Best Buy not selling Wiis until December 17?

  • By TimSpot, GameSpot
  • Posted Dec 13, 2006 5:19 pm PT

Source: A scan of an internal Best Buy newsletter acquired by GoNintendo. The official story: Best Buy and Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time. What we heard: For people trying to hunt down a hard-to-find Wii, there are few things more frustrating than other Wii owners...

Source: A scan of an internal Best Buy newsletter acquired by GoNintendo.

The official story: Best Buy and Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time.

What we heard: For people trying to hunt down a hard-to-find Wii, there are few things more frustrating than other Wii owners bragging about how they have one. Nintendo's new console has been in short supply since its launch on November 19, and retailers have been selling the consoles as soon as they get them in.

Or maybe that's what they want you to think. Nintendo fan site GoNintendo.com has posted what is allegedly a scan (click image to enlarge) of an internal Best Buy newsletter, which asks managers not to sell Wiis until December 17, even if the company has units in stock.

Best Buy corporate cites the following three reasons for retaining Wiis in the newsletter:

--"This is the last competitive weekend for holiday shopping, which encourages a large amount of traffic to our retail stores once customers realize the system is available."

--"Customers shopping for other products will have the ability and be encouraged to purchase the gaming console."

--"The system is more readily available then [sic] other competing gaming systems."

The scan also mentions some PlayStation 3 information, including "SCEA has made an announcement that no other units will be shipped in addition to the units already being manufactured." However, unlike the Wii, PS3s are to be immediately shelved and sold to customers.

For those gamers still waiting to get a Wii for the holidays, there is at least one bit of good news in the notice. Though quantities will differ for each store, the newsletter states that a "minimum of 40 consoles is guaranteed."

But when GameSpot contacted a Best Buy store-level employee, we were told that each store was required to have a minimum amount of consoles, as promised in advertisements, for December 17. If stock exceeded the promised number, then stores could sell the difference. The employee's store was also only committed to have 25 units ready for the weekend, not 40 as the memo said.

[UPDATE] Several readers have pointed out that this practice of holding stock of Wiis is being implemented not just at Best Buy, but at several other retailers as well.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that all Best Buys aren't selling Wiis, but not bogus that some stores that aren't selling them may have some in stock.

272 Comments

  • CaseyDotCom

    Posted Jan 3, 2007 5:20 pm PT

    LOL...Sony doesn't have that rule???

    Umm, Best Buy held back 40 PS3 60gb units for the 12/31 ad smart guy. It was also in the ad. No rule exists. Stop ragging on BBY and MS.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 2:22 pm PT

    I'm probably going to get mine in a store anyway

  • flashtek

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 7:45 am PT

    Good example of corporate America taken advantage of a situation. The only reason they are holding the units is to drive up the traffic in the stores so the can sucker ppl into other products. IF you have them sell them its that easy. Why do think Sony has that "rule" in place that store can not hold back product. That just stinks to high heaven. It may not be illegal but man its just unethical.

  • Sonicgod

    Posted Dec 19, 2006 10:22 am PT

    Why is nintendo sending Wii to mexico it's obvious nobody there has money there to buy one or wants to if ther just setting there, they could all be sent to places where they need to be.

    Waste of time not exaclty a place where they would expect to sell games quick.

  • ACoBildo

    Posted Dec 18, 2006 7:39 pm PT

    I work at Target Overnight and I know why we do this. Nintendo allocates more systems to retailers that have the Wii in their circular. Target policy is that all items on ad must be in stock the morning of the ad, usually in excess. Since we receive so few and they sell out instantly, stores lock them in asset protection until Sunday morning. Our internal webpage told us the same thing.

  • rulo_rezn0r

    Posted Dec 18, 2006 5:17 pm PT

    too bad
    here in mexico there are alot of Wiis in the stores shelves
    but at ahigher price
    so ill wait to visit US some weekend next year i guess

  • Cypher_VR

    Posted Dec 18, 2006 3:16 pm PT

    and people buying them and then selling them on eBay...
    crap.

  • nowiisinstock

    Posted Dec 18, 2006 5:30 am PT

    They aren't hording them, these are normal shipment numbers. The only real thing thats fact in that article is that "they are being sold sunday morning". So everyone knew about the shipping date. Thats it. EB/Gamestop gets 2-3 shipments each week and they always have numbers like that. 6-9 each shipment. I really expected best buy to have more than 24 considering when they launched the wii here they had over 140 of them in stock. There were more than 40 people waiting at Target too and they only got approx. 9 in stock at each one. Maybe it varies from city to city, but there wasn't enough of them to go around. Better luck next year.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 11:16 pm PT

    I think its been pretty well determined the article is not bogus at all. Its also been determined that a lot of places not just best buy do this. Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Game Stop Inc. stores. just about everywhere that gets them stashed what they were getting in back which at a lot of places was 2 or more at a time for the last week plus so that way they could have a big sales push on this crazy weekend. Main thing now is the Business Ethics questionability. Though i would like to see what the numbers would be like had they sold the systems as they got them. I would think just about as good because when people found out that they were going to be at the store poeple stopped going into the store to try to get them at a random time though i would imagine all those stores had crazy sales today. but if you read some of what people have already said you can get a good idea of what the debate has turned into.

