Hardware Reselling the Wii U at launch date

[crono141]

*not sure how things are regulated in other countries, but over here you can't just demand a full refund. If it's within a couple of days, you have the receipt and it's unopened, then you're entitled to coupons to be used in the store. But real money on multiple consoles? I seriously doubt it.

Really? Is that common in the EU?

With "here", I actually meant Belgium. I have no idea how other European countries do it, let alone the store policy. But if the product isn't faulty, then they're certainly not obligated to refund real money.


I'm actually equally surprised it's different on your end. Can you really just buy something and return it to get all your money back for no apparent reason? It's like you have a whole shopping mall full of libraries, by the sounds of it.
It would indeed, as you say, reduce any risk to a zero. Strange...

Not that strange. You paid money in exchange for a particular product. If, after actually using the product, you find it does not meet your expectations you take it back and exchange a product for money. Some stores are dicks about it and try and give in store credit instead, but if you bitch hard enough you'll get what you want.

Most return policies have a 30 day limit. After that, you're stuck with it.

I'm equally puzzled by other European sales conventions. No free refills? Coke comes in a small glass with no ice? Wut?

 

[leic7]

With "here", I actually meant Belgium. I have no idea how other European countries do it, let alone the store policy. But if the product isn't faulty, then they're certainly not obligated to refund real money.


I'm actually equally surprised it's different on your end. Can you really just buy something and return it to get all your money back for no apparent reason? It's like you have a whole shopping mall full of libraries, by the sounds of it.
It would indeed, as you say, reduce any risk to a zero. Strange...

Yes, you could return a video game console to the store with the receipt to get a full refund. The customer service clerk would ask you for a reason, "I already have another one, I don't need this one" counts as a reason.

For the stores that would only offer in-store credit for returns in Belgium, are they large stores (like Walmart and Amazon), or relatively small stores?

 

[Taleweaver]

Not that strange. You paid money in exchange for a particular product. If, after actually using the product, you find it does not meet your expectations you take it back and exchange a product for money. Some stores are dicks about it and try and give in store credit instead, but if you bitch hard enough you'll get what you want.

Most return policies have a 30 day limit. After that, you're stuck with it.

I'm equally puzzled by other European sales conventions. No free refills? Coke comes in a small glass with no ice? Wut?

Well...lemme just say I find it strange that a store has to cater to one's expectations. Their responsibility, IMO, is to offer the product in a decent and working condition. What to do or how to be satisfied with a product is up to the consumer. So you're basically saying you could just go "buy" a movie, watch it and then go get your money back if you don't like the ending?
Bitching certainly wouldn't work. But honestly, I can't imagine people actually doing that.

As to your other notes:
-some hamburger chains have refills. Most bars and pubs don't.
-dunno how you define "small". It's usually 25 or 33cl a glass.
-it comes with ice. Everywhere.
-...but we don't tip our waitresses (in restaurants it tends to happen, but it's far from expected). There's no need to: they make enough money (my friend's father owned a pub, so I know what I'm talking about).

@[member='leic7']: the large stores for sure (media markt, saturn). I think Gamemania refunds money, but I wouldn't know. Thanks to pirating, I already know the game I'm buying is a good one. Never asked for a refund on a smaller shop.

 

[crono141]

Not that strange. You paid money in exchange for a particular product. If, after actually using the product, you find it does not meet your expectations you take it back and exchange a product for money. Some stores are dicks about it and try and give in store credit instead, but if you bitch hard enough you'll get what you want.

Most return policies have a 30 day limit. After that, you're stuck with it.

I'm equally puzzled by other European sales conventions. No free refills? Coke comes in a small glass with no ice? Wut?

Well...lemme just say I find it strange that a store has to cater to one's expectations. Their responsibility, IMO, is to offer the product in a decent and working condition. What to do or how to be satisfied with a product is up to the consumer. So you're basically saying you could just go "buy" a movie, watch it and then go get your money back if you don't like the ending?
Bitching certainly wouldn't work. But honestly, I can't imagine people actually doing that.

As to your other notes:
-some hamburger chains have refills. Most bars and pubs don't.
-dunno how you define "small". It's usually 25 or 33cl a glass.
-it comes with ice. Everywhere.
-...but we don't tip our waitresses (in restaurants it tends to happen, but it's far from expected). There's no need to: they make enough money (my friend's father owned a pub, so I know what I'm talking about).

@[member='leic7']: the large stores for sure (media markt, saturn). I think Gamemania refunds money, but I wouldn't know. Thanks to pirating, I already know the game I'm buying is a good one. Never asked for a refund on a smaller shop.

Media generally can't be returned, due to the ease of copy and pirating of most forms of store bought media. But, if you got a vaccuum cleaner and it didn't do the job like you expected, you can totally take it back for a refund in most cases.

