The 30 Thousand Dollar Playstation 3 (Auction Sabotages)

[bapenguin]

Read it and weep (http://cgi.ebay.com/PLAYSTATION-3-PS3-60GB-CONSOLE-PREORDER-SHIPS11-17-06_W0QQitemZ160050435198QQihZ006QQcategoryZ62054QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem).
Winning bid: US $30,100.00

Of course...it looks to be auction sabotages. I guess the people looking to make a quick buck are going to have to wade through the BS to sell their PlayStation.

[NightRain]

Yeah dozens and dozens of these will show up, this shouldn't be news. If it is news change the headline to "People are idiots, bidding scams on PS3"

[Sparky]

Wow, I hope everyone on either end of these transactions get what's coming to them.

[Borthcollective]

You said that the people trying to reap the rewards of price gouging are going to have to wade through BS. HAHAHA!

[LarsenNET]

How about 10 Million

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Playstation-3-PS3-System-60GB-Premium-Presale_W0QQitemZ130047198895QQihZ003QQcategoryZ62 054QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Static]

LarsenNET... take a look again.. thats 10K

[DigitalFirefly]

I saw one for 50 million this morning. A few minutes later it was back to $3,000

[LarsenNET]

LarsenNET... take a look again.. thats 10K

No it was 10 million, the bid was canceled. Check the bid history it's even been worse.

[Chang3]

Hell, and I thought a $2000 dollor 360 was insane...

[J Arcane]

The editors give me shit for having an alternate opinion of a game, but yet they get away with a typo that bad in a damn title?

[WileE.Coyte]

I want to know who's buying a PS3 for even $1,500.00-$3000.00 dollars and why? Are they rich who want one just to have it, gamers with too much disposable income, live in's who won't go outside or idiot parents willing to spoil their kid's rotten? I'm curious who would pay double or triple a console's worth and just not wait a few months.

[Sophism]

The editors give me shit for having an alternate opinion of a game, but yet they get away with a typo that bad in a damn title?
What, not capitalizing the S in PlayStation? That's not a bad typo.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

The eBay situation is ridiculous. I was talking to a guy I know who was in line at Wal-Mart last night, and he actually wanted to keep his PS3, but some guys kept coming in every few hours and harrassing him trying to him to sell it to them. Eventually Wal-Mart management kicked them out, but it really is stupid.

[Sophism]

I want to know who's buying a PS3 for even $1,500.00-$3000.00 dollars and why? Are they rich who want one just to have it, gamers with too much disposable income, live in's who won't go outside or idiot parents willing to spoil their kid's rotten? I'm curious who would pay double or triple a console's worth and just not wait a few months.
Law school classmates of my brother were having an internal bidding war to decide who would offer me what amount for the PS3 I was going to camp for. He called me yesterday afternoon and told me this, and I asked why they wanted them so badly. Apparently, they heard the games are amazing, and blu-ray looks sweet. I asked which games and if they had hdmi. The guy said "the Metal Gear one, that's what I'm getting. What's HDMI?"

It isn't that I am saying he is stupid. I'm saying that it is a stupid idea to offer somebody $3000 for something that you do not need due to ignorance.

[Camel]

Damn. I'd be so super pissed if I was the seller, since I was basically going to get $1700 until some ass messed it up.

I don't particularly care for trying to get the system just to resell it, but I'm DEFINITELY not a fan of people sabotaging auctions. So what now, ebay sets a feedback limit before you can bid on a PS3?

[WileE.Coyte]

Damn. I'd be so super pissed if I was the seller, since I was basically going to get $1700 until some ass messed it up.

I don't particularly care for trying to get the system just to resell it, but I'm DEFINITELY not a fan of people sabotaging auctions. So what now, ebay sets a feedback limit before you can bid on a PS3?

I disagree. I feel E-Bay sabotage is great. Maybe in 2010 the lines will just be full of gamers that just want to play. I say screw it up till Christmas and beyond.

[Royal Fool]

Haha, good on them. I have no pity for these people (Yes, that also includes my fellow Evil Avatar ebayers).

[civil_dead]

I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion around here, but I'm actually pro-sabotoging these PS3 auctions. I won't participate myself, but I think that it's a pretty righteous stance.

Honestly, I was pretty shocked when I first started reading EA at how freely people were discussing buying/reselling PS3s (I can't remember an instance of someone doing so with a Wii). It just seemed to blatanly...wrong...to me. I mean this is a forum full of video game fans, people who love the art of gaming and here they are openingly saying they'd gouge others who, out of sheer desperation, would be willing to pay two or three times the amount the system is worth. Not to mention depriving others who actually want to keep the system and play the games of getting their hands on a system. I know not everyone buying a PS3 on eBay is what we would consider a "gamer", but does it really matter? Is this how we treat something we enjoy so much? Is this how we treat our fellow gamers?

