens to be people already there I'll probably try the next WM,but I really don't think in a small ass area like I live I will have a problem getting one if I go there really early...only thing is the lady didn't really know how they were going to distribute them,like they had chairs with numbers for the NGC launch,but she didn't know if they would randomly hand out tickets or have chairs set up...if they have chairs set up I'll get one for sure,cuz I know there won't be 17 other people willing to go as early as I will :lol
 
hyp said:
i got the shaft from gamestop. i prepaid in august and they told me that the only people guaranteed are the ones who preordered in may or before. i ended up paying them a visit last night and getting a 100% refund on everything.

i've heard bad things about camping at best buy. the BB near my house made it mandatory to purchase a service contract for the PSP launch. a bunch of people walked out on them. i say go to target or walmart before BB. fuck BB. and fuck gamestop. (yes, i'm bitter).
Click to expand...

Good idea. I'll go to my gamestop tonight as well and get my full refund. Fuck Best buy?
I don't know, if I go there and they want to offer me a "service contract" I'll follow the NO guidelines. :)
 
I'm going to go, maybe, three hours early to Wal-mart. If there are other people in line that have a PSP and GTA: LCS, I'll stay. If not, I'll leave, and try my luck a few hours later, or go to Target in the am.
 
For the Seattle metropolitan area Costcos:

Every Costco is getting them EXCEPT the one in Tumwater, Tacoma and the one near downtown Seattle. Every other Costco is getting 40-50 and the Issaquah Costco is getting about 90. They are not opening early and the store hours vary from store to store. I don't know how the SKU's break down at these stores.

P.S. They are being bundled with PGR3 at the very least...
 
TheDuce22 said:
Are EB and Gamestop still doing that 1 year warranty for 20 bucks more? I might just wait for the 2nd shipment if they are.
Click to expand...

Can't speak for Gamestop, but the manager of one my local EB stores said the price of the warranty is going up for Xbox360. $40 for a 1 year warranty. That's a friggin ripoff considering I can get 3 years for $40 at Sam's Club.
 
So, is 3 hours before opening sort of the magic number?

I'm surprised it's not more than that, frankly. Those diehards who camp out for 8+ hours are scaring the shit out of me, especially if there are only 20ish units available per location...
 
Ramirez said:
My Wal-Mart is only getting 8 HDD packs and 10 tard packs,I plan on going VERY early... :lol
Click to expand...
:lol

Mine is getting a whopping total of 14 units, with 10 being the TARD pack.
 
Ixarulean said:
For the Seattle metropolitan area Costcos:

Every Costco is getting them EXCEPT the one in Tumwater, Tacoma and the one near downtown Seattle. Every other Costco is getting 40-50 and the Issaquah Costco is getting about 90. They are not opening early and the store hours vary from store to store. I don't know how the SKU's break down at these stores.

P.S. They are being bundled with PGR3 at the very least...
Click to expand...
I have a costco in my area, I better check with them too....

Hey, midnight, or not?
 
I'm gonna get the tard pack if I have to,I just gotta have my fuckin next gen gaming,I can always buy a HD addon >.>
 
At this point, your best option is likely going to be:

image_0022.jpg


and a

proninja01.jpg
 
Ramirez said:
Yea my mom went to school with the head of electronics,so she gave us the dirt...we called another Wal-Mart and basically got nothing for answers =\

I'm gonna try to go down real early and scope things out,if there happens to be people already there I'll probably try the next WM,but I really don't think in a small ass area like I live I will have a problem getting one if I go there really early...only thing is the lady didn't really know how they were going to distribute them,like they had chairs with numbers for the NGC launch,but she didn't know if they would randomly hand out tickets or have chairs set up...if they have chairs set up I'll get one for sure,cuz I know there won't be 17 other people willing to go as early as I will :lol
Click to expand...


Which store will you be at? I'll be trying the following in order: Richmond, Berea, Winchester, and Lexington (starting with Richmond Rd.). If I strike out there I suppose I'll park myself at Hamburg Target and pray.

