Maryland Best Buy Store "Cancels" PS3/Wii Launches

[LilAbner]

Citing "safety concerns" the Best Buy in in Bel Air, Maryland will "not be doing" the PS3 and Wii launches. They said the decision was made in conjunction with local law enforcement and management of the mall it's a part of.

Other stores in town such as Target and Circuit City are proceeding with their console launches.

[flinxz]

Source? I would be interested in reading the "safty concerns".

[LilAbner]

Call the store at 410-893-6101...the message plays within 5 seconds of pickup.

[Zeal]

Yeah, we might have to declare of state of emergency here...

Don't want anyone hurt over some videogame toys.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

So, are they just not stocking them? They're going to get a line no matter when they decide to sell them.

[flinxz]

Call the store at 410-893-6101...the message plays within 5 seconds of pickup.

Indeed it does!

How does a store "launch" a system without a launch? Do they put one or two on the shelf slowly thru out the day a few days late?

[SunTzu]

Now this is a story, all about how
saftey concerns got my life flipped turned upside down
now I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there
and I'll tell you all about how I became the prince of the Best Buy in Bel Air.

... Sorry about that, folks. I swear I'll never do it again.

[LilAbner]

I work for another Best Buy in the area and I can't believe they're doing this.
I have no idea when they'll start selling them...probably sometime next week unannounced.

The units are in the store, as far as I know. We have ours, at least. :)

They are forfeiting thousands of dollars in revenue tomorrow and Sunday.

[Zanzibar]

I'm sure it's the midnight launch they're cancelling. Store opens regular time Friday.

[Zanzibar]

Hey Lil, did you get your promised allotment? Or less?

[Johan]

They are forfeiting thousands of dollars in revenue tomorrow and Sunday.

You're kidding, right? Do you really think they're forfeiting sales by delaying several days...even several weeks? How soon will a second shipment of PS3s be getting in? How many will there be in the second shipments?

In other words, they will sell all the units they have, and not have any left in stock...meaning they will have forfeited nothing but the idiocy of fisticuffs, long overnight lines, and general stupidity on the part of the masses trying to fight their way into overpaying for a PS3, or underpaying for a kiddie-centric console Wii.

I say good idea. More stores should be so smart.

[Zeal]

It's actually a bad move, seeing a show people will just go somewhere else to get their systems.

[[VSK]BadCRC]

I also work for Best Buy, they won't let us in on how many we have... We've got them obviously, our weekly ad says we'll have no less than 20 of the 599 version and at least no less than 6 of the 499 version.

We have a few people waiting for Wii too though. Lots of tents, and our managers have been ordering coffee and cocoa from Hi-Vee in the area for them.

[LilAbner]

There was no midnight launch at this store.

As for mine, I was off today, but as of yesterday we only had 22 of the 34 PS3s we were supposed to get in....I'm sure they got more today.

[LilAbner]

BadCRC']I also work for Best Buy, they won't let us in on how many we have... We've got them obviously, our weekly ad says we'll have no less than 20 of the 599 version and at least no less than 6 of the 499 version.

One word, BadCRC: RSS. :)

[LilAbner]

You're kidding, right? Do you really think they're forfeiting sales by delaying several days...even several weeks? How soon will a second shipment of PS3s be getting in? How many will there be in the second shipments?

In other words, they will sell all the units they have, and not have any left in stock...meaning they will have forfeited nothing but the idiocy of fisticuffs, long overnight lines, and general stupidity on the part of the masses trying to fight their way into overpaying for a PS3, or underpaying for a kiddie-centric console Wii.

I say good idea. More stores should be so smart.

And what of the many who took off work because they knew Friday was the PS3 launch day? Now it's a guessing game and no guarantee they'll get one.

[gojira]

Citing "safety concerns" the Best Buy in in Bel Air, Maryland will "not be doing" the PS3 and Wii launches. They said the decision was made in conjunction with local law enforcement and management of the mall it's a part of.

