40,000 Xbox 360s sold on eBay
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Dec 3rd 2005 at 4:15PM }
The hardcore gamer lament that we've been hearing around here goes something like this, "That's my Xbox 360 on eBay at 100% markup! I hate the people who purchased 360s simply to turn around and resell them. I could be playing right now if it weren't for them!"
It's true. With at least 40,000 Xbox 360s sold on eBay since launch at an average price of well over $400, many consumers who might have been able to obtain an Xbox 360 for the standard retail price were left empty-handed, while those with deeper pockets and less tolerance for hours-long launch lineups obtained the console with relative ease.
In some cases, small local electronics retailers chose to list their entire inventory on eBay rather than sell the units on launch day. This allowed them to exploit high demand for the console without being constrained by little details like the advertised price. That's capitalism, we suppose, but it doesn't make it any easier to stomach for readers who still haven't been able to obtain one of the consoles.
[Via Evil Avatar, thanks Mark B.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
O'Neill @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Well what about, the Xbox360 Llamma Edition, they are making a profit too of that $4650 going already.......what, it took them less then a week to mod it......this is taking advantage of consumers. The sad thing is that people have money to waste and will buy it.
O'Neill::
bd @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Thats my Xbox 360 on eBay at 100% markup! I hate the people who purchased 360s simply to turn around and resell them. I could be playing right now if it werent for them!
Well, I would reply to them:
Listen asshole, if you are in such a hurry, why don't you buy them of E-bay for a change? Too expensive? GET A JOB. I'm sick of watching all you Xbox fanboys drooling over a mediocre console.
You have the money and don't want to pay that much? Either you are a cheap bastard, or you are a moron for complaining in the first place. You'll get your 360 eventually, and perhaps cheaper, so shut the hell up.
For all you idiots that got it above 400 and are complaining because of that, you probably don't understand capitalism. Go to France or Canada, maybe you'll be happy there.
Funny how people are eager to pay hundreds of dollars more than the original price for something that could cost them something close to 250 in less than a year (when the PS3 (and the good games) come out).
striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Quite correct, Mark. Here at Joystiq Corporation LLC,,. we do not tolerate such enormous lapses of judgment. Vlad is SO fired.
DG @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
"For all you idiots that got it above 400 and are complaining because of that, you probably don't understand capitalism. Go to France or Canada, maybe you'll be happy there."
And when people are selling 4-packs of D batteries for $50 during blackouts, that's okay. Bottles of water for $20? Sure, why not. It's capitalism. Manufactured energy crises in California to line the pockets of executives? If those poor bastards being extorted out of their money can't afford, go to Canada.
Idiot.
Mark B @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
striegs,
Dude, you're funny. :P
Vlad, thank you.
Chance @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I sold mine on pricegrabber.com for 850 USD. It went in one night! If your looking for a good deal on a 360 premium pack, check out the site! I have two more that I need to unload.
(suckers)
Tim E @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
The people who spend thousands on the console probably don't have deeper pockets. I bet 1000 to 1 they are in debt up to their eyeballs. And those people who had to wait hours to get one? So what? Theres a pretty obvious tradeoff here, you wait a couple hours, you save a thousand bucks. Sounds pretty good to me. If you waited hours and didn't get one, that's the luck of the draw, blame Microsoft for a rushed botched release. Honestly, there's nothing here to get upset about, except the local retailers selling straight to eBay, that's pretty fucked up.
Leshrac @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
While I don't have quite the harsh words of bd, I tend to agree. What's the hurry in getting this console, and if you really wanted it, then why didn't you just pre-order it from any of the several websites taking pre-orders? I sold mine on Ebay because I realized that someone else could pay for my XBox 360, because for whatever reason, people are willing to pay a crapload of money for them. If people weren't so ridiculously obsessed with it, these things would probably not be going for more than $100 over the retail price on Ebay, or even less (since $100 over the retail would probably make a lot of people think twice about selling theirs on Ebay).
I'm sorry that some people who wanted them didn't get one, but clearly there are people out there willing to shell out over $1000 for one, making it a very appealing sell over Ebay.
