Retailer marks up 360 by $400

JCPenney pinching hopeful 360 owners; sells Premium package for twice retail price, won't ship for two weeks.

"If giving really is better than receiving, you'll love wrapping this up!"

That's the tagline at the bottom of the JCPenney product page for the Xbox 360. However, the retailer's customers had better really like giving, because it could cost them a whole lot of dough.

Known more for women's casual wear and dinette sets, JCPenney also sells some electronics, including the Xbox 360. But instead of listing the highly sought-after machine for the standard $399, it gives a price tag of $799.99--$400 more than normal. Expensive bundles with games and accessories are the norm for online stores, but JCPenney adds only a play and charge kit (list price: $19.99) to the package (a remote is also listed, but some were included with early Xbox 360 Premium Packs--it's unclear whether this is the limited-edition remote or the larger $29.99 Universal Media Remote).

It's unclear whether JCPenney is trying to exploit the hype surrounding the system and its scarcity or whether this is simply a clerical error. However, those in desperate need of an Xbox 360 might consider paying the premium, as the console is selling for even more on eBay.

That said, shoppers who think they're only a few mouse clicks, 800 bucks, and overnight shipping away from playing Perfect Dark Zero tomorrow should read the fine print. On top of the inflated prices, the Premium Packs won't even ship for another two weeks--meaning they will barely make it to buyers by Christmas.

85 Comments

  • jcam432002

    Posted Dec 1, 2005 11:01 am PT

    if a retailer is idiot enough to sell at twice the retail price, and the consumer is stupid enough to pay it, the two deserve each other.

  • macmaster1

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 8:17 pm PT

    I think that was a cheap move by JC Penny, taking advantage of the high demand for the system. It's unfair, I'am never going to buy merchandise from the retailer again. Don't matter never did lol.

  • SupaTrupa

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 11:43 am PT


    Who in the world would pay $800 for a 360? WHO???

    Why is it THAT important to be one of the first ones to get one?

    There's maybe 2 games worth playing on it right now, 3 at most.

    I'll wait another few months, my PC's 6800 is doing just fine for less than half the cost.

  • Chick_Magnet

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 11:25 am PT

    "Some people will probably buy it. There were idiots on eBay buying the X360 at prices between $1,000-$7,500."

    How many of those buyers paid though?

    Probably not many.

  • cusoker

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 11:21 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • cusoker

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 11:17 am PT

    They need to make money some how... all the department stores like sears and penny's are in bad shape finacially. why not exploit 360 fanboys who get a rise at the sight of one, sitting in their room in the corner with a penny's catalog on the electronics section.... giggity-giggity-goo, ow!

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 10:46 am PT

    I'll wait a bit I think, but other stores (Sears, etc...) should jump on the same bandwagon soon. That is way too much money for the system in my opinion.

  • NinjaSpunk

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 9:45 am PT

    This is nothing new. JC Penny, Fingerhut, all those mail order catalog places are notorious for selling things, especially electronics, at an obscene mark-up, primarily because their main source of income is selling to lower-income families that cant afford large purchases outright, so it pricegouges them by offering everything at affordable layaway pricing, with the caveat of you ending up paying as much as 200-300% of retail price for the items. I think they still have $200 Gameboy SPs.

  • snarple_basic

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 9:20 am PT

    I would really hope that was a mistake, or this crap could become the norm for a brand new system around the holidays.

  • ghostsod

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 8:45 am PT

    Just wait you impatient losers.. it's always better when you wait...buy yourself a nice sega saturn to keep you occupied. Thank you for my wisdom come again.

  • Terminator14

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 7:35 am PT

    Well it's a hell of alot better than buying just the regular core system or package off of ebay for 2k.

  • Jorako

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 7:33 am PT

    oh comon thats the reason to only get a ps3 is price gouging yeah because they wont do that with the ps3 yeah right......buy both get the fullest gaming experince form this gen you can and then see what revolution has in store brand loyalty is retarted it makes me miss out on awsome games

  • a_tru_christian

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 6:47 am PT


    $800 for a system that overheats and crashes? No thanks.

  • Neoyamaneko

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 6:05 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • lilweightlifter

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 6:04 am PT

    That's rediculous for a store to do that!!!!

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 6:01 am PT

    Some people will probably buy it. There were idiots on eBay buying the X360 at prices between $1,000-$7,500.

  • donnie_regan

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 5:29 am PT

    thx god i dont want one, now if Halo3 had been a launch game that might have been a different story

  • chupamiubre

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 5:18 am PT

    PRICE GOUGING SUE THEM SOMEONE

  • DrummerX

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 4:22 am PT

    "XBox® 360 Platinum Bundle includes controller, play and charge kit, battery pack and remote." So it states on that page that it inculdes "A" controller. Not an extra, just one. And an extra 400 bucks to me is a few extra games and/or some equipment, jcpenny execs are just loopy. Not like the console is gonna be any different in a couple months, better to miss the psycho holiday rush in my opinion.

  • Goldrock

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 3:22 am PT

    Ill wait also no platform worth 800 bucks i dont care how good it is.

  • Silencer786

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 3:20 am PT

    No one should buy xbox 360 for that price, it is totally ripoff

  • 2TrickedOut

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 1:48 am PT

    Xbox360 won't drop price when the ps3 is out because look how much the ps3 is going to be maybe 499.00? there will be no price wars as there both spendy new next gen systems.

  • 2TrickedOut

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 1:46 am PT

    jcpennys always marks up there stuff!!

  • SSJ_SAMUS

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 12:51 am PT

    PFFFF, that lady is crazy, but some people are crazy too ...
    Paying $799.99 for a X360 ...

