The Top Electronic Gift This Christmas

Several days before the biggest launch of the year, consumers were standing in line for days. Thousands were standing in line for the new Sony Playstation PS3. My husband was one of those crazy people that waited in line for over 40 hours. Not only were people standing in line to get the system for themselves, but they were also standing in line to be one of the first owners that would then turn around to sell theirs for a profit.

If you were out during the week of November 13th, you could see tents lined up outside the front door of various stores. Some of those stores included Best Buy, Circuit City, Target and Walmart. There were approximately 400,000 units that were coming out that day. It was said that about 200,000 of those units were going to be delivered to Best Buy. Needless to say, that's where you could find the longest lines.

Walking up to the door, you could see a long line of tents. People were sitting in their chairs, outside their tents, reading the paper, doing crosswords or just visiting with others in line. You would also find people sleeping in their tents, trying to keep their energy up. However, all this waiting, especially in the cold temperatures, would take its affect on those waiting. My husband ended up getting a sore throat and losing his voice. Was it worth the long wait?

The Sony PS3 60GB was selling for $599, and the 20GB for $499. On eBay, these items were already going for 3 to 4 times their value, before they were even on the market. A majority of those waiting in line for planning to list theirs on eBay for a large profit. During the day of the launch, Ebay was swarmed with new ads for the PS3. At one point, there were over 30,000 of these on the website to be sold.

Some analysts were saying that the prices could go up to more than $5,000. However, it doesn't seem to be going that way. For the past several days, the items seem to be selling for around $800 - $1,000. This is not the outcome that those wanting to sell their item was hoping for. After paying the fills for listing the product, it doesn't leave much room for a profit. I'm sure this is discouraging for several people that stood in line.

With Thanksgiving coming up, some are hoping that the prices will go back up. With those consumers rushing at the last minute to get gifts, it's hard to tell what the prices are going to do. I'm sure there will be a lot of people out there watching EBay, and other on-line sources.