Camping
In the days before the Internet and the stranglehold that Ticketmaster would eventually put on concert music, people had to wait in line for tickets to any event. The closest we come these days is waiting in line to get the Hot New Videogame Console™The earliest of the early adopters have always been prone to waiting in line to get their systems at midnight, but most people were content to know that they would get the new toy sometime in the weeks before Christmas. However, things changed as things are prone to doing, and demand has far outpaced supply with the release of the PS2 a few years ago, and the Xbox 360 this year.
A few people have pointed out that anywhere between 5-10% of all units available at the launch of the system have wound up on EBay. There were approximately 36,000 units on EBay the first week, and ~15,000 units per week in the weeks since. The going rate seems to be ~$200 more than retail value of the system plus the cost of included accessories (it was higher in the first two weeks). I’m making the bold prediction that there will be a significant price drop the week after Christmas, but EBay is the best bet for anyone looking to be a hero this holiday season. The Ebay Phenomenon is worthy of being in some Grad Student’s thesis. I’d like to read that some day…
All this talk of profit really gets me hot, so being the good little capitalist that I am, I decided I would obtain a system to sell on Ebay. In the past weeks, I tried a number of stores in the hopes of stumbling upon one. At one store, I found that I was a day late. At another, I was behind the person who purchased the last one. Sometimes luck isn’t with me.
Best Buy employees had been telling everyone that they would be selling their second shipment today. Internet rumors said that the stores in my area would be receiving 65 units, so I decided to camp out in the hopes of obtaining the system. I’ve never camped out for anything before, so I thought this would be a fun little adventure.
My initial plan was to arrive at 5am and wait for 3 hours however, around 2:30am I decided that I should leave immediately. I arrived at 3:15 and saw a lot of sleeping bags on the ground with a lot of people huddled over for warmth. It looked more like a gathering of the homeless than people who had $400 in their pockets to burn on Christmas. I was the 70th person in line, but I was still optimistic because several people were in line with their children, and a few people appeared to be there to accompany friends.
So I had a few hours to kill. I whipped out the iPod and decided that Beethoven’s 9th symphony would be the perfect starting music for my wait. I also pulled out my PSP. I figured that I might as well get some use out of it. Unfortunately there was no power. I guess I should have recharged it. I stuffed it back in my hoodie pocket and thought about going to sleep.
After a few minutes, a guy walked by and thanked the people in front of him for holding his spot while he went to his car. He opened up a plastic container to reveal a pumpkin pie which he offered to the woman who saved his spot, and to me as well. I’ve never been offered pie by a stranger.
I spent the next few hours enduring the cold waiting in line for what ultimately turned out to be nothing. I may or may not try to get one to sell. I’m not interested in getting one for myself though. I already got myself a Christmas present at the store where I just missed getting one, and no, it wasn’t in any way video game related.
posted by SumThing @ 4:19 PM
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