Got asked to help in-laws buy a Wii ... are there any left in the world?

[Captain Kidd]

My in-laws suddenly decided they need a Wii for Christmas. Me being an "internet genius" was elected to help them find the best deal... whee!

So, should I bother?

I've seen reports that the supply was probably going to be less than demand. Best Buy online is reporting sold out. Ebay prices are staggering, which is a bad sign.

I'm tempted to say "sorry, no go" without digging too hard, but, I'm too ethical to not attempt to try. At the same time, I'm not going to hinder myself as I have a really bad feeling about this hunt being weeks before Christmas.

[jb17kx]

Theres hundreds all over the place here - their television wil probably need to support PAL video, though.

[Captain Kidd]

Yay! ... wait boo! That's a bit of a drive, especially since I declined getting the SCUBA function for my car. ;) Hmm ... PAL and we're 10 Hz off on our utility frequencies. Guess I'll have to pass. Ah well, thanks for dangling that carrot just out of reach. :D

[Brentos]

you can get one... it'll probably just cost twice the price though.

[Captain Kidd]

Yeah, that's what's ebay's running, which was my first clue and what I told her.

[Mr. Rager!]

Oh yes, they exist.

I do love working for a place that sells them. :devil:

[Pedersen]

Do they exist? Yes. Will you easily find one?

I'll put out the numbers I just read about over on Slashdot.

Nintendo is producing 1.8 million units/month.

US Sales for last week is 350,000 units. Multiply by 4 (weeks/month), and you get 1.4 million units.

Will you find one easily? Not a chance. Not if those sales figures hold. Good luck with it.

[Captain Kidd]

I'll pass on the "good luck" as I ain't doing nuttin'. ;) Naw, really, I did what was I was asked to do. They're not going to find a super ebay deal so close to Christmas with such a low overhead. Best Buy looks sold out and it looks like Walmart's solution, at least online, is to sell WiiCards you can turn in at some point for a Wii.

Basically, they're not going to get a deal, looks like they'll be paying $250 like most everybody else.

Thanks all.

[MadMike]

I got one of those for my wife for her birthday from a reseller on Amazon.com. Cost about an extra $100.

[Arucard]

I'm seeing them everywhere in Australia. I hear of this shortage, but don't see it.

[TNT]

I got one from Amazon on Black Friday... they had them on sale twice for a few minutes each time.