40,000 Xbox 360s Sold on eBay

[Vampyre]

According to eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman, a staggering 40,000 Xbox 360 consoles have been sold on eBay.

As reported by Dow Jones last night based upon a presentation at the CSFB Annual Technology Conference, the 40,000 unit figure has left pundits flabbergasted. If launch supply estimates from American Technology Research are accurate, that would mean that 10% of all Xbox 360 consoles sold in the US were either sold or resold through eBay.

Read Full Story At .next-gen.biz (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1779&Itemid=2)

[AversionFX]

Wow, that's a pretty big chunk. I don't know why anyone would buy them off of Ebay though (360's are a pretty penny as is, but to spend even more than retail price is just retarded). I guess maybe if you promised your kid a 360 but didn't pre-order.

Ahhwell.

[Oddmaker]

EBAY 4 d4 w1n!£!

[CapnAJ]

Cor blimey!

[Varsity]

Someone on another forum made a good point about this sort of thing (eBay or otherwise): why would anyone buy a console when its price is highest and library of games smallest?

[megaman]

Wonder the total of what they all sold for..won't be surprised if it's close to the remaining 90%!

[bean19]

That sounds about right. I know for a fact that in my line of 40 people, there were at least 2 X360's sold to someone who planned to resell them on ebay.

[WastelandDan]

Yay for scarcity of product causing insane price markups. Free market economy can kiss my still-waiting-on-my-preorder ass.

[TrackZero]

Someone on another forum made a good point about this sort of thing (eBay or otherwise): why would anyone buy a console when its price is highest and library of games smallest?

Simple answer. When their kid won't shut up about it for Christmas.

Edit: Not to mention to people who want to be first adopters and play "tomorrow's technology, today!", people who just have plenty of money and don't care to wait, HDTV owners who want to really see what their TVs can do, etc.

Without those early adopters, consoles would never take off. You can't expect everyone to wait 6 months to a year before getting the system, otherwise people will consider it dead before it even began.

[TrackZero]

This is a high number, but consider that it's not 10% of all Xboxes sold. This is an after-market, technically everyone who bought a 360 could go ahead and sell it on eBay. That doesn't mean you should then calculate that into the total sales and get double the estimates for the number of units in circulation. As well, I'm sure a percentage of these auctions will turn out to be scams.

That being said, 40,000 is a sizeable number. I guess it just shows how many people are out there to make a buck (reminds me of ticket scalpers).

[Lutheran]

I got mine on EBAY , sad to say but I just had to have it..spent 560 bucks on the core version with a game included. I have a huge HDTV and a lot of extra money for toys so it didn't hurt me much to overspend but even I wasn't about to pay over 1,000 smackers for a premium package. Of course I then the next day went out and bought a memory card and a wireless controller and 2 more games lol..

[Sloth]

how many of those 400k xboxes sold on EBAY were actually just the box the xbox came in?

[gojira]

Sloth: winner

This sucks for MS. They obviously could have sold more systems if they had them available.

[Ludoc]

Screw retail, MS should just release the weekly additional shipments straight through E-Bay.

[Kagger]

This is a high number, but consider that it's not 10% of all Xboxes sold.

But it is, 40,000 is 10% of 400,000, and even more so if 300,000.

Unless you were trying to make a point I missed

[netcraazzy]

Every time I hear about how much people are paying for these things on ebay it makes me wonder if I should have sold mine too. Instead of having to pay $500 off my credit card next month I could have had an extra $200-$300 in my pocket!!

[51|RandoM]

Just goes to show there are no shortage of assholes out there. Ticket scalpers are diversifying their product. :-)

[Kagger]

Just goes to show there are no shortage of assholes out there. Ticket scalpers are diversifying their product. :-)


Wait, that's not a right thing to say.

If I had an xbox360 premium, and I did a starting price at $400 or less, than it's not my fault that someone wants to pay more. If they want to pay more than my intial price, let it happen. If I put the starting price at more than $400, then ya, that's pretty dirty.

[Lutheran]

Hmm , why call them ( er us ) assholes? I used to import every new console when they were released in Japan first for about the same price I paid for the 360. I know a lot of other people here used to do the same thing. Every store within driving distance of my house told me that if you didn't preorder you won't be able to get one till maybe Feb or March of next year. I just didn't want to wait till then. If people can afford the systems off ebay then they aren't assholes , they just wanted the damn thing. The sellers did the smart thing , I will do that when the PS3 hits as it makes sense to buy it and sell it to lazy people like me who were to stupid to preorder. Now if you skipped your car payment or bought less food for the kids just to buy a new game console well then your an asshole.

