Wii need some Wii's!

November 30, 2007 8:43 AM

What kind of chance do I have of finding a Wii before Christmas?

So, after much longing, I have finally decided to take the plunge and get a Wii. I'd like to have it for the Christmas holiday if possible. Also, one of my mom's coworkers is trying to find one for her daughters for Christmas, and I'd like to help her if possible (and if I can only find one, it'll go to her and not me).

So what kind of chance do I have, and where would be the best place to look? I'm seeing it out of stock at most online retailers, and I know a lot of stores are sold out because of the Christmas rush. Does anyone have an idea of when and where I might be able to find one or two?

I'm an avid eBay user, but I really don't want to buy something like this on eBay, especially as a gift. Definitely seems like scamming opportunities would abound, and I certainly want a new-in-box one.

I did a search on this topic and the latest post I could find was from August 11th of this year. If I missed something more recent, please let me know.

Any help would be greatly appreciated--you'll be making a college student and a few young girls very happy at Christmas!

posted by DMan to shopping (32 comments total)

Big box electronics stores seem to make weekly shipments available sunday mornings. You'll have to wait on a line. Get up early this weekend, maybe 6 a.m.? Drive or walk by, and if there's a line already, get on it. :)

if you're willing to buy a bundle (Wii + 2-5 games you may or may not want, at retail cost), keep reloading Wiitracker. There's an RSS feed to make it a bit easier.
posted by neustile at 8:49 AM on November 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Check the history section of that Wiitracker site -- the cheaper bundles sell out within 10 minutes, and the expensive ones sell out in an hour or so, but there's lots of them.
posted by neustile at 8:50 AM on November 30, 2007

If you don't mind overpaying a bit I'd go with Craigslist. Meet the seller in a public place (starbucks, library, mall etc.) and make it clear to them that you will want to open the box (or at least make sure it is factory sealed) before completing the transaction. I bought my 360 this way when I needed to get it fairly quickly and it went very well.
posted by frieze at 8:56 AM on November 30, 2007

How to Get a Wii at Retail Price
posted by Manjusri at 8:59 AM on November 30, 2007

The way I got mine is to call seven different stores (Toys R Us, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc) every single morning.

I was really polite and nice to the people who answered the phone, and after about a week and a half, one of them told me about a shipment that was going to arrive that day at 10 a.m. unannounced to the public and suggested I get there quickly to get one since I had been so nice and patient.

I know one other person for which this worked too :)

Good luck, they are a lot of fun!
posted by ugf at 9:05 AM on November 30, 2007

You can get them on Craiglist. I see them posted fairly often.

The other tactic is what others have mentioned and how I got mine- call around town until you get some luck. However, instead of waiting for them to tell you, I'd ask when they're getting some shipments in.
posted by jmd82 at 9:11 AM on November 30, 2007

I got mine last February by following neustile's Big Box Retailer advice ... and visiting on a RAINY Sunday morning. Showed up at 9:45 am, got one of the dozen or so they had on the shelf.
posted by notyou at 9:18 AM on November 30, 2007

Thirding the "check big box stores early Sunday morning" idea. We eventually got one by camping out in front of a Circuit City for several hours on a Sunday morning. I found this tutorial especially helpful when looking for a Wii. The key was this forum, where they posted early versions of the Sunday sale ads for big box stores. If there was a Wii in the ad, they would have some in the store when they opened Sunday morning. Watch out, though, some people can be pretty cutthroat.
posted by sleeping bear at 9:25 AM on November 30, 2007

Thanks for all the help so far, I'll pass it along and will begin to look myself.

Hard to believe that this may involve camping after more than a year out on the market.
posted by DMan at 9:38 AM on November 30, 2007

I found one for a co-worker to give to her kid. My less than complicated strategy was to ask every store I happened to be in if they had one. Added a minute or two to any given walk through the mall or trip to Target but eventually I was in a Gamestop(? the mall game store that would rather sell used stuff than new) that had two. They'd only sell me one, and someone else got the other one before I'd walked all the way out the door, but I got it.