Mark B @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Bottom line, 1 out of 10 of the 360's are for sale on e-bay.
That tells me lots of people purchased the 360 for no other reason than to turn a profit....NOT because they actually wanted the system.
Think about it.
nigeltrash @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
My reply would be slightly less blunt:
"I preordered my Xbox online 3 months ago. Why didn't you?"
Embassy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
man dont knock another mans hustle...the smartest people were the ones who copped a few 360s and flipped them for some easy cash...thats life...gotta spend money to make it..shit i sold mine for 1500...
Tim E @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Jared, I agree with you that BD is a jackass, however, your view of economics are flawed. It is perfectly legal for companies to price gouge, it all depends on how much the customer is willing to spend. Normally a customer could goto the next store and buy what they want for a normal price, but when there is a shortage, companies can raise prices because few other people have the product that customers want.
The organizations you mentioned don't stop that, they stop monopolies and trusts, a monopoly is when there is one company for an entire industry, and they have no competition, so since they have the product people want, and there is no competitor to provide lower prices they can charge what they want. A trust is when a couple companies agree to charge a certain amount to artificially raise prices. There's a difference.
Z @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
The only one to blame in this matter is MicroSoft for not shipping out enough unit on purpose.
dfd @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
DG -- you don't need an xbox 360 in order to survive an emergency situation.
However, this is still price gouging -- albeit for a luxury item as opposed to a commodity.
I think this whole situation illustrates the power of marketing. Microsoft marketing did an awesome, awesome job. And it's created a really dangerous and terrible precedent for consumers, because you know that Sony, Nintendo -- hell, ANY company with a product to sell -- is going to be ordering their manufacturing and marketing teams to CREATE a shortage.
Jeremy Wright @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I don't buy the argument that most of those lined up for the packages intended to sell them on eBay... But after you see them going for 1000$ plus you start to think to yourself "yeah, I'll sell mine and it'll pay for one in a few months".
I got 1500$ for mine that way. I started the bidding at 1$, so it's not like I was "ripping people off". People chose to bid higher. I did nothing to hype it up or make them bid higher. In fact, I put the BIN at 600$ (which I guess is "ripping them off", but damn it I waited in line).
It went much higher than the BIN though. Never thought it would, but it did.
I'm not sure that's capitalism at all. In most of these eBay cases, the seller isn't setting the price. Buyers are.
Sagan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I'm so biting my own ass right now because I read all the news about the prices on eBay in the US, but it never came to my mind to buy a 360 over here in Europe just to sell it on eBay. I thought of this one day after the console launched here, and now it's too late... Maybe PS3 or Revolution...
xbox360-forums.com @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I don't respect people who do this, but as a student who has much debt, it would be most tempting to make 150 and not have an xbox 360 for a month.
Mike @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
so there are none shipping to stores at all correct? Do we know when a new shipment might happen? MS is retarded if they think the numbers they shipped would meet demand.
Whopping Wombat @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
wow , looking at bd's site, its pretty clear hes got it out for xboxes in general. What and angry little weasel. FEED YOUR ANGER....btw, don't bring Canada into this (I dont know much about France), my country wouldn't want your bitter type.
mrjiggles @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
i just dont get the mad rush to get an xbox 360..the only people with a good reason to do this are hackers, so that they get the first most crappy and hackable generation..everybody knows that there will be a few knockdowns of the price...when PS3 comes out for example..and THAT will be when all of the best games are coming out, too. why is it so important to waste so much more money than is necessary to get one RIGHT when it comes out? stupidity
bubbacrosbysucks @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
how could any of you say that a consumer is being taken advantage of anyone else-- if you buy an Xbox amdist this hype, at whatever the price, you are knowingly making yourself a whore. And you like it.
bubbacrosbysucks @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
how could any of you say that a consumer is being taken advantage of by anyone else-- if you buy an Xbox amdist this hype, at whatever the price, you are knowingly making yourself a whore. And you like it.
