Wiis going for tons of money on Ebay

by Candace Savino { Nov 26th 2007 at 6:00PM }

With the holidays coming up, inflated Wii prices on Ebay are to be expected. Yet, the prices that Wiis are going for right now (and it's only late November!) are surprising even us. They seem to be selling somewhere in the range of $500 to $650, and that's without even factoring in the shipping costs.

We knew that the situation was dire in the UK, but we didn't realize how deep the desperation was around these parts until checking out these exorbitant prices. It's just madness that a one-year-old console is going for at least twice its worth. This also seems like a huge jump from last week's Ebay sales, during which the average cost for a Wii was $377 (according to Terapeak).

The holidays are a scary time, indeed. Run while you still can.

[Via NeoGAF]

Tags: Ebay, Money, Sales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andre @ Nov 26th 2007 6:05PM

Time to track down some Wiis and eBay them, I guess.

cmichaelt @ Nov 26th 2007 6:08PM

or you could not be a jerk and maybe someone who actually wanted one and can only afford 250 can get it.

Atlantis1982 @ Nov 26th 2007 8:05PM

Or how about let people that WANT them to get them.

JC Fletcher @ Nov 26th 2007 6:09PM

Everybody wants to play Cosmic Family.

Mr Khan @ Nov 26th 2007 7:11PM

And, for some reason, Carnival Games

I had written it off, but its somewhat of a casual hit

Nate @ Nov 26th 2007 6:16PM

If I find them, you better believe they'll be on eBay. I have one, and I won't pass up the opportunity to make a little money.

B1gC72 @ Nov 26th 2007 10:32PM

i hear that man. im a between jobs right now plus paying for college so i could definitely use a little cash. i bought one at launch so this would be strictly for the money. i see one every now and then where i live so ill keep an eye out for the sucker.

B1gC72 @ Nov 26th 2007 10:33PM

i hear that man. im between jobs right now plus paying for college so i could definitely use a little cash. i bought one at launch so this would be strictly for the money. i see one every now and then where i live so ill keep an eye out for the sucker.

Fullmetal Salchemist @ Nov 26th 2007 6:28PM

I work at a GameStop, I'm going to try to score one and eBay that sucker.

Alistair @ Nov 26th 2007 6:33PM

Hmm. I just tracked about ten auctions as they closed and most were going for $400-$420. Still well above retail (and, indeed, above last week, where they were going for $350 or so) but not as egregious as it seems.

That said, there were (inexplicably) some Wii auctions sprinkled among them going for more. But I also saw one that closed at $355.

Bottom line -- if you don't want to camp out for hours before a store opening some Sunday, you're going to be paying $400 or so. The fascinating thing is that that's about what the Wii was going for on eBay at this time last year...

(Makes me glad I got mine in August! I have three friends who are desperately trying to get Wiis for their kids this Christmas.)

Nate @ Nov 26th 2007 8:20PM

I couldn't agree more. I got mine off eBay in May for 300 with Zelda...

Jake @ Nov 26th 2007 6:47PM

Anyone got details on Used Wii's?

If not having a Wii for a month or two means I get $400 I am in :)

Potter @ Nov 26th 2007 6:57PM

true dat yo

Dio @ Nov 26th 2007 7:39PM

There's like, two used Wiis at my Game Crazy for $230, but they don't have the boxes =/ If I could, I would buy and resell them as "barely used! I took it out of the box for three days!" as other auctions do.

Mr Khan @ Nov 26th 2007 7:13PM

The cruel trick would be to start an auction at $200, and the people, competing for such an awesome low price, would actually get it up higher

Avoli @ Nov 26th 2007 8:18PM

The holidays are going to be a savage time indeed as the time ticks nearer. At the BB I work at, we get a ton of calls asking if any are in. Oh the disappointment in the voice when we say, 'They all sold this morning.'

accidental @ Nov 26th 2007 8:38PM

Anyone in the UK wanting a Wii: Import from Australia or New Zealand – they're everywhere here (especially in NZ) and you can buy them used for about $200 USD on our local auction sites.

Valien @ Nov 26th 2007 9:32PM

My brother-in-law picked up 2 Wii's @ TRU last week and sold one of them on eBay on Friday for $510 + shipping. This is for the base unit with nothing extra.

Hey, if people want to pay that much money for one kudos to those that can sell them and make money on it! If I can find one in a store I'll be throwing it on eBay ASAP.

But still, $510 for the Wii that's been out for a year. Crazy supply and demand. Economics at it's best.

Abscissa @ Nov 26th 2007 9:39PM

I believe the term for that is "being a douchebag".

Bluebreaker @ Nov 26th 2007 9:36PM

Is it a bad sign that the value price console "for the people" is almost more expensive than PS3 *online* yet retains it's low price in a brick and mortar outfit?

saylorsgang @ Nov 27th 2007 9:22AM

I remember when the original NES came out, it was going for like 700$ in the classified ads, I knew a kid who's parents paid 1100$ for the "ultimate" set that included duckhunt/gyromite, the gun and R.O.B., that kid is most likely buying ne of those 500$ Wiis for his kids.

LittleKey @ Nov 26th 2007 11:19PM

It's being so successful at those prices because of the parents who have to get their kids a Wii for Christmas. Somebody like Jack Thompson could probably chalk that up to child abuse. I wouldn't be surprised.

Dusty @ Nov 27th 2007 7:49PM

ok i wasn't going to post this until i got my wii....AND THAT DAY IS TODAY!!!
first i asked a walmart employee when the wii was shiped,and he told me that they get wii's on tuesdays,and that they will know if they have any between 12pm and 1pm. i was there at 11:30 and got the 4th one.
see if you can find a decent walmart employee in the electronics department and see if he will tell you what day and time they expect wii's(p.s. walmart recieves shipments in electronics everyday,but wii's arrive on only one day of the week,oh he also said the get between 24 and 34 wii's in a shipment and they all sell in less than 24 hours)
this is your best bet.
happy wii hunting! W!!

Hafk @ Nov 27th 2007 8:06PM

Hey, do you want to go see a movie?

Thursdae @ Dec 5th 2007 11:22PM

Just sold my Used Wii with Game for $420.00! woooot

funkycomposer @ Dec 24th 2007 1:21PM

The Wii epidemic is an example of capitalism at its worst. It is absolutely sad as to the way we are being treated as potential buyers of the Wii product. You have stores playing games with customers, lying and being secretive about expected times of shipment, and rationing sells. It is totally disrectfully for the consumer to be treated in this way. The stores act as though they are giving away money to the consumers for every Wii they purchased. You have what I thought were respectable stores like Toys R Us engaging in price gouging on line, selling Wii at $600 plus with 10 games to justify the inflated price, not giving the consumer the choice of buying just the console bundle. Taking advantage of the so-call Wii shortage. I refuse to camp out at stores or pay inflated on-line prices. I expect Ebay to inflate but not Toys R Us. There should be protest for such blatant disrespect for the consumer. Oh! What is this selling Wii only on Sundays Crap?????????