On Monday, I went to Meijer and saw a 20GB PS3 for the first time. I was also able to get 15% off since my parents have a Meijer credit card (I'd just pay my parents back). I never thought I'd see a PS3, so I was initially not going to buy it. But after thinking about it for 10 minutes, I realized I can afford one, and I should definitely get it (because I definitely want one). As soon as I went back to get it, there was some guy standing right in front of the PS3, calling someone on his cell phone. He was asking how much a 20GB PS3 was going on ebay for. At the time, the highest one was going for $600, so he decided to buy it (PS3 comes to $530 after tax). I told the guy that I really wanted a PS3 and would not sell it. I also mentioned that it was highly doubtful he'll make a profit. All he said to me was "I'll sell it to you for $700". After what happened, I seriously cried, because I really wanted a PS3, but got beat my a scalper (which is why I loathe them even more now).
Now, since I'm seeing many people not even break even on 20GB PS3s on ebay, I don't feel so bad because that guy will probably get screwed. Even if he makes just over $500 on it, the ebay pees, Paypal fees, etc. will kick in, causing him to possibly lose money, or barely make any kind of profit. Unfortunately, I may not see a PS3 for $425 for a while (unless I get lucky again at Meijer).
Every time I go to Meijer and other stores, I look over the return area to see if anyone brought their PS3 back, since I heard about scalpers not making money. Unfortunately, this might be a bad sign for Sony (I am a big PlayStation fan afterall), but I'm very happy scalpers are getting screwed now. I had a feeling this was going to happen. With PS2 launch and Xbox 360 launch, not many people were thinking about putting their console on ebay initially. But after finding out people were willing to pay a lot, many people just knew the same would happen to PS3, so too many people put a PS3 on ebay, causing it to be saturated. I think the number of people willing to scalp is getting higher than the people willing to pay the high prices. Hopefully, scalping will decrease next generation.
I remember when people tried to scalpers tried to do the same for PSP (despite Sony shipping 1 million at launch) and failing.:lol
I personally don't understand why people want the 60GB model. People constantly complain about the PS3 price, yet they want the 60GB model. The 20GB model gives you everything you need (has HDMI now), but lacks WiFi, SD/MS/CF reader, larger HDD, and remote play for PSP. Oh course, the $600 is a good deal, but I personally feel that price is steep, especially for stuff I don't plan to use, which is why I'd get the 20GB model for $500.
