Every one of you having preorder nightmares have my genuine sympathy, but... I just had to post my way-too-fortunate SNES Classic procurement experience.
I'm well-known at my local EB Games. I've been going there for years and the staff know me. My preorder numbers have dropped off a lot since Overwatch came out, but they still know me to see me, and tend to be nice.
So I'm on the way to the Zoo with the fam and I decide to swing by on launch week, just to see if they've got any beyond their preorders. No, this dude tells me, but he promises to put aside one if someone fails to pick up their preorder by the cutoff date, and call me. Cool!
So I proceed to the Zoo. Halfway there, my phone goes off - it's The Dude. He's got one for me! Alluva sudden! Okay! So we enjoy the Zoo, and on the way home I stop by EB and purchase a brand new SNES Classic, the Thursday of launch week, without a preorder.
Having paid, I place the thing beside me on the counter and say "okay. So this is my older brother's Christmas present. Now I would really,
really like to have one of these. Any chance you got a second one..?"
No, says The Dude, but he promises to call me if any preorders aren't picked up.
My brother's SNES Classic remained sealed. It. Was.
KILLING ME, but I love my brother, so whatever.
Last week, on Tuesday, I call my EB just to see if they got a shipment in. "We did," says Some Other Guy, "but we're all sold out. You could try That Other Store, I know they just got a shipment."
"Could I get their number?"
No dice at That Other Store. Oh well. So I finish my day at work an I'm strolling down the street outside my office and my phone goes off. It's The Dude.
I go into the store, The Dude sees me and immediately walks to the back of the store. Some Other Guy greets me and asks if there's anything he can help me with. "He's got me," I say, pointing in the direction The Dude went.
The Dude comes out out of the back with an SNES Classic.
"Where was
that?!" Some Other Guy demands. When I'd called earlier, he'd had
no idea there was one of these things in the store because The Dude had hidden it so well. Dude did me a real solid. Twice.
So TL
R: I was able to score 2 SNES Classics with literally no effort on my part beyond cultivating a positive reputation with the folks at my local GameStop.