Video games (and thier fans) have yet to accept the mainstream credibility and support that other art forms have. If the community continues in this manner, I think that day is still far off. :(

[handsalad]

The best part of this auction is what the seller is also selling in their ebay store. Silk flowers, bed spreads and doll clothes.

[Camel]

People who want to get a PS3 will get one. Not getting a system at launch (a smart move, I say) isn't the end of the world.

The people selling on ebay paid their money and waited in line (at least most did...I'd say the stories of people paying others to wait for them and stuff like that are pretty extreme). They put in the time, they can do what they want with their system. Hiding behind some username on ebay and putting in fake bids on ps3 auctions doesn't make anyone some sort of crusader. It makes them seem petty.

This argument has been done to death here recently, though. I really don't think I have much to add.

civil_dead...I really don't think that gamer goodwill, or the lack thereof, is what gives gaming a bad name. I would imagine stories about people lining up days before launch in front of a Best Buy do more harm than stories about PS3's selling for thousands of (fake) dollars on ebay.

[phantomhitman]

I still think its shitty for people to do just beacuse "they can". I understand about how its wrong to buy one just to sell on ebay but leave them the fuck alone. If you waited for 2 days outside in the cold you deserve to do whatever the hell you want to with the system. Lots of haterade on ebay right now.
To quote a great comedian:
I dont come to your job and throw rocks at you while your mowing.

[Goronmon]

Video games (and thier fans) have yet to accept the mainstream credibility and support that other art forms have. If the community continues in this manner, I think that day is still far off. :(Oh yes, because everyone selling a PS3 in eBay is a gamer. Just like that dentist who was paying temp workers to wait in line.

You are looking at it from the wrong perspective. The group of people selling PS3s on eBay is not a subset of the gamer community. The group of eBayers are a subset of the general population. And since the gamer community also happens to be a subset of the general population, you have some that are also eBaying PS3s. So, it really is about the attitudes of the general population than about the gamer community specifically.

[Evil_SPanKY]

HAHA, I hope this only continues (auction sabotages that is). All the shills only buying it for reselling, making the availability situation even worse for gamers, who only want to play games on it (or maybe watch a BR movie, who knows).

[ilian]

On every forum I go to there are people going OMG LOOOK THIS PS3 SOLD for TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS OMG!!

ITs weird, its like nobody has ever heard of ebay before, its like this is 1999. . Overbid auction sabatoge has been goign on since day 1, but people STIL see a 15k ps3 and act as if its legit. Wtf. Next people will be posting asbout every 'funny' ebay auction they see. OMG someone is selling the ghost of hamlet! omg! some idiot paid 45 million for it! OMG!!@!
Note, this is not a slight against this news post. I understand its news about the sabatoge at least =p

[Codicier]

I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion around here, but I'm actually pro-sabotoging these PS3 auctions. I won't participate myself, but I think that it's a pretty righteous stance.

Honestly, I was pretty shocked when I first started reading EA at how freely people were discussing buying/reselling PS3s (I can't remember an instance of someone doing so with a Wii). It just seemed to blatanly...wrong...to me. I mean this is a forum full of video game fans, people who love the art of gaming and here they are openingly saying they'd gouge others who, out of sheer desperation, would be willing to pay two or three times the amount the system is worth. Not to mention depriving others who actually want to keep the system and play the games of getting their hands on a system. I know not everyone buying a PS3 on eBay is what we would consider a "gamer", but does it really matter? Is this how we treat something we enjoy so much? Is this how we treat our fellow gamers?

Video games (and thier fans) have yet to accept the mainstream credibility and support that other art forms have. If the community continues in this manner, I think that day is still far off. :(

Depriving others? Yes.

Paying $3000 for a console out of desperation? No.

If you pay that much you are either rich or ignorant or both. This is how supply and demand works. Deal with it. It's not like this industry is the only one that has rare items that are distributed like this (at a price far beyond retail). Yeah, I guess it's sad that we can't all play nice but that's not going to change.

That being said I am in agreement with the auction sabotage, but that's only because I love to sit back and watch the insanity. Also I hate people.

[Stormwatcher]

I'm all for auction sabotage. keep'em coming, fellows.

[civil_dead]

civil_dead...I really don't think that gamer goodwill, or the lack thereof, is what gives gaming a bad name. I would imagine stories about people lining up days before launch in front of a Best Buy do more harm than stories about PS3's selling for thousands of (fake) dollars on ebay.