[Lutheran]

Oh you meant the sellers were assholes , nah they were smart. I give them credit. The girl I bought my 360 from actually felt bad how much I had to pay her lol. She wasn't even a gamer , she just knew there would be a lot of people who like me didn't believe the shortage storys and figured we could waltz into walmart and get a stray off the shelf..trust me that isn't happening were I live.

[BabyJesus]

Fucking disgusting, the people that bought one to simply turn around and sell it are the the biggest blood sucking leeches on the planet. Opportunistic slimeballs.

[doyama]

While sorta impressive I think its important to take into account several factors when something is 'sold' on ebay. Im thinking all the 'research' these guys did was to do a mass completed listing on ebay for item 'xbox 360' with a closing bid over $400 :P Also was it actually an Xbox360? I saw auctions for the usual 'box' but even an email addy with xbox360 in the title qualified! I'd add maybe a 10-20% margin of error on that number for fraudulent advertising. Also some people were just selling their xboxes at insane pricing ($1000 for core?!?!!) So a potential sale 'lost' there but none the less out of the NA launch circulation.

Some other things I'd like to know that might be interesting:

1) Listings on craigslist. The stuff is swarming all over craigslist but since its just a listing its hard to quantify how much is actually sold over this method.

2) Were the Xbox360s shipped to American addresses. You have to remember many places arent getting Xbox360s for quite awhile (Australia to note). I would suspect many of these international bidders were trying to scoop up circulation.

[Lutheran]

Fucking disgusting, the people that bought one to simply turn around and sell it are the the biggest blood sucking leeches on the planet. Opportunistic slimeballs.


I disagree , they used their heads and made a smart financial investment. They didn't force anyone to buy the damn thing off of ebay or to bid so damn high. I just missed getting one for 380 bucks , most sellers just let the bidding commence and the buyers are the ones who drive the price up. I knew what I was willing to spend and once a bid got past that point I dropped out.

[bean19]

people who like me didn't believe the shortage storys and figured we could waltz into walmart and get a stray off the shelf..trust me that isn't happening were I live.

Well, considering the crazy early adopters are having trouble getting them too, they are making a killing of resells. I preordered in June, and then the one I waited in line 12 hours for broke (and I returned it before knowing about 1-800-MY-XBOX fixing them).

Btw, I didn't mind the ebayers in line with me at Best Buy. They totally had to wait 12 hours in the cold for their X360's and if they make a profit off them. . . well, good for them.

Just found out from my Gamestop that they are not one of the "top 500" stores and thus will not be getting the 2 X360's (not a few as was stated before by the Gamestop person, but merely two. Just fucking 2 dammit ;) ) on or around the 6th. However, if you WERE a Gamestop reservation and still have yours and your Gamestop is among those that are in the top 500, they will be getting 2 on Dec. 6th, but should have a decently sized replenishment between the 10th and the 12th.

So. . . hopefully, a lot of the core gamers will be getting their units then. It very much looks as if Microsoft is doing crappy replenishment because of the world release. . . given that date. The issue seems to be a whole lot about getting the 360's to us from the plant as much as producing the units, so my guess is that they take at least 2 weeks to get from the plant to the distributors in the U.S. (longer for boat shipments) and then depending on the retailer it takes anywhere between 3 to 6 days to get them to stores. Keep in mind these are extremely heavy and have low profit margin. . . retailers are not rushing them to stores.

In fact, I've heard from Best Buy that they are planning on doing a coniciding add for the weekend of the 16th. They are considering shipping problems, and should actually have the units (if everything ships correctly) by the 14th. So, if you haven't preordered at a specialty store like Gamestop or your preorder doesn't put you in the top 20, then you should probably check out Best Buy on this date, and Wal-Mart on the 14th (if they ship at about the speed of Best Buy. I don't have a Wal-Mart source).

[GrinR]

What could illustrate the utter failure of the Xbox360 launch than the existance of a truly massive black market? 40,000 people just gave well over the standard price to some other entrepreneur, and counting. Ebay still has thousands of Xbox360's up for sale at every moment, not to mention the other online auction houses.

[Sloth]

I'm a big capitalist. I'm all about the free market, I think we should sell anything and everything, but my problem with these xbox360's on ebay is that it isn't about making money , it is about hoarding something and taking advantage of people.

I'm not going to buy one off ebay, heck i probably won't buy an xbox 360 for a year or more, i'll wait for the first price drop.

[Abash Alarmist]

Honestly, if I had the money, I would be more than willing to do this. I am a college student and an extra 4-500 dollars is well welcomed into my pocket...