They did not have them on obvious display so if I hadn't asked I'd never have known. This was mid-day on a weekday, for what it's worth.
posted by phearlez at 9:41 AM on November 30, 2007

Apaprently TJ Maxx had a bundle just after black Thursday (was that just a week ago?). They charge $400 and threw in a several junk accessories, but hey, they had 'em.
posted by GuyZero at 9:52 AM on November 30, 2007

I'd say the easiest way is to find the local ToysRUs and stop in every morning. I was in the TRU I got mine from on a Wednesday night, and they had 0. I went at lunch time on Thursday and they had 5 or 6. Wish I had bought more at the time.
posted by TuxHeDoh at 9:55 AM on November 30, 2007

Quick, amazon.com has them right now! (10:14 am PST)
posted by jamaro at 10:14 AM on November 30, 2007

If you don't manage to catch one, the amazon product forum is great for getting tips. I got mine last May after someone tipped off that Target would be getting a shipment on a particular day.
posted by jamaro at 10:16 AM on November 30, 2007

Alerting your friends/colleagues that you want one can help too. One of my coworkers ran an errand to Target one day at lunch, saw that they had 6 Wiis in stock, and called me. I drove over on my own lunchbreak and got one.

This was also on a Thursday, now that I think about it, so maybe shipments come in that day too.
posted by leesh at 10:18 AM on November 30, 2007

It's gone from Amazon already.
posted by langeNU at 10:19 AM on November 30, 2007

When I got one, from Fry's, it was on the tip that if they advertised them in their pre-weekend sale ad in the paper, they would be getting some Saturday morning. I got there when they opened Saturday and there were 12, and 12 buyers.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:47 AM on November 30, 2007

That was fast. Gone in two page refreshes.

Advice from the Wii product forum I mentioned before:

http://www.azgrabber.com/
Enter watch ASIN: B0009VXBAQ

Works better in IE than Firefox.
Leave it open and crank up your computer speaker volume.

Haven't tried that site myself but hey, it worked for that guy.
posted by jamaro at 10:54 AM on November 30, 2007

According to this Spoofee post, Best Buy stores will have at least 18 each this Sunday.

I can also attest to Wii Alerts' effectiveness. I've snagged three in the last week or so. I know others have had success with iTrackr, but I gather it's pretty hit and miss.
posted by j-dawg at 11:20 AM on November 30, 2007

What everybody else said :-)

But, if you're not completely against the idea of eBay, what I found when I bought one about 6 weeks ago is that while is usually frantic bidding on the currently closing units, often from sellers with few feedback entries, with a little looking I was able to find that there were plenty of "buy-it-now" units from sellers with decent feedback that were cheaper shipped than the current sales were closing at.

I bought one for about $50 over retail, shipped. Take off $25 for sales tax I didn't have to spend, and it basically cost me $25 to not have to waste gas chasing around to find one retail.
posted by nonliteral at 12:09 PM on November 30, 2007

Your luck could vary based on where you live, but my suggestion (which worked for us over the summer and two different friends just before Thanksgiving)....

Stalk your local stores that carry them. Call or stop in every day, preferably first thing in the morning. Some will tell you when they expect the next shipment, some will only tell you if they have any in the store right that moment. You'll have the most lucky during the week. If/when a store says they have a Wii, you'll need to be ready to jet over and pick it up right away.
posted by geeky at 12:16 PM on November 30, 2007

Thanks for all the answers so far, and if anyone else has opinions, please don't hesitate to let me know--all of these are helpful, and I'll be looking into every possibility.

j-dawg: Thank you for the tip, there's no BestBuy in my hometown, but there's one where I'm at now, so it looks like I may be skipping church Sunday morning. I'm looking into that one now.

I'll definitely update and let you guys know how successful I am.
posted by DMan at 12:24 PM on November 30, 2007

Seriously, if you really want to be sure to get one, and are willing to pay a premium, check craigslist frequently.

I got mine for $400 Canadian last year... I just checked a few Texas craigslists, and the average seems to be $400 - 450 US... So if you're prepared to spend that much you'll be able to get one fast. It is surprising to see they're going for that much though, when I got mine cheaper last year.
posted by yellowbinder at 12:58 PM on November 30, 2007

hmmm, no bestbuy in town probably means no gamespot...

