The Ebay Problem
I've been trying to buy a Wii Fit for the past month. I'm on a very serious weight loss plan that involves heavy dieting and exercise, and I would like to incorporate Wii Fit into my workout routine. I already have a Wii, and lately I've been using Wii Sports, aside from doing my usual combination of crunches, push-ups, and jogging. Unfortunately, Wii Fit is always sold out. I know because I've been watching the Wii Fit tracker. Each day, for about 10 minutes, some online store will suddenly have the Wii Fit in stock, and then it will be gone again. It happens so fast because there are tons of scalpers out there watching those sites more fervently than me, and as soon as any stock becomes available, they snatch them up to resell them on Ebay. Here's a screenshot from the latest auctions there, all due to end in 7 or 8 hours:
Wii Fit, which goes for a retail price of $90, is reaching prices of $132 hours before the auctions even close. To make things worse, these prices indicate that people are actually offering to pay this much more for something that retailed at $90. Clearly, the Ebay problem is a scalping problem. Ebay was always meant as a way for people to resell things rather than just throwing them away. For the buyer, Ebay ought to be a place where you can find deals as well as products that aren't sold in stores. I really wish it wasn't the prime place for scalping.
Unfortunately, you can't blame Ebay for allowing this practice. They are simply providing a service, and allowing users the freedom to take advantage of that service as they please. The real responsibility is on the buyers; people should refuse to pay any more than $90 for Wii Fit, ever. If people did that, no one would try buying them just to resell them, and it would be much easier for a guy like me to buy a Wii Fit at retail price direct from a store.
Maybe I'm just dreaming. It's hard to get everyone to think in the interest of others. I'm just writing this to make the statement that I refuse to pay more than $90 for the Wii Fit I'll eventually have. In the meantime, I'll stick to jogging and whatever else I can do to lose weight.
Note: I have no qualms with paying less than $90 for Wii Fit, ha ha
This was the case with music festival tickets in the UK, they would sell out almost immediately and then turn up on eBay. Now I don't mind people buying tickets, realising they couldn't go and selling them on, but the people who buy in bulk to sell for profit really spoil the idea.
However, more recently this has stopped and tickets on eBay have been selling for less than face value as the public has cottoned on to what's going on. Now you can get that cheap last minute ticket, because no-one is paying over the odds in the first place (although many are complaining about the sheer cost of a festival ticket in the first place).
Good luck getting your Wii Fit!
We have exactly the same problem in the UK at the moment.
Getting hold of a Wii Fit board is almost as hard as getting a good Prime Minister or a sunny day!
I guess after a while the craze will die down and the boards will become available again - just like the console did - but I bet it coincides with christmas and any new balance board compatible games like Skate It coming out at the same time! Argh!
Oddly enough, the local drugstore seems to have plenty of Wii Fits. Supply isn't quite so difficult to get your hands on up here.
With eBay, the higher price is simple supply and demand. People are willing to pay a premium to be one of the first while supply is low. Christian, patience is a virtue and you'll likely find that either the need to purchase the product will pass or you'll get the product at a more respectable price.
This is just basic economics at work. There are a certain number of people who are willing to pay more than retail for a WiiFit. These people will do so—on eBay or otherwise—because the system is worth it to them. Once the supply of WiiFits being sold above retail price surpasses the number still willing to overpay, you'll see the price gradually fall and the systems return to the store shelves.
Jon & Dean, I understand the basics of supply and demand, but there is also a dreamy school of economic thought that tells us that buyers can collectively act in the best interest of each other, by refusing to allow reselling like this to occur. We don't have to be slaves to the system