And over here, stores practically bend over backwards for your business. Thats the great thing about capitalism. If a store doesn't make their customers happy, the customers go to another store that does. Not sure why that doesn't happen in Europe. Different expectations, I suppose.

 

[chartube12]

*not sure how things are regulated in other countries, but over here you can't just demand a full refund. If it's within a couple of days, you have the receipt and it's unopened, then you're entitled to coupons to be used in the store. But real money on multiple consoles? I seriously doubt it.

Really? Is that common in the EU?

With "here", I actually meant Belgium. I have no idea how other European countries do it, let alone the store policy. But if the product isn't faulty, then they're certainly not obligated to refund real money.


I'm actually equally surprised it's different on your end. Can you really just buy something and return it to get all your money back for no apparent reason? It's like you have a whole shopping mall full of libraries, by the sounds of it.
It would indeed, as you say, reduce any risk to a zero. Strange...

Really? Cause 30 day guarantee has been a law here (USA) since the mid-90s

Some stores even take it a bit higher. Walmart gives you additional 30 days if the product is unused and unopened for a total of 60 days. Target gives you a full extra 60 days for a total of 90.

As for open stuff, it is 30 days. Some products you can even returned w/o a receipt and still get cash back. This is because each chain of stores uses a separate barcode system, allowing them to tell it came from there store.

 

[J-Machine]

If I was hurting for money I'd do it once but with the console I bought. One of those " put it on ebay for an extra hundred and if nobody buys it in a month Just enjoy the purchase yourself" approaches. I can wait to play my wiiU but sometimes the bills don't like waiting to play with me.

 

[Taleweaver]

And over here, stores practically bend over backwards for your business. Thats the great thing about capitalism. If a store doesn't make their customers happy, the customers go to another store that does. Not sure why that doesn't happen in Europe. Different expectations, I suppose.

That, and lobbyist groups. If ALL the stores just laugh you away when you bring back a non-broken product, you won't be able to go to another store that does that. In the end, you'll still be buying things.

Really? Cause 30 day guarantee has been a law here (USA) since the mid-90s

Some stores even take it a bit higher. Walmart gives you additional 30 days if the product is unused and unopened for a total of 60 days. Target gives you a full extra 60 days for a total of 90.

As for open stuff, it is 30 days. Some products you can even returned w/o a receipt and still get cash back. This is because each chain of stores uses a separate barcode system, allowing them to tell it came from there store.

We have guarantee laws for broken products, not for consumer satisfaction.Of course, there'll be people who break their product*, but not that many.





*best anekdote about a wii was on a Dutch forum, some years ago: he made an error hacking so it bricked (or so he claimed). It was within guarantee, but since he hacked it, that became void. So he unplugged it, spilled some water on it in the hope his wii would become so unreadable nintendo wouldn't be able to figure out it was hacked and have it repaired. However, after a night he decided to just flip it on "just in case". The thing worked.
Of course, the unplugging and loss of power could have helped (or it simply wasn't as bricked as he thought it was). And the water simply hadn't touched any vital parts.
...but the way he brought the story would make you believe that spiling water on your wii is a way to unbrick your wii.

 

[tronic307]

I resold Wii consoles for about a year, starting at about $150 in profit, at launch, and dropping close to only $50 in profit, by late 2007. Seems only the brave wanted to stand on lines from midnight until morning. There were even gangs who'd skip people to the front of the line, for like $50 a pop, and we had words at times, but I was clearly outnumbered. Man, it was ugly, and I don't know if I'm young enough to do it again, but I have a gut feeling that the Wii U will be a considerably easier purchase.

 

[Maxternal]

Hmm, when I was living in the US I thought it was just a convenience that SOME stores offered to their customers. I didn't know it was actually a LAW. Here, there's a 30-day gaurantee by law but only if the product is defective or damaged and there's no obligation to do more than trade it for another one.

On the other hand, in the US I do remember a lot of stores offering to take back items the day after Christmas even without a receipt as a convenience for those who were given repeated or defective gifts.

I can see that if they really were understocked on the consoles they would WANT as many back as possible just because it's a better image for the store if there's some in stock (of course if they're understocked, there's high demand and he'd probably have sold them anyhow.)

One way or another, I'd say it'd be good to read any fine print available at preorder time to make sure it doesn't say "no refunds" somewhere.

 

[Alexrose]

>says the Wii U is a "Wii" product.

>ignores the fact that it barely has anything to do with the Wii.

Yeah man, you're right.

Two games consoles made by the same company, whose names are different by 1 letter that both run every game produced for the wii and are compatible with all the controllers produced for the wii (and in fact, rely on them for multiplayer), and most likely both use IOS* to run the operating system, centric around miis and with online friend codes, with the base model having the same colour scheme and both are the only machine that run their generation of first party Nintendo franchise games.

