Will XBox 360 Sell Out on Ebay before X'mas?

You can't really understand a system until you get your hands dirty. So right now I'm playing with the dirty game of XBox 360 Ebay auctions. In fact, just to put a creative twist to it, I turned my ebay auction into my latest blog entry. Here's what it reads:

I've got in my possession this is a brand-new X Box 360 Core System. I also have with me an extra 20 Gigabyte hard drive. This hard drive includes preloaded high-definition bonus content and the puzzle game Hexic HD. It's been blogged that games like Hexic may just be the killer app for the XBox 360.

The other reason why you may need this hard drive is to play many of your older XBox games. As a matter of fact, it has also been blogged that you get better gameplay with games like Halo ( see: Halo2 on the 360: Wow! ). Now Halo is of course more fun playing in the company of others. So, I've added an extra controller to the bundle.

Allmost all brick-and-mortar retailers have sold out. If they have not or are planning on receiving new units before Christmas, then expect them to also sell them at inflated prices. Take JCPenny as an example of this trend. The truth however is that if you have not pre-ordered your unit last October, then you absolutely can't expect to get it before the spring of 2006!

Take it from the horses mouth, Microsoft says:

Speaking to the Official Xbox Magazine UK, Peter Moore ( VP of worldwide marketing for the Home and Entertainment division of Microsofy ) admitted that Microsoft can’t guarantee the console’s availability to be large enough to meet demands. “I’m not sure I can guarantee that everyone will get an Xbox 360 by Christmas,”

Gamefirst has in fact an analysis of the current ebay auctions. They write "At this rate, eBay will have no more Xbox 360s to sell in 4.6 days, or by Tuesday, December 1st. Just exactly at the point when we enter the Christmas season.". Note, that's not my quote, it's theirs.

I can ship this within 24 hours of your payment so you can also enjoy this before Christmas! I will use US Postal Service Express Mail Overnight delivery if you absolutely need it "yesterday".

Now, just in case you don't have the money yourself. Here are some talking points to convince someone else to shell out the money for you:

1. Talking Point #1 - The XBox 360 is very scarce and therefore valuable.
2. Talking Point #2 - It can play DVDs and CDs.
3. Talking Point #3 - It can play music.
4. Talking Point #4 - You can view photos.
5. Talking Point #5 - Silly arcade games for whole family.
6. Talking Point #6 - It’s an excuse to get a HDTV.
7. Talking Point #7 - You'll will play Halo better than almost everyone else.

Best of luck bidding!

Now eBay of course has already made a killing on me. Here is what I've paid for just to get this listing:

Listing Designer Fee $0.10
Featured Plus! Fee $9.97
Gallery Fee $0.35
Picture Fee $0.30
Item Subtitle Fee $0.25
Buy It Now Listing Fee $0.25
Insertion Fee $4.80
Reserve Price Listing Fee $7.45

That of course doesn't even include the "Final Value Fee" and the "Pay Pal" fees. It should be now no surprise to anyone how eBay has raked in $4.1 billion in revenue this year.