[rein]

I'm a big capitalist. I'm all about the free market, I think we should sell anything and everything, but my problem with these xbox360's on ebay is that it isn't about making money , it is about hoarding something and taking advantage of people.


..but the 360 is not a life sustaining product. It is an entertainment product. I honestly pre-ordered mine with the intent to resale it. I had to intention of keeping since I knew the prices would sky rocket. I ended up opening mine and keeping it. However, if someone walked in my house and offered me $1000 for it, I would pack it back up in a second and not feel a but guilty about it. They are buying an entertainment product. Now, if it were food, diapers or beer I would feel really bad if I took advantage of the situation.

[Snowmit]

I'm a big capitalist. I'm all about the free market, I think we should sell anything and everything, but my problem with these xbox360's on ebay is that it isn't about making money , it is about hoarding something and taking advantage of people.

Err, all capitalism is about hoarding a resource and then selling it. That's how it works. You exploit the difference between how much it costs you to get something and how much other people are waying to pay for it + any value added.

[*Legion*]

What could illustrate the utter failure of the Xbox360 launch than the existance of a truly massive black market?

What is it with people and their hardons for the word "failure"? Jesus.

[mister_slim]

The failure here for MS is that rather than people buying a 360 and having money left over for more games they are spending all their money on the 360, with it going to the seller (and Ebay).

[Tennistoad]

Said it before.. And I'll say it again... I hate horders!!

good luck getting any at retail before xmas.. Store employees will sell to their friends to put on ebay... Just like tickets to a good concert.

[WastelandDan]

Scarcity is no excuse for the sort of thing that's happening here. Even though this is only a videogame system and on the whole not a terribly important thing outside the realm of entertainment, hoarding such as this is what can destroy the free market. Consider the DeBeers diamond corporation. Everybody knows that diamonds are not rare but by buying up essentially all the diamonds that exist they can determine how much to charge and if people want them they have no choice but to pony up the ridiculous price.

Also consider war profiteering. When there's a demand and not enough supply, monsters come out of the woodwork.

Of course, I'm not actually saying that what's happened with the 360 is on the same level as blood diamonds and war profiteering. Only a small percentage of the 360s that were released have appeared on ebay, and Microsoft is making more of them every day, but for now I think the comparison isn't entirely inappropriate.

[Achilles]

Someone on another forum made a good point about this sort of thing (eBay or otherwise): why would anyone buy a console when its price is highest and library of games smallest?Because I can’t play more than 5 games a month and still work full time. And next month DOA4 comes out. I’ll still probably not have beaten condemned, and it’ll take me months to unlock all the extras in Kameo. In short I can’t speak for other early adopters, but I bought it so I can play games on it for a year longer than those who didn’t, and while they’re still new. I would hate to have waited till next year when there will be about 30 games that I want, and have to cram all those games in before the next ones show up.

Oh and people who horde these things and sell them on e-bay should be beat. 10% of the ones that shipped in the US ended up being sold on ebay. That’s messed up.

About Failed launches. The NGage launch was a failure. This one is a success, it just could have been a much, much bigger success had they been able to build more units in time.

[Deadend]

Looks like there are 40,000 assholes out there.
I think all system sales should have been BYOB (build your own bundle) with 2 games of your choice. That way real gamers win. If there are not 2 games you want? Well then you don't really want a 360 now.

I think the whole Ebay resale thing is fairly mean spirited. oh, and those who GOTTA HAVE their 360s and paying exorberant prices are tools.

[TKO]

What is it with people and their hardons for the word "failure"?..
Oh oh .. say it again! Say it s-l-o-w-l-y.. ;)

[Tennistoad]

I totally blame microsoft for this one... Spend millions promoting it, pushing it, hawking it. And then only release basically a handfull. They basically asked people to resell em like they were cabbage patch kids. *** shouldn't have launched till they could have put 1million+ on the street on release day.

So *** you won't get any revenue from me on the 360 for at least a year,,and then I'll only buy one/two games...Halo3 and maybe the 19.99 version GOW

[doyama]

Its amusing to see people refer to the launch as a 'failure'. I can tell you that MS is patting themselves on the back because their stock price jumped up 16% cuz of the xbox360. No 'failure' by any means.

Yes they didn't ship out enough units but in reality the Gaming division for Microsoft is simply a glorified marketing department for investors. They love it even though it has NEVER MADE ANY PROFIT in any quarter except one, when Halo2 was released. Investors will see the sellouts as a boon to MS' future and have accordingly rewarded them with a boost in stock price.