    I didn't planned to buy 1 at the launch on 2 December, here in Holland.
    The best thing 2 do is buy 1 when the PS3 is released since it will drop in price, I think

  • funkchild75

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 12:24 am PT

    There is no way in heck that I would buy a console from a Department store these days. That's like going to the chiropractor to get your car serviced.

  • Unorthodox1978

    Posted Nov 30, 2005 12:06 am PT

    Straight up and down, there's no way I'm paying $800.00 dollar for an Xbox 360. Geez, in some places $800.00 is rent money.

  • Hydrolix

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 11:00 pm PT

    Quit saying "that's why I'm buying a PS3." You know the exact same thing is going to happen when that comes out. Either that or you won't see the PS3 till this time next year or later. Is it even out of concept yet? I may be a tad behind, but last I heard all the specs on the thing were still paper and no actual hardware is finalized. Meaning they aren't even manufacturing them yet.

  • fitzza_1301

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 10:56 pm PT

    if i was an american which im not i would become very angry and attack the owner of the store

  • thekey

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 10:12 pm PT


    metal_snake33 How do you know that the same thing doesn't happen to the "mighty" PS3? With its overprice self. (Reminder its going to be Blu-ray, Blu-Ray players are also coming out next year and there going to retail between 899-1500, Keep that in mind Solid snake.

  • Raven_Yuri

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 10:03 pm PT

    *busts up laughing* what a bunch of idiots..they really think a person with common sense is going to pay 799 for something that orginally is 399..haha and i have to agree with some..A department store..yea first pick for me to get a console from..nice to see JCPenny's has brains behind it's store

  • Beebo79

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 9:58 pm PT

    Daddy I want an Oompa Loompa! I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!

  • migg2

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 8:45 pm PT

    Guys, how many of these units do you think shipped so far? 300K? 400K Who knows because MS won't give it up. It will be too apparent that they have shipped too few units - not near enough to satisfy early adopter demand. Now, how many hard core gamers do you think are out there? Out of the 10M consumers of Xboxes to date, is it that inconcevable that there are 300K+ gamers out there with the desire and income to afford $800? I think so. Easy. It's obvious... people are buying it. Plus, remember, it is illegal for MS to "price fix". So retailers are able to charge whatever they want. The only reason retailers maintain a similar price is because of competition amongst themselves and keeping themselves in the good graces of the vendor. In this situation, the vendor has screwed the retailer and demand is off the hook. The balance has been greatly disturbed. So the question is. If you were a retailer, would you rather sell something for half of what the market will bear and let some punk scalp half of your margin or sell it direct to end users that will actually play it? Me, if I WERE to buy one at that price, I'd much rather buy it from a legit retailer. Remember, MS created this environment and retailers would be stupid not to act in their best interest.

  • jpsaply

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 8:40 pm PT

    Guys, take a look at the JCPenny product page again. Its the Platinum on the page, not the premium that Gamespot says is there.

  • ssj4_2004

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 8:31 pm PT

    I don't know what is worse JCpenny selling xbox 360's for $800. Or the fact that they are selling Halo: Combat Evolved for $32.99 HaHa

  • CaptainCrazy

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 8:25 pm PT

    LOL this is flat out f*** rediculous! $800 for nothing extra and they don't even have them in stock yet. This is basically just like pre-ordering, only the system is technically available. This store shouldn't even be allowed to sell for this much more than MSRP.

  • sammeal

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 7:52 pm PT

    I'll never shop there again! Oh wait.. I never have to begin with.

  • lancebarlow

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 6:21 pm PT

    LOL

  • halvedlife

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 6:18 pm PT

    Whoever is head of advertising for Jc Penny ought to be fired over this, if it is in fact a typo. Where do they get the nerve to charge that much? absurd.

  • pimp_jim

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 6:15 pm PT

    hey if anyones dumb enough to pay it, thats their problem!
    i'm not gonna lose any sleep over it, and i doubt jc pennys will either.
    hell if i could con an extra $400 out of some desperate parent i'd be a happy pimp

  • final33

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 6:03 pm PT

    money sucker

  • Weeoo_86

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:48 pm PT

    What a load of horse manure JC Penny is pulling!!! if you wait until next year not only will it be a little bit cheaper and more will be in stock, but they'll also probably run more efficently with the more quieter fans and junk like that

  • TW_Darkmaster

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:39 pm PT

    I really don't get why people are bashing microsoft when its JCPenny setting the prices. Does anyone understand what MSRP means? Manufacture SUGGESTED retail price... for god sakes they just SUGGEST the price not set it. And you economic geniuses need to learn the reason they have a shortage is because they gotta stockpile some up for the euro and jap launch. America isn't the only country in the world even though you'd like to think so.

  • The_Answer_1

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:38 pm PT

    bahh if people are des they will buy it and who the heck shops at jc penny lol this is a crazy world

  • Shtinky

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:22 pm PT

    Not even casuals would buy that...

  • VFG

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:20 pm PT

    Now the only thing dumber than buying a 360 for $400 is buying one for $800.

  • NinjaFoot

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:19 pm PT

    A retail store selling for 2x retail prices?....wtf?....

  • davahsa

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:13 pm PT

    JCwholelotapennies!

  • HadesBurn

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:11 pm PT

    Here's another Website:

    No Extras, Just the Premium Bundle
    Was $699 then $899 and now $849
    http://www.atomicpark.com/xq/aspx/microsoft-xbox-360/prodid.22869/buy.software/qx/productdetail.html

  • Atomic_Mutant

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:08 pm PT

    lol and they say that console gaming is cheaper than PC.

  • doomed51

    Posted Nov 29, 2005 5:06 pm PT

    who is actually gona buy that haha

    hint: casuals?

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