While hype for the Nintendo Wii U may not be as substantial compared to other consoles, pre-orders for the Wii U went quickly and eventually sold out. Now, console scalpers are looking to make bank on their pre-ordered Wii U consoles by selling them on eBay for almost a quarter as much as they originally paid for the console.
It turns out that the 32GB “Deluxe” Wii U system is selling for an average of $517, which is almost 50% higher than the $350 retail price. However, the margin is a lot less for the 8GB “Basic” console, which is averaging $348 on eBay when the retail price is only $300. Then again, one lucky eBayer was able to sell his 32GB Deluxe system for a whopping $750.
Selling sold out devices on eBay is nothing new. It’s been happening with the iPhone 5 just recently, with people spending as much as $800+ for the basic 16GB model. I also saw this kind of thing back in 2006 when Sony launched the PlayStation 3. They were easily selling for over $1,000 on eBay at the time when they sold out.
Seeing as to how a lot of people are willing to spend this much on a Wii U console says that Nintendo still must be doing something right at least. The lone fact that the Wii U sold out is a sign that the Wii series still has momentum. We’re excited to see how launch day goes for the Wii U — it’s happening on November 18 and there will be 23 games to choose from that day as well.
Story Timeline
[via Ars Technica]
Wii U pre-orders fetching up to $750 on eBay is written by SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
