From the Centerville Daily Iowegian:
It’s dawn on Friday, Nov. 17. Over a dozen young men are standing outside of the Centerville Wal-Mart. Some of them have been standing here since since 7 p.m. on Thursday. Their goal: the purchase of a Sony Playstation 3 - a video game system being touted as the most powerful and technologically advanced home console on the market. It retails between $500 and $600, depending on what features one is looking for.
Due to a number of problems on the manufacturing side, however, Sony’s retail release for the system is plagued by shortages nationwide. That is why almost every person in line is here not with the intention of playing the Playstation 3 - they’re here to scalp the system on eBay for way more than its retail value.
“I like to think of it as profiteering,” Dane Hammer, a Drake University student who was in town to purchase one, responded.
“I took Economics I and II, David Edgeton, another Drake student mused. “I can’t override the low supply with the high demand. It’s not possible.”
It may be a smart move. With nowhere near enough Playstation 3 consoles to go around, and a large number of people willing to pay exorberant prices for it, gouging the system with a large after-market price may be a great way to score some Christmas money. How much profit, you might ask? eBay auctions of the new system are closing between an average of $1500 and $3000. Suddenly, the initial investment of $500 - $600 for a PS3 becomes very attractive to those willing to wade through some obstacles for one.
The Drake University students who came down Thursday night had called a few Wal-Marts, looking for a place where lines hadn’t formed to nab one. When they heard no one was at the Centerville store, they hopped in their car and made the journey.
Three problems occurred once the college boys got here: First, a line had officially started five arrived. Levi Grenko and Dylan Oehler, two Centerville High School Sophomores decided to stand outside and brave the weather conditions.
“I live right across the street,” Grenko stated.
Second, they assumed the Centerville Wal-Mart was a 24-hour Supercenter, and would be selling their Playstation 3’s at midnight. It wasn’t.
“We drove here, when we called in, they didn’t say, ‘oh by the way, we’re not a 24-hour wal-mart,’” Jeffrey Pettit remembers, the third Drake University student who made the trip to Centerville.
One final obstacle: the Centerville Wal-Mart only had 4 PS3’s available at launch. Minus the two the local kids would nab the first two, that meant only two would be left for the rest.
Faced with these problems, the Drake students took it in stride. Since they were already here, and were guaranteed the last two consoles, the decision was made to stay the night in line.
Despite having no gear to camp out in, and nothing to eat or drink, the Drake students found resources available, thanks in part to the kindness of strangers.
“[The two kids in front of us] bought a tent last night,” Hammer explained. “Their mom brought us some blankets. We bought their pizza in exchange, so...the barter system.”
“Last night we were kind of frustrated,” Pettit explained. “but [Wal-Mart] gave us coffee this morning, which was really nice.”
That's a funny story.
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