They barely have anything to each other. You'd be hard pushed to name 2 things that are less similar than the Wii and Wii U.

*(source: US patent US20110190052 Fig. 2,11a)

 

[DonnyKD]

>says the Wii U is a "Wii" product.

>ignores the fact that it barely has anything to do with the Wii.

Yeah man, you're right.

Two games consoles made by the same company, whose names are different by 1 letter that both run every game produced for the wii and are compatible with all the controllers produced for the wii (and in fact, rely on them for multiplayer), and most likely both use IOS* to run the operating system, centric around miis and with online friend codes, with the base model having the same colour scheme and both are the only machine that run their generation of first party Nintendo franchise games.

They barely have anything to each other. You'd be hard pushed to name 2 things that are less similar than the Wii and Wii U.

*(source: US patent US20110190052 Fig. 2,11a)

By that logic, the 3DS is another DS, and the Wii is another Gamecube since it can play Gamecube games.

You're a moron. The Wii U barely has anything to DO with the Wii, the SNES has one letter off NES, does it make it a NES? No, tard.

 

[Bladexdsl]

i wouldnt bother right at the start have you seen the launch list?! i don't expect these to sell like hotcakes at 1st not like with the wii.

 

[Sicklyboy]

This is why we (everyone else who doesn't do this) can't have nice things.

 

[Taleweaver]

i wouldnt bother right at the start have you seen the launch list?! i don't expect these to sell like hotcakes at 1st not like with the wii.

You mean there's an official one out right now? I used to think that all the games in this list were launch games, but "launch window" apparently means somewhere in up to four months after the launch day.

It'll probably take until we know an actual release day of the wiiU that something will be known about the actual launch titles.

(I agree on the 'probably won't do too well at start' part. It'll mostly depend on how it actually plays and the hearsay of other customers)

 

[shortz1994]

So I am considering buying a few Wii-U's at launch and reselling them in the hopes of making a profit when the rush buying begins for it. I remember when the wii/360 were released they were hard to find and thus people were selling them for $100-$200 more than they paid for them on ebay. What are your all's thoughts on this? Will the Wii U be short in stock at launch like the Wii was, thus creating a high demand? Will the hype for it be very high at release, causing a shortage of them? Thanks for your input in advance.

?? this has got to be the dumbest question.( well in this thread, i've heard worse)..
IF (an thats a big one, cause it's obvious your a mr. money bags.) but unlike you, i'm not, just like alot of the people in "todays" world of instability, an low income. more then likely a lot of people who have the wii's will stick with what we have, until the price drops, or wait till taxes come back. then IF, the game base is large enough, they still Might buy it. (this is what i did before i got our wii.). your right their will be hype, but short lived.
me personaly i have better things to do then give my hard earned money away to someone like you. ( an my feelings are the same as most people.).

 

[Alexrose]

>says the Wii U is a "Wii" product.

>ignores the fact that it barely has anything to do with the Wii.

Yeah man, you're right.

Two games consoles made by the same company, whose names are different by 1 letter that both run every game produced for the wii and are compatible with all the controllers produced for the wii (and in fact, rely on them for multiplayer), and most likely both use IOS* to run the operating system, centric around miis and with online friend codes, with the base model having the same colour scheme and both are the only machine that run their generation of first party Nintendo franchise games.

They barely have anything to each other. You'd be hard pushed to name 2 things that are less similar than the Wii and Wii U.

*(source: US patent US20110190052 Fig. 2,11a)

By that logic, the 3DS is another DS, and the Wii is another Gamecube since it can play Gamecube games.

You're a moron. The Wii U barely has anything to DO with the Wii, the SNES has one letter off NES, does it make it a NES? No, tard.

.. I never said the Wii U is another Wii, I just said that the Wii U doesn't have "barely anything to do with the Wii".

The 3DS has everything to do with the DS. It's a two screened handheld games console made by Nintendo that runs cartridges of similar physical size with a bottom touch screen, and is the successor of that console.

The Wii and the Gamecube have a lot to do with each other. They're completely different in shape and they run different system software but they both are compatible with the same controllers and games and made by the same company, and are the Nintendo home console of their generation. They're not quite as similar as the Wii and Wii U though.

The SNES is a lot like a NES. Two machines that look aesthetically quite similar, although the NES is more blocky and run 2d games which use D-Pad controllers and are the primary Nintendo home console of their gen. Sure, NES is the least like its successor in terms of the comparisons just made, but I never said:

"The only reason they are similar is because they are one letter different". That was just one of many similarities I pointed out. Putting a U in Wii is akin to sticking a 2 on Playstation or a 360 on Xbox. Do you also think PS2 and PS1 have nothing to do with each other and 360 and Xbox have nothing to do with each other?