thomas_h @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
i guess you could call me lucky, i walked into a store here in norway yesterday, and got me a 360 no problems at all. but they did get sold out in 10 minutes though. all the shops in norway got sold out within one hour. ftr, i love my 360... i got PGR3 and Kameo, and i love em both :D wireless controller is sweet, and i love that i can turn it on & off just my pushing the guide button.... :D
the_game_master @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
"In some cases, small local electronics retailers chose to list their entire inventory on eBay rather than sell the units on launch day. This allowed them to exploit high demand for the console without being constrained by little details like the advertised price."
wait just a minute. How is that possible? Isn't that illegal, how can retailers request to carry new game hardware and withhold it from selling it on the manufactures's launch date? Don't retailers sign a agreement with the manufacture when they carry there hardware? Then not only that but placing the hardware on online auctioning sites, instead of issuing a buy now offer. Are you sure these are retailers placing their products on ebay, or these just scheming rich geniouses who decided to take advantage of the opportunity and pre-order before everyone else to get their system first only to resell them on ebay. That' how I see what's happening here.
whiplash @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
This is price gouging at its worst. Have you seen some of these auctions on Ebay? Some start at $10,000,000! I bet you that much money no one would bid on those anyway.
LMAO @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
BOTTOM LINE: There's no market if there's no BUYERS!!! DAMN people quit buying them at ridiculous prices and people will stop selling them at ridiculous prices. I bet half of those auctions are won by people who intend to re-auction the console AGAIN at even higher price. Basically, if you can find a console today and sell it at 200% or more, and buy it again later, you basically got the console for free. I bet those ebay scalpers check the local stores every hour just to get more consoles. I can basically turn this into a FULL TIME JOB!!
MrP @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
So people are selling their X-boxes for 800 dollars and upwards. So frick'n what? I find it hard to blame them, really... If it's so important for someone to play the few games available for the 360 two weeks earlier than most (hell, not even that, seeing as you still need to wait for it to get to you), let them pay that much. I'd do the same thing, if I knew that the tactic would work in Norway.
As it is, it seems that it isn't: The most I'm seeing any of'em being sold for so far is about a 30% markup. Which I guess is worth it to those who don't want to wait (gasp) two or three more weeks.
Kristian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I wish I had bought a 360 on launch day and then sold it on E-Bay for 150% markup. It would have been so useful towards my university tuition.
Tenuis70 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I did pre order! and still didn't get mine, so I got one off ebay because I had the cash, I work hard for my money but this was a system I wanted, bottom line is MS F'd up and did a world wide launch at friggin Xmas!!! If you want somethng bad enough you'll find a way to get your hands on it, no one pays my bills but me so I paid over for one, oh well
don_sf @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
paying hundreds (mayb thousands) for a console with better graphics? no hd dvd or blu ray either?
all i can say is, i hope you make the most out of project gotham because thats as good as 360 wil get.
Jeff @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
"That tells me lots of people purchased the 360 for no other reason than to turn a profit....NOT because they actually wanted the system." - Mark B
which in turn means 1 out of 10 people who actually wanted the system bought it on ebay.
doesnt change the fact of how many systems were sold.
way to much whining ps3 fanboys in here too, yesh, cant believe people get so worked up over electronics. ZOMG ps3 has all the good games, yah cuz we can totally tell already since its out right? At least i can say, without being a flaming homosexual fanboy, that I have a 360 already and I enjoy it much, that its real not to mention five of the games i've gotten have all been pretty great so far. Until the ps3 or next nintendo comes out people should really chill out because nothing beyond stats can be said till its released. And it reaaally doesnt matter what the companies say their systems can do, ps2 was supposed to be 80 times as fast as the ps1 rite? Microsoft does it too, companies exaggerate. I'm thinking, maybe four or five years down the road when the 360 starts to hit its limits, the ps3's raw power is going to start giving it the edge over the 360 in the graphics department, but until then neither system is going to tap out for years to come so in reality theres not going to be to huge a difference up until then, just my view of the subject. The whole paying 1000's of dollars for a 360 on ebay just blows my mind though.
helo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
And this is news because? Of course this is going to happen. You can thank eBay for our "new economy". ANY ITEM that is highly sought will fetch ridiculous prices whether they be Furbys or 360's. And for you idiot PS3 fanboys saying things like "why would anyone buy a 360 at launch when the real machine (PS3) will come out with the good games.", please shut the f* up. I bet on DAY ONE you hypocrites will be out there buying that console thinking it can cure cancer or something.