[F3nyx]

Fucking disgusting, the people that bought one to simply turn around and sell it are the the biggest blood sucking leeches on the planet. Opportunistic slimeballs.What the hell! It's a game console, a luxury item. If people are stupid enough to pay a super-premium because of a brief shortage, that's entirely their perogative. Nobody's reaching through the Internet and stuffing a 360 down their throat.

Calling them leeches is retarded. Leeches steal blood... here, the "victims" are lining up to offer their blood. How is it unethical to capitalize on the impatience of those with too much cash and too little sense?

[DeadPixel]

Just goes to show there are no shortage of assholes out there. Ticket scalpers are diversifying their product. :-)
I don't get it, isn't it how all companies work? Buy low, sell high. Company or individual, money is made this way, calling it "scalpers" is pure jealousy.

[SMES]

I honestly don't see any future console launches being plentiful from this point on. PS3 especially. Every big console launch is going to be engulfed with people who assume it's going to be scarce. So no matter if it actually is scarce, the illusion of scarcity will be created by consumers, driving the price up for a short while. Just the way it's going to be I think.

Case in point: My brother and I waited all night outside best buy. We got two consoles. When we walked out to the car from the store, one of the guys we were waiting in line with, the HARDCORE GAMER, was just ahead of us and some 50 year old mom offered him $900 in cash right there on the spot. And the person we had just spent 16 hours in line with talking about how awesome it was going to be to play the thing, he SOLD it. Right there. For $900. You can call him a leech all you want but I was jealous and I wished I had walked out before him so I could have sold mine.

So when I went home and saw them on ebay for over 1000, I was shocked. Mine went on ebay, and because of that in two months I'll have a free 360 and a couple games. The person that bought it from me paid in cash and rolled up to my house in a Mercedes SUV. I feel no remorse.

[TRiLoGY]

woah.. 40,000? I thought they only made 10?

[BabyJesus]

What the hell! It's a game console, a luxury item. If people are stupid enough to pay a super-premium because of a brief shortage, that's entirely their perogative. Nobody's reaching through the Internet and stuffing a 360 down their throat.

Calling them leeches is retarded. Leeches steal blood... here, the "victims" are lining up to offer their blood. How is it unethical to capitalize on the impatience of those with too much cash and too little sense?

Its called hoarding and its simply wrong. Those 40,000 units should have been left to people who wanted one to play, not rersell. Its exactly like scalping and its fucked.

[rein]

Its called hoarding and its simply wrong. Those 40,000 units should have been left to people who wanted one to play, not rersell. Its exactly like scalping and its fucked.

BabyJesus... ...you sound bitter. I would think your pops would have enough pull to get you one. Damn... ....I feel really bad. BabyJesus can get gold, frankincense, and myrrh for his birthday but nobody can bring him an Xbox 360?

[Sloth]

Err, all capitalism is about hoarding a resource and then selling it. That's how it works. You exploit the difference between how much it costs you to get something and how much other people are waying to pay for it + any value added.

capitalism itself is just that production and distribution is privately owned in a free market.

[WileE.Coyte]

Say what you will but my E-Bay account will be very busy during the Play Station 3 launch. I'm not going to miss out on free cash for a third time.

[Lutheran]

I agree , this is a no brainer purchase..I am going to preorder 4 or 5 of them from different stores and then sell them all on ebay except for the one I keep for me. Your looking at making about 1,500 dollars profit in a few days.

[Groo]

I agree , this is a no brainer purchase..I am going to preorder 4 or 5 of them from different stores and then sell them all on ebay except for the one I keep for me. Your looking at making about 1,500 dollars profit in a few days.

Not leeches. Vultures, plain and simple.

[agentgray]

Sloth: winner

This sucks for MS. They obviously could have sold more systems if they had them available.
Yeah, but it also sucks for the casual gamers. It shows MS that people are even willing to pay more for one of them.

[agentgray]

I agree , this is a no brainer purchase..I am going to preorder 4 or 5 of them from different stores and then sell them all on ebay except for the one I keep for me. Your looking at making about 1,500 dollars profit in a few days.
You and everyone else. When that happens there will be no market for it.

[bean19]

Yeah, but it also sucks for the casual gamers. It shows MS that people are even willing to pay more for one of them.

Not really. . . hardcore gamers and early adopters have a higher price point, but they would have lowered demand significantly if they had raised the X360 Premium to $450 or $500. Only 40K are going on ebay for $600 to $1000. The market probably only has about 150K of customers willing to buy at a price point above $400, and they did ship with 400K units, and are suppossed to approach a million by Christmas.

They could have done a $450 or $500 first week price and immediately dropped it to $400, but that would have really, really pissed off core gamers.

[Paltry]

hahahaha yay capitolism

i shoulda done the same