Oh yes, because everyone selling a PS3 in eBay is a gamer. Just like that dentist who was paying temp workers to wait in line.

You are looking at it from the wrong perspective. The group of people selling PS3s on eBay is not a subset of the gamer community. The group of eBayers are a subset of the general population. And since the gamer community also happens to be a subset of the general population, you have some that are also eBaying PS3s. So, it really is about the attitudes of the general population than about the gamer community specifically.
I generally agree with both of you, but I am speaking of us, those of us that subscribe to sites like EA, who read the news and know much more about these systems than the general public. We're the ones who are much more aware of midnight launches, of campatability issues, etc.

I live in Chicago (not a surburb), the third largest city in the US. We have all types here, and I've been fortunate enough to meet a broad range of people. Of that group, maybe four or five of us are gamers (and I think my definition is much broader than most). We know about launch dates, who or what's open at midnight and how much these things are going for on eBay. The rest of the people I know aren't even really aware of any of this. They see the commercials, the ads and the displays in Best Buy. But that's just awareness, not knowledge. There's a difference. I highly doubt John Q Public is savvy enough to know when to line up, what to buy and what they can get for flipping something like a PS3.

In short, I do believe it's gamers that are buying PS3s. I do believe it's gamers that are reselling them. I do believe the gaming community is shooting itself in the foot as it does so. Why? Because we are acting in a way that ghetto-izes our hobby.

[civil_dead]

Also I hate people.
Though we have different viewpoints, on this we agree.

But I'm trying man. I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd.

[J Arcane]

In short, I do believe it's gamers that are buying PS3s. I do believe it's gamers that are reselling them. I do believe the gaming community is shooting itself in the foot as it does so. Why? Because we are acting in a way that ghetto-izes our hobby.

Dude, people do this shit all the time outside of gaming. Remember Furby? Tickle Me Elmo?

Demand gets high enough, people take advantage. That's just the way capitalism works.

[pdeupree]

Damn. I'd be so super pissed if I was the seller, since I was basically going to get $1700 until some ass messed it up.


I have not really used e-bay in quite a while, but I would have to imagine that, if the seller wanted to, he could go down the list until he found a person on it that did not submit a fake bid and make them the "winner". I'm fairly certain that, many years ago, I lost a bid on an item but the seller contacted me and said the winner had bailed, so if I wanted it at the cost of the last bid I had made, it was mine.

That being said, I think the only thing that bugs me about fake bidding is that we are guaranteed to see some news report out there that says "PS3's are going on e-bay for as much as $30,000" since the mainstream press usually doesn't do the research to see that it's likely a fake bid. I'm already hearing quotes from the press saying people will sell these on e-bay for $2000 to $5000, which is a bit on the high range.

[NoName]

This is nothing, one PS3 went for 89,000,100 dollars. Yes, 89 million dollars. I'm pretty sure it was an auction sabotage too ;).

[michaelwhite]

How much were 360's going for on eBay? And how much is the Wii going to be at launch?

[phantomhitman]

$1500-2000 and $250 respectively

[TheFlyingOrc]

I think this could be good in the long run - these fake bids will allow the numbers to settle down to what they actually are, not the perceived value. People are only paying that much because they think they have to.

[DingBat]

Auction sabotage is stupid, if only because it displays a fundamental lack of understanding about how our economic system works.

How did Sony come up with the price of the PS3 in the first place? They set the price at the highest level they believed they could in order to attract the demand they thought they needed in order to make a profit, long term. Since Sony is thinking long term, this price might actually be below the current manufacturing costs.

Now, in any group of people, there will be those who would have been willing to pay a higher amount. They may be rich, but they're not necessarily ignorant. They just assign a different value to the PS3 than did Sony or you. Some of you wouldn't shell out $10 for a Ferrari. That doesn't make you stupid or cheap.

The people who sell their systems on e-bay are actually smarter than most. They understand that the definition of "good value" is not a universal standard.

Personally, I think envy is the primary driver for most of the people who attack this practice.

[DingBat]

I think this could be good in the long run - these fake bids will allow the numbers to settle down to what they actually are, not the perceived value. People are only paying that much because they think they have to.

Timely post. It illustrates my point.

There is NO "actual" price. There is NO "perceived" value. The cost of the components and raw materials inside a PS3 is probably more than the current retail price. You probably already know this already. If so, why are we talking about price as if it's some sort of absolute?

People are paying that price because they value the PS3 more than the value of the dollars the auctions are asking for. That's it. End of story.