Of course, I'm refusing to purchase the tard pack, which is going to make things that much more difficult. I could deal with the lack of wireless pad, remote, and headset, but having to cough up $140 for the hard drive and component cable? Not a chance. I'd rather wait till next year.
 
Ramirez said:
I'm gonna get the tard pack if I have to,I just gotta have my fuckin next gen gaming,I can always buy a HD addon >.>
Click to expand...

Same,plus I got a broken xbox I can trade in for credit towards a wireless controller.The cable sadly is useless for me in the prem. pack and like last gen I hardly cared to use a headset and I broke two anyway.

Plus I most likely would never use the mini remote.I mean I want the prem. pack more,but if I cant get it,I have no problem getting the tard back and buying a HD.
 
So, is 3 hours before opening sort of the magic number?

I'm surprised it's not more than that, frankly. Those diehards who camp out for 8+ hours are scaring the shit out of me, especially if there are only 20ish units available per location...
Click to expand...

During the PS2 launch, I arrived at Wal-Mart just about 3 hours prior and there were about 7 or 8 people in line. To be safe, I just stuck around. Eventually, after everyone got comfortable, we held places in line for people to go get chairs from the furniture/office dept.

By the way, if you go to a Wal-Mart, be sure to ask where they will be selling them. It's likely to be at the lay-away registers.
 
Link1110 said:
Opening early for business members FTW :D
Click to expand...

Costco is opening early for business members? I read earlier they have a PGR3 bundle. I wasn't planning on purchasing but now it's getting to me :) I know I will have to purchase one before Halo 3 anyway.

I have a business membership to costco.. are they all opening at the same time or do I need to call local costco?
 
They do have different hours depending on the store-check their website, also if you have a business member card you can go in 1 hour earlier than the store's opening time.
 
I'm gonna try to walk into my Target on day 1 and pick it up, sans bundle, but I'm not very hopeful. Nor stressed.
 
Costco is opening early for business members?
Click to expand...

Some do, some don't. One near me opens a half hour early for business members. Call your local ones and see which ones open early.

And don't take the website's word for it, either. I saw that another one near me opens at 10 for business members and 11 for non-business members. I'm glad I checked. They open at 9 for everybody.
 
Im starting to think Sams is going to be my best bet.

it sounds like Wal Mart is gonna be tard pack central so if theres any kind of line Im sure the premiums will go quick (maybe?). I really dont want to have to be in a line for hours.

Best Buy and Target in the morning are good chances too I think but if those dont work out I think Ill be able to get to Sams just as they open. I cant imagine too many people will be shopping Sams for the 360, especially people with business class memberships. if they get a decent amount I think this will be my best bet.

I sooooo feel like somebodies bitch right now
 
Unfortunately I'm on the 2nd shipment list myself.

I think I know where to get one bright and early-its a place where I doubt many will go on launch day.

SEARS.

Might be the perfect plan,no lines,and with any luck they'll have a premium pack waitiing for me.
 
Angelus said:
Unfortunately I'm on the 2nd shipment list myself.

I think I know where to get one bright and early-its a place where I doubt many will go on launch day.

SEARS.

Might be the perfect plan,no lines,and with any luck they'll have a premium pack waitiing for me.
Click to expand...


Do Sears still sell video games? Or is this only Sears in the US that has them now?
 
Damn good question.

Where I'm at(central California) they have a very nice selection of PS2.GameCube,and XBox stuff. I'm going to visit them toorrow and find out about the 360. They were right there for the PS2 and XBox launches,alot can change in a few years though. I Hope they don't let me down if I need to go there for the console. I really doubt the hardcores flocking from store to store are going to keep SEARS at the top of their list,especially since its out of the way from the more popular retail chains. Thats my best shot then,I'm looking to grab a premium 360 without having to fight off other folks for one. Plus SEARS sells service plans with their electronics. All the more important to check them out then.
 
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