Foster’s Blog

My Quest for a Wii

After ignoring the hype for well over a year, I have finally tasted enough of the Wii to finally be on my own personal quest to possess one. The journey began just before Christmas. At the time, I wasn’t convinced I could find one, let alone afford to purchase one at Holiday prices. I decided to wait it out, making the assumption that come January 1st, Wii’s would be overflowing the shelves! I have never been more wrong.

I have been playing this out thinking that Best Buy would ultimately be the best place to track one down - obviously they are large enough to justify receiving large quantities of any product, so they would obviously be the best target to focus my attention. So far, Best Buy has been the biggest let down. Their employees have made my life a living hell, not divulging one ounce of information that could pertain to purchasing a Wii. I get a different story regarding the availability of stock from each person I talk to at that chain… everything from “keep an eye on the Sunday ads” to “ignore the ads, call us between 12-1 on weekdays.”

I almost ran into a Wii last Sunday (2/10) at Toys R Us. I had been doing a web search and found an article that said they received Wii shipments almost every Saturday evening, and that in most instances, a line formed Sunday mornings and tickets were handed out in numerical order. I decided to make a pit stop that afternoon, only to find they had a bunch that morning and had already sold out. Damnit.

Now I’m watching WiiTracker. It seems to be my best chance to finding a console online that ISN’T bundled. Seriously - what is up with that? I can understand Nintendo wanting to limit stock to increase demand, but to only sell Wii consoles in bundles to skyrocket the cost to well over $500 should be illegal. Needless to say, this endeavour has been trying my patience. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find the console in any retail store within the next few months as the shipments appear to be extremely random. In the meantime, I’ll continue to monitor the WiiTracker, hoping to find the console at a reputable reseller like Amazon or Toys R Us for the original price at $249.99.

Anyone want to keep an eye out for me? I’ll pay you back!