NEWSFLASH: you don't know what games will be at launch yet (you might get Fantasvision 2 for all you know), you don't how much it will really cost (which will ALSO be put up on eBay at 200% markup), you don't know what potential problems/defects could crop up.
And mark my words all of you poo pooing the launch lineup, the overheating, the overselling on ebay, will come to realize that when your precious console launches it most likely will have the same things happening to it. I've got somewhere around a year to take the 500 bucks I spent on a 360 and enjoy the games while I wait for the PS3. Some of us actually buy all the consoles and don't give a crap about which one is better. We just want to play all the games.
Zen @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Don't hate us. You can get the 360 later, and if you were so 'hardcore' you would have found a way to get one at launch.
Hate ticket touts, who stop you from seeing a once-in-a-lifetime event.
the_game_master @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
PlayStation fanboys listen up.
Don't end up like these Xbox fools, its best that you pre-order in advance for PS3. In fact treat the pre-order date like it would be the console system's launch date. That way your name will be at the top of the retail store's reserve list and you'll be the first to get one when they go on sale.
Coates @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Sorry for not flaming but I like what this site is doing http://www.cclonline.com/content/xbox/index.asp?advertID=ad0017
Donating the money they make to charity seems a-ok to me
Cambob @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
People are such gosh darn fools. Everyone with a brain knows a console isn't worth buying when it first comes out... especially when the only things setting it apart is pretty graphics... sheeple sheeple.
John @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PRICE GOUGING!
It's a myth, a lie told by the government and the media so you'll either buy their newspapers or give them more power.
Let's take 360's. What does it mean that someone is willing to pay two or three times retail for it? It means they really want the dumb thing. It doesn't make any sense to me, but that's what toleration and diversity are all about: accepting that not everyone is the same as you. If it's worth that much to them, it's better that they have it anyhow. Where is any wrong there?
Now, and I know I'll tick you off, I'll say that these concepts STILL apply during hurricanes. Say a hotel owner charge three times his going rate when a hurricane has hit a nearby coast. THIS IS A GOOD THING!! It means that someone will decide to go stay with that aunt they don't like instead of at a hotel, leaving more for people who don't have family in town. It means a family of 4 will make do with 1 room instead of 2. It means people who still aren't too tired will keep on driving inland, and those who can't drive anymore will have a room to stay in.
Folks, money may not be the perfect way to figure out who gets what, but it's a lot better than blind chance or first come first serve, or whoever knows the right people, or whoever has the best in with the politicians.
LOBO Rodas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
I got mine for $730. I enjoy it a lot. If you dont want to pay, well, wait some months and shut the hell up.
Tomas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
man, f*ck Ebay. Now that everyone and their mommas know about Ebay, things there go more expensive than at retail stores. It's freakin ridiculous.
It's not what it used to be.
the whole point of ebay was exactly the fact that only really interested people would go in there... but now we have grandmas using the Buy it Now! option. it's whatever.
don @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
your right on one capitalism is part of this great united states that im fixing to go and protect but you wrong on one point and that is selling stuff at an outragious prices just becouse its in demand its immoral and wrong and the BBB(Better Business Burreau)considers that price gauging and its a fedral affence how ever this dosent apply to a auction house like ebay the best way to get rid of this is to not simply buy the products for this price and sham the ones who do and the person setting the price that high come on guies its economics 101 buyer and consumer ethics
Pixelantes Anonymous @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
At which point does scalping (and please note that eBay is just one avenue they're hawking their XBox 360 wares on) begin to be a problem?
10% of a high demand item being resold on eBay? 20%, 30% or 40%?
Whatever the percentage may be, the units being resold on eBay artificially increase the demand of XBox 360s. That's not a good thing if you're a gamer (unless you're also a scalper, of course).
I'm not a lawyer, so I have no idea if Microsoft could prohibit XBox 360 reselling on secondary markets until a certain date when you purchase one from an authorized reseller, but if it was possible, it'd make things a lot better for their customers. Well, at least 40K of them.