That was going to be my recommendation. I tried for 2 months when they first came out and magically found 1 at gamepost 1 Sunday morning after calling. That sounds like your best bet - just calling. I'd make a list and call it daily and like others have suggested be prepared to jump in your car and run cause they won't hold or let you pay over the phone.

Also just a heads up that Guitar Hero seems to be in very short supply so when you get to buy your wii and you see one you may want to grab.

(I thought that was the dumbest game (and I still haven't played it) but I went to 4 places over lunch trying to get my hands on - i'm still looking).

Good Luck!
posted by doorsfan at 1:00 PM on November 30, 2007

You could just get lucky. I was buying some sundries at a Target on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I happened to find a Wii when I poked my head into the video games aisle.

The pertinent thing, I think, is that it was several minutes before I decided that I could afford to buy the thing and then another several minutes before I could even find an employee to remove the box from the glass display cabinet, and in that time, nobody else noticed the Wii, and I didn't have to fight anyone off for the right to buy it. So they aren't necessarily being snapped up the moment they reach a store shelf.

More generally, though, my advice is to avoid big box electronics stores and check retailers that people don't typically turn to when shopping for electronics. Mall department stores and chain retailers out in the middle of nowhere have worked well for me in the past when looking for scarce video games and consoles.
posted by cobra libre at 3:00 PM on November 30, 2007

doorsfan:

The town I'm from (and where my parents and the aforementioned coworker live) doesn't have a Bestbuy (or Gamestop) but the town I'm in now for college has both. I'll definitely try that place if BB on Sunday doesn't pan out.
posted by DMan at 3:01 PM on November 30, 2007

The pawn shop downstairs from where I work has a couple of Wii's in the window. They're selling for less than the retail price (naturally, since they're "used"). Do you have any pawn shops in the area? Might want to give them a call.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:22 PM on November 30, 2007

When does it become more price effective to buy one of those stupid ass 'bundles' versus the straight up console and build your own? I know Mr. dancinglamb has been jonesing for a Wii for quite a while. I honestly haven't done the hardcore research for all the nonsense. I saw that according to itracker there's a Game Stop about 20 minutes from me that has one. Mr. dl says it's likely a bundle. Now, unless I want to drag the *entire* family with me bright and early with me tomorrow morning, wtf am I supposed to be on the lookout for? Christ, I hate this shit. At least it's not a mad dash for Cabbage Patch Dolls or something even more asinine...
posted by dancinglamb at 6:32 PM on November 30, 2007

My grandmother got me one by doing the call a store every day thing. I think eventually they let her in on one because they were tired of her calling every day :), but hey, it worked.
posted by MadamM at 6:40 PM on November 30, 2007

Target is a good place to check. I got mine there about a month ago (last one they had, on a Thursday, from a shipment of 15 on Sunday), as did a friend. It may be helped by the fact that our Target places the consoles on the very bottom shelf, and if they haven't properly faced their stock, it looks like they're gone until you crouch down. When I bought mine I asked if they expected more before Christmas, and the sales dude said they expected to get some every other week. If you call Target and ask for Electronics, the staff will tell you if they have any in stock.
posted by donnagirl at 10:42 AM on December 1, 2007

My husband and I just went through this. After one day of calling every single electronics store/department in the city, we determined that the best way to go about obtaining the Wii was to check Target's online weekly ad every single week. If they're getting some in, they'll be in the ad online the Saturday before the week kicks in. So, you could check tonight (and make sure to have a couple different area Targets to check) and find out if the Wiis will be in tomorrow. Then, show up when the store opens and you should be good to go. We did this for only two weeks and were successful (it's in the closet right now, waiting for Christmas day and two very happy kids). You might also want to check if you have out-of-town family willing to go to their local store and purchase it for you (or your coworker) if need be.
posted by cooker girl at 11:35 AM on December 1, 2007

Oh, adding: if you go online tonight and still find this week's ad, wait till midnight or try again before opening hours.
posted by cooker girl at 11:36 AM on December 1, 2007