Other stores in town such as Target and Circuit City are proceeding with their console launches.


TRANSLATION: The store manager and certain employees will be selling them on eBay and pocketing the difference. Thanks for playing.

[Brady]

You're kidding, right? Do you really think they're forfeiting sales by delaying several days...even several weeks? How soon will a second shipment of PS3s be getting in? How many will there be in the second shipments?

In other words, they will sell all the units they have, and not have any left in stock...meaning they will have forfeited nothing but the idiocy of fisticuffs, long overnight lines, and general stupidity on the part of the masses trying to fight their way into overpaying for a PS3, or underpaying for a kiddie-centric console Wii.

I say good idea. More stores should be so smart.

They won't be losing thousands by doing this, but I believe they would still lose money.

Think about the kind of person that would camp out for days to buy a video game system. That is going to be the person that buys the system, extra controllers, perhaps several games, various accesories. They are the people that have been waiting for this system. In randomly sticking the system on the shelf its much more likely that random parents might see it and grab one for the holidays. They'd most likely just grab the system and very little else (its 500 or 600 dollars for that PS3!!)

Anyhow... in the end, it really wont matter, but I still believe they'd be losing some money in not doing their PS3/Wii Launch

[Sensei-X]

They won't be losing thousands by doing this, but I believe they would still lose money.

Think about the kind of person that would camp out for days to buy a video game system. That is going to be the person that buys the system, extra controllers, perhaps several games, various accesories. They are the people that have been waiting for this system. In randomly sticking the system on the shelf its much more likely that random parents might see it and grab one for the holidays. They'd most likely just grab the system and very little else (its 500 or 600 dollars for that PS3!!)

Anyhow... in the end, it really wont matter, but I still believe they'd be losing some money in not doing their PS3/Wii Launch

Actually nowadays the person sitting in line for days is most likely the kind that's waiting to resell it it on Ebay. No loss there, there's so few that any and every console that comes in will sell. Not to mention it's almost guaranteed very few of those waiting for days will even get a console so they will have to go hunting one down so any store that gets them in before Christmas is fair game (not just those that had launch day events). As for safety concerns, well it happens, as a business Best Buy and any business selling the consoles is liable if a fight breaks out and someone gets injured on their property. In some cities it's even worse if the police have it on record you were advised of safety concerns before the incident.

[WastelandDan]

actually, this Best Buy is probably just going to boost sales even more then if they'd allowed them to be sold at some sort of publicized launch day. The furor of people who want a PS3 and didn't get one on launch day will only be that much bigger. I remember getting screwed on my 360 order and calling all the stores in my town every single day for weeks until eventually my preorder was filled. Not only will they not lose any revenue, the people who manage to get a PS3 after launch day will probably be so excited they'd buy even more games and accessories then they would have before, especially since there will be a ton of hands-on personal accounts of games and equipment from the people who bought the system.

[[VSK]BadCRC]

One word, BadCRC: RSS. :)

Meh, I'm not that interested to know. I don't really care how many we have, then I'd have to track down a sku number, then I have to drag up RSS and dig through that. I open tomorrow, so I'll get to see the entertainment that is the tears of several Sony fanboys cry as their systems leave in someone elses hands. Or maybe a fight'll break out... I'm not that lucky...

[Tennistoad]

I'm so sick of these stores allowing people to camp out for systems. I would say that easily >50% of these people are there to buy a system to resell. Today I saw tents up @ best buy, and Circuit city.
I am personally going to boycott these stores for 2007. I don't know of a fair way to sell limited # of items from a retail outlet. But a free lottery on the sale date might be a good idea to discourage these get rich quick losers.

[Zeal]

Not being able to supply enough of your product in this day and age is simply pathetic. I blame Sony alone.

Same goes for Nintendo.

The customer is never wrong.

