Where have all the Wii Fits gone?
February 4, 2010 10:12 AM   Subscribe

What's going on with the Wii Fit availability? How can I find one in a brick-and-mortar store?

The Wii Fit board itself came out in 2008 and Plus has been out since last fall--why do they seem to be out of stock everywhere now? Is this a production problem of some variety? What's my best bet for actually getting one at this point?

I've been Googling and find it strange that I can't seem to find any information on why this is happening, or when it's expected to improve. It's not Christmas, it's not New Year's resolutions or anything... so what's up with this?

To clarify, I'm looking for something in a local store (not online--the person actually purchasing isn't that net-savvy) and at retail price (not a huge markup).
posted by larkspur to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (10 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Is this a production problem of some variety?

My guess is artificial scarcity.

What's my best bet for actually getting one at this point?

Legwork, casual dropping in isn't very effective as you've seen. When I'm hunting I call all the local vendors of video games - this would be game stores, blockbuster and some video rental places, target walmart and other big-box retailers and ask if they have a copy.
posted by anti social order at 10:23 AM on February 4, 2010


Best answer: I agree with calling local vendors. Call often, and don't forget to ask if they know when their next shipment will come in. Keep track of the days they tell you and follow up.
posted by tantivy at 10:27 AM on February 4, 2010


Best answer: A consumerist story suggests this is pretty widespread after Christmas and an older gizmodo story claims Nintendo originally sent 4 times as many wiifits to Europe than to US because of the weak dollar.

I suspect there was more US demand at Christmas than Nintendo planned for (it was the 2nd best selling console game of Christmas with 2.4million units sold) and they were already trying to maximize profits in Europe, so it's a temporary shortage.
posted by sharkfu at 10:38 AM on February 4, 2010


On an early Sunday morning was when we bought our Wii Fit in Sept 2008 because Target would advertise the game in the Sunday paper. Not sure if this is still true, but I suggest calling around. Don't forget to call KMart and Sears, which could be overlooked by those searching at Target, Best Buy, and Wal Mart.

If your friend recruits you to try online, there are websites like zooLert and WiiAlerts that will text you when a website gets it in stock. I would highly consider this, because Best Buy online has it right now as of this posting.
posted by ALongDecember at 10:51 AM on February 4, 2010


I'm not sure where you live, but here in Canada (Toronto specifically) I see Wii Fit boxes behind the counter at Shoppers Drug Mart (a popular drug store chain) all the time. You may find find it somewhere you (and therefore most other people) don't expect.
posted by Grant Heaslip at 10:52 AM on February 4, 2010


I completely disagree with artificial scarcity. That's ridiculous. This isn't the Wii proper; there isn't the torrent of buzz surrounding this, and they really want to move as many units as possible here, since the markup is probably absurdly high.

I bought mine over Christmas from Amazon direct just fine, but it looks like everyone is out of stock. If I had to guess, it'd be because manufacturing the balance boards is a bit trickier and more expensive, and their current stocks are basically somewhat depleted. These guys show basically everyone as out of stock, but you can get them from some Amazon merchants for a not-insignificant markup. Try ebay, too.
posted by disillusioned at 12:05 PM on February 4, 2010


I don't know if this works for other stores, but if Target has it in there Sunday ad, they usually have at least a few on hand that Sunday morning. If you can get there shortly after they open on a Sunday when it appears in the ad, you have a pretty good shot of getting one. That's how we got ours.
posted by drezdn at 1:35 PM on February 4, 2010


They seem to turn up in pawn shops with some regularity.
posted by chazlarson at 2:47 PM on February 4, 2010


I saw them at Buy Buy Baby the other day, so I would agree with the poster who said you could find them in unexpected places!
posted by katypickle at 4:25 PM on February 4, 2010


I had luck with this site when we were looking for one. Helped for both local stores and online.
posted by getawaysticks at 5:07 AM on February 5, 2010


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