There always seems to be at least one constant when it comes to the world of games system launches: shortages. There was absolutely no difference this time around as all three of the big console names, the Microsoft Xbox 360, the Sony PlayStation 3, and finally the Nintendo Wii, can’t seem to keep up with such high demand. Nintendo executives were prepared for the potential shortfall in supplies, and produced millions of the consoles for the launch of the Nintendo Wii.

They weren’t however, prepared for such an overwhelming demand for their new console. Nintendo attempted to have over four million units ready and available worldwide for the launch period. That is from its initial launch date on November 19, to the Christmas rush. Without doubt every shipment so far made from Nintendo to the retailers has sold out within the first day of arriving on the shop floor. It would most likely of been quite tricky for many to get their hands on a Wii for Christmas. As Christmas has now passed, the rush should gradually slow down, making it easier to lay your hands on the console.

Here are some tips that you may find useful with regards to purchasing a Nintendo Wii.

If you visit your local retailers to discover that they are out of stock, the first thing that you need to do is remain patient. If your disappointed that you missed out on your chance to grab a Wii during this weeks shipment, it not really the end of the world. There will plenty of new stocks of the Wii console arriving every week. What you don’t want to do is get so impatient that you buy a Wii on eBay for double the retail price.

Having said that, remember that eBay is still definitely a great place to check on deals for the Wii. If possible don’t let yourself be immediately attracted to the Buy it Now actions as these are the ones that tend to charge more than the retail price. What you want to start out with are the regular bid auctions. Make a search for “Nintendo Wii” and sort the auctions by “time remaining”. If you are living in the United States, you’ll only want to display only those results from North America. It is important to do this as there are a lot of scammers on eBay, and these scammers are typically located in overseas countries, such as Hong Kong or Japan.

After making your search, you should now have a list of all the Wii auctions that are ending soonest. What you are looking out for are the auctions where the lowest bid in currently below the retail price of the Wii ($249.99). These are the best auctions that you’ll want to start bidding on.

Always make sure to check on the shipping cost before bidding when using eBay. Some sellers will deliberately start out with a low cost, but charge an outrageous amount for shipping. This is an attempt to circumvent eBay’s seller’s fees. This method does not always work, but with the amount of users on eBay, there are still going to be plenty of people that have not taken the time to check the auction listing carefully and still bid on the auction, only to be shocking by the shipping cost when the invoice is received.

With a little bit of luck, you may be able to snatch up a Nintendo Wii for cheap. This may not be possible at the moment as there is still a very high demand for this console. The exact same principle will apple for Wii controller, games, and other accessories.

A further way to get the right deal on a Wii is to buy it in a bundle. Some shops and online stores are able to offer the Wii bundled with various games, accessories, etc. These bundles may seem at first to be quite expensive; however it does save you some money. If you take the time to take note of what the price would be if you bought every item separately you will quickly notice that you are getting everything at a great price. One important point to remember when buying a bundle is whether you really need and/or want everything in the bundle. An example would be if your not to keen on one or two of the games included, maybe it would be wise to buy everything individually.
Published by Darren Lintern