[LilAbner]

BadCRC']Meh, I'm not that interested to know. I don't really care how many we have, then I'd have to track down a sku number, then I have to drag up RSS and dig through that. I open tomorrow, so I'll get to see the entertainment that is the tears of several Sony fanboys cry as their systems leave in someone elses hands. Or maybe a fight'll break out... I'm not that lucky...

The SKUs are on the front page of the ad. :)

[BlackPete]

BadCRC']Meh, I'm not that interested to know. I don't really care how many we have, then I'd have to track down a sku number, then I have to drag up RSS and dig through that. I open tomorrow, so I'll get to see the entertainment that is the tears of several Sony fanboys cry as their systems leave in someone elses hands. Or maybe a fight'll break out... I'm not that lucky...

If you want to guarantee a fight, I suggest that you start throwing the PS3 boxes into the screaming mass. ;)

Bonus: If any of the boxes crash to the ground, tell them that it's still for sale and they'll have to buy the box as-is. It's up to them to take the risk whether it'll still work or not. My guess is they'd still buy it.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

If you want to guarantee a fight, I suggest that you start throwing the PS3 boxes into the screaming mass. ;)

Bonus: If any of the boxes crash to the ground, tell them that it's still for sale and they'll have to buy the box as-is. It's up to them to take the risk whether it'll still work or not. My guess is they'd still buy it.

Better yet, a PS3 box with some weight in it with NO PS3 inside. Then throw the other PS3 up on eBay.

[LilAbner]

If you want to guarantee a fight, I suggest that you start throwing the PS3 boxes into the screaming mass. ;)

Bonus: If any of the boxes crash to the ground, tell them that it's still for sale and they'll have to buy the box as-is. It's up to them to take the risk whether it'll still work or not. My guess is they'd still buy it.

LOL.

Reminds me of last year....we had a dummy 360 box and when we got bored, we'd walk around the media department with it and get hit with a barrage of "are you putting that one out?" questions. The look on their faces when we told them the box was just a display was priceless.

[Atepsflame]

Not being able to supply enough of your product in this day and age is simply pathetic. I blame Sony alone.

Same goes for Nintendo.

The customer is never wrong.

Yeah, it's shameful for Nintendo to promise 4 million units by the end of the year. What bastards.

[Darkmatter]

I wonder if tomorrow we'll hear about a slew of store break-ins from people knowing that a store has the PS3's in stock and waiting to go out on the shelves in the morning...

[Heretic Machine]

My solution to this issue: Don't announce release dates, and don't make them uniform. If people don't know when they can get a PS3, they won't camp out for one. If release dates are different across different stores (or chains), it'll be much harder to start some kind of chain reaction when someone actually finds one for sale.

[michaelwhite]

My solution to this issue: Don't announce release dates, and don't make them uniform. If people don't know when they can get a PS3, they won't camp out for one. If release dates are different across different stores (or chains), it'll be much harder to start some kind of chain reaction when someone actually finds one for sale.

So, instead of rtards camping outside a few days before a launch, it'll be months. Nice.

Star Wars.

[phantomhitman]

This is stupid, no matter what time or day they finally sell the ps3 it will end up the same mess. It would be cool to see stores do this though:
1-Place 2-3 ps3 out in the store every day or two. If you get lucky and see one then you win!
2-Handle everything through preorders. Take a list of 20-30 people that pay in full and then tell them to come back on launch whenever they want to.

[Thenetcase]

Can hardly blame them. Sony's been hiring people to drive by the lines of people waiting for the Wii and shoot them with BB's. ;) hehehe

-TNC-

[FreezaSama]

This is stupid, no matter what time or day they finally sell the ps3 it will end up the same mess. It would be cool to see stores do this though:
1-Place 2-3 ps3 out in the store every day or two. If you get lucky and see one then you win!
2-Handle everything through preorders. Take a list of 20-30 people that pay in full and then tell them to come back on launch whenever they want to.

The problem with the latter option is that many stores don't often know exactly how many systems they're going to get until they actually arrive. So you'd probably end up with angry customers if you end up taking too many... which is entirely likely.