eBay Xbox 360 bids reach $10,000+
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Oct 24th 2005 at 7:00AM }
The likeliness of a frenzied (and faked) Xbox 360 shortage in the US has increased greatly now, with a pre-order
Xbox 360 deal going past $10,000 on eBay. The chances of a scared hardcore gamer legitimately bidding above ten
thousand dollars just to get an Xbox 360 at launch are not worth thinking about. So we're leaning towards this auction
being either: a bunch of fake bids mocking a high starting price, or another viral marketing scheme intended to scare
punters into pre-ordering an Xbox 360.
It's impossible to imagine that someone would be stupid enough to pay the equivalent price of a car just to guarantee
an Xbox 360 at launch. If you're still desperate to get an Xbox 360 at launch, then read our 5 step plan for
global domination about why the Xbox 360 shortage
is faked. Basically the plan goes: sit and wait for launch day, then try and find one from a store. In the
meantime, leave your credit card alone!
[Thanks, Liquid Rhino]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jayman16 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Ha! The fake item has already been removed from eBay!
Oshi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
There were a lot of people in GameCrazy last night preordering 360s.
The1 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Only a fool will buy this. There is no way in hell anyone should pay that much for any CONSOLE.
p-diddy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I don't understand the rush. Sorry, not a PS3 fanboy either, but the X-box launch looks weak. PGR3 is now delayed, Ghost Recon is delayed, Gears of War won't ship till March and most people that have actually played the 360 says it's more like Xbox 1.5. Blech. I'll wait till Gears of War comes out. I'll have no trouble finding one then.
-p-
BXJoseff @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
agreed p-diddy...
this is a lot of bleh. I didn't own an XBOX but if I go out and buy a XBOX 360 during launch, Id be more compelled to buy a copy of Fable, Jade Empire, or Halo 2 before PDZ. Just doesn't look too impressive right now.
Lesbian Ham @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
But, is it true that there'll be a shortage in the UK? I think I remember reading from somewhere on joystiq that only 100,000 units are being shipped to the UK. Is this true?
Almost every place i've been to or phoned up and asked about pre-ordering an x360, they all said they cant guarantee me one from the first batch - is this cause they're first allotments have all been pre-ordered or because they're just required to say that in case anything out of the ordinary happens ?
BXJoseff @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Lesbian you worry too much. If you look hard enough you'll find the XBOX 360 on launch day.
Lesbian Ham @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I sure hope so :-(
Jeremy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
As someone who works at a game store, I can promise you that this shortage is not fake, and will happen. I work in the slowest GameStop in the entire district, and we have over 60 pre-orders. The store across the street from mine (in a mall) has almost 200 pre-orders, and the busiest store in the district is pushing 500. Microsoft has been making consoles since August and at the normal manufacturing rate, they expect to barely be able to fill pre-orders on launch day.
Given the facts that there is already this incredibly high volume of demand (far more than anyone expected), Microsoft is attempting a global launch, and that manufacturing plants have a limited output capacity, Xbox360 shortages will be real and not falsified.
Am I saying you won't be able to find one? No. I'm sure that stores that don't take pre-orders will have a few, provided you sleep outside the store to get one. Otherwise, look forward to settling for the Core system.
Hachi_roku @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
This is gold. me and a frend went to Eb an EB games located in Brooklyn the otherday, all I can say is that the employes there said some amazing things like "America is Sold" at least a million people have preordered there Xbox 360 already. They even said my friend couldnt get one untill like a few months into 2006. I have found at least two sites that is still taking preorders, and im almost positive that he can get one at Sears, or SamGoodys. Or just anywhere else that doesnt specialize in Games on lauch day.
p-didy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I don't think the shortage is fake, I just don't understand it. I pre-ordered over a month ago and my local gamestop was already on the second wave. I don't doubt people are buying this thing up. I just don't understand why. After the titles I was interested in started dropping like flies, I just canceled the pre-order. Dropping $500 right before christmas on games I'm not salivating to play? feh. No thanks.
-p-
KrAzYmAn @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Well I pre-ordered mine back in June so I am fine. If I win a xbox 360 on every10minutes.com, I will probably sell it on ebay for over 500$, that is what the 400$ systems are going for on ebay, check it out.
vc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Like we wrote earlier, all it takes for a fake shortage to become a real one is for enough consumers to believe it.
The mere rumor of a shortage is enough to generate demand that tips fake scarcity into the realm of real scarcity. People desire what they can't have.
Benz @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
We can only hope that no individual would ever pay such a ridiculous amount of money for a videogame console, but there just might be some people out there willing to pay whatever it takes to get an Xbox360. For that kind of money you can buy a brand new Hyundai Accent or Kia Rio or even a very nice used car for that matter!