Think of every single thing existent in the known universe. Now try and name one of those things that has more things in common with the Wii U than the Wii, or the 3DS than the DSi (not including revisions like XL).

It's absolutely proposterous to say that they have nothing to do with each other, especially coming from the guy who likes to say that the 360 controller is practically a SNES controller, when it's different in ergonomics, button placement, trigger buttons, analogue sticks, the home button and the d-pad is entirely different. Practically every single individual component of the 360 controller is different in some way from each component of the SNES controller but you say they're the same whenever anyone says the Wii U controller is like the 360 controller.

Meanwhile the Wii U has only a few changes from the Wii. Better specifications, tablet controller, improved online functionality, new home screen style, and pretty much everything else is the same, and you say they have "barely anything to do with" each other. It's ludicrous.

 

[tronic307]

So I am considering buying a few Wii-U's at launch and reselling them in the hopes of making a profit when the rush buying begins for it. I remember when the wii/360 were released they were hard to find and thus people were selling them for $100-$200 more than they paid for them on ebay. What are your all's thoughts on this? Will the Wii U be short in stock at launch like the Wii was, thus creating a high demand? Will the hype for it be very high at release, causing a shortage of them? Thanks for your input in advance.

?? this has got to be the dumbest question.( well in this thread, i've heard worse)..
IF (an thats a big one, cause it's obvious your a mr. money bags.) but unlike you, i'm not, just like alot of the people in "todays" world of instability, an low income. more then likely a lot of people who have the wii's will stick with what we have, until the price drops, or wait till taxes come back. then IF, the game base is large enough, they still Might buy it. (this is what i did before i got our wii.). your right their will be hype, but short lived.
me personaly i have better things to do then give my hard earned money away to someone like you. ( an my feelings are the same as most people.).

Times are surely different now, but I used to sell the Wii for about $400 on a 3 day auction starting at 99 cents, no reserve. As to the longevity of hype, it took about a year to drop to $300, which was no longer worth it. There was a definite market that, in my opinion, was not giving their money away, they were paying me to stand on a line for 4-8 hours, pick the item up for them, and send it to them insured, with the original receipt. Wii U business might possibly be a tad slower than that, but I'd bet you could sell 3 per week for like $500 or possibly more. It's just a grind that some people will pay to avoid, even if the economy sucks.
If you know what it's like out there, you should know what it's like to sell your stuff to pay the rent. What's so different about this?

 

[shortz1994]

you should know what it's like to sell your stuff to pay the rent. What's so different about this?

been in this boat one too many times before, next time try to sleep in a car with twins that are 2yr, with a prego wife with the second set, after you have been let go from your contracting job making 1200 a week, cause they hired some il---l(fill in those blanks.) person that will do the job for 1/2 or less then what they have to pay you..(probably a little too much info there, but proving a point.)
your way is totally different from the other way.
your way, is to stand inline for that person after they give you their money.( if you stood inline/payed before money exchanged. that's a dumb move.).
the other way, go out an buy the wii u mark it up a few 100$.( spending your own money, hoping for a profit.).
me i would do it your way, before i go an spend my hard earned money hoping/ praying for a profit.

 

[tronic307]

you should know what it's like to sell your stuff to pay the rent. What's so different about this?

been in this boat one too many times before, next time try to sleep in a car with twins that are 2yr, with a prego wife with the second set, after you have been let go from your contracting job making 1200 a week, cause they hired some il---l(fill in those blanks.) person that will do the job for 1/2 or less then what they have to pay you..(probably a little too much info there, but proving a point.)
your way is totally different from the other way.
your way, is to stand inline for that person after they give you their money.( if you stood inline/payed before money exchanged. that's a dumb move.).
the other way, go out an buy the wii u mark it up a few 100$.( spending your own money, hoping for a profit.).
me i would do it your way, before i go an spend my hard earned money hoping/ praying for a profit.

I wish you and your family health and happiness. I've been in similar situations, but I only had to fend for myself, and I thought that was rough.
Buyers and sellers are just sheep; brokers are the wolves. The group of thugs who took control of those lines for the Wii and moved people from the back to the front of the line for like $50 were brokers, they had a real racket going. They had no need to move any product, just profit from sheer demand. I don't condone such behavior. In fact, it made me quite angry at the time, but it taught me that the real profiteers of this world are free of the slave mindset most of us are burdened with. They are ruthless and organized, and if an individual or small group wishes to stand a chance financially, they must somehow leverage the system to work just for them and those they love and trust.

 

[ComeTurismO]

You’re that rich?