Profiteers Snap Up PS3s
US pre-orders open for the new console, exhausted in minutes, on eBay in hours.
The limited launch allocation of the PlayStation 3 is good for Sony, because it guarantees headlines when the console sells out instantly on day one this November. And it works out well for eBay sellers too, who are using this week's limited pre-order campaign in the US to squeeze as much as possible out of a rabid audience.
On Tuesday, US retail chain GameStop let a handful of people pre-order PlayStation 3s at each of its 4,000-or-so stores across the country. The company confirmed by midday that it had sold out of its initial supplies, according to a post at Kotaku. In reality, though, it seems it only took a few minutes for all of them to get snapped up.
And where did they go? Popular online auction site eBay is already hosting auctions for more than a hundred PlayStation 3s. One seller has a fixed price of $100,000 (£54,000), though most are at the more reasonable - relatively speaking - price of around $1,500-2,000 (£810-1,080)
Sony is planning to launch the PlayStation 3 in the US on 17 November. It's earmarked just 400,000 units for the country, stepping back from its plans to have 2 million ready for the global launch in November. The console has been delayed in Europe until March 2007 at the earliest.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo
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