  • acummuta

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:58 pm PT

    Article not bogus. I picked up a Wii this morning. Waited in line in front of Electronics Boutique for 2 hours. Number 5 in line out of 6 consoles. Whew. Also the Best Buy in another town sold 15 this morning. Nope...they definitely had a plan for re-launching.

  • nowiisinstock

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 1:54 pm PT

    I found this article to be totally bogus. In town we have 2 best buys- each had 24 in stock, 2 Circuit Cities- one had 3, one had 7, all the gamestop/eb games had an average of 6-9 each.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:38 am PT

    CloudY2J
    I suppose I am a bit ridiculous myself. Actually I know I am, but thats not the point.

    Though the ridiculous part was actually made more towards Davit0000's comment but none the less ridiculous I am

  • CloudY2J

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:32 am PT

    " didnt get to see best buy, but my circuit city had a designated line for their wii sale tomorow. they had a sign that said they had 18 "

    Its good to see that ALL Circuits are dumb enough to do this. That's why their company is sinking fast.

  • CloudY2J

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:30 am PT

    TalonComics,

    They were shipped to my store on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and then held until the Sunday after. There was no Black Friday release - that day has enough chaos on its own.

  • CloudY2J

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:29 am PT

    "People who cry about people not liking that places do this are a bit rediculous themselves."

    "You know this morning there were 14 people camped out between gameworld and gamestop for the system and after interviews only 2 of them were actually getting the system to do anything more than sell it on auction sites. Thats my bigger issue with it they announce when they are going to get it so people rather than going out and getting a real job go wait in line for 12 hours when someone like my dad can't do it due to medical problems so there is no chance when all the people that did wait plan on doing is selling it. I mean its almost disgusting to go onto ebay and see the same user selling 10 systems and 30 controllers with nunchuk attachment."

    Doesn't that make you a "bit ridiculous" yourself?

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:24 am PT

    People who cry about people not liking that places do this leave some ridiculous comments themselves. If for nothing else but what people used to seem to have was holiday spirits I mean i don't know is it just me or even in just the short time i have been alive people have almost just stopped caring about anybody but themselves at ths time of the month. Most poeple probably understand why they do it yes its great for business not only in store but also on Ebay. You know this morning there were 14 people camped out between gameworld and gamestop for the system and after interviews only 2 of them were actually getting the system to do anything more than sell it on auction sites. Thats my bigger issue with it they announce when they are going to get it so people rather than going out and getting a real job go wait in line for 12 hours when someone like my dad can't do it due to medical problems so there is no chance when all the people that did wait plan on doing is selling it. I mean its almost disgusting to go onto ebay and see the same user selling 10 systems and 30 controllers with nunchuk attachment. But I suppose for you people who think business is more important then people actually having a chance at getting lil' timmy what he wants for Christmas then your prolly having a blast which is cool. For the avg gamer wanting a new system and not wanting to pay 500 dollars for a wii or 1200 for a PS3 good luck a lot of you will prolly need it.

  • CloudY2J

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 8:10 am PT

    I think people who are upset by this are missing the bigger picture. By holding the Wiis, that does a lot of things not only for the company, but the consumers as well. First, just like the launch day, you have a guaranteed date to go and get one - and they're advertised so everyone is aware, and everyone has an even playing field. Best Buy is actually doing some people (the people who aren't lucky enough to just walk in and have one fall into their lap) a huge favor by announcing them in the ad.

    Its also a safety issue too. Look at how many news articles and videos there were about people getting hurt, mugged, etc. over the Wiis and PS3s. I know most of that was on launch day, but if you just put a bunch of units on a shelf and let customers free-for-all over them, that can create a lot of issues. Having post-launch line-ups like this creates a much safer environment, for consumer and employee alike.

    Obviously its marketing too. You create demand by announcing them, and while a lot of people wait in line and don't get one, some of them still come into the store and buy games/accessories and whatnot. I know I didn't get one on launch day, but I still bought a Wiimote (real glad that I did) and Zelda just because I knew I'd eventually be getting a Wii. So I know first-hand that for some shoppers, like myself, that kind of marketing does work. My local Circuit City is empty, as usual, because they hang up signs on their doors saying they're out of stock on Wiis and PS3s. Get people in and asking, and then even if they're disappointed, they're still likely to pick up something while they're there. So don't be so quick to badmouth companies for doing this before you think about it. The kind of chaos dropping 20-30 Wiis/PS3s in the middle of an aisle in an already busy department during the BUSIEST shopping weekend of the year is a really bad idea. Holding them and having a line-up is a much safer and better solution.

  • sailingmanuel

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 6:08 am PT

    That is true. My girlfriend called around for me to get one for my son. And one store let it slip saying that Nintendo will not let them put them out in till the 17.

  • TalonComics

    Posted Dec 17, 2006 12:48 am PT

    This was going on before "Black Friday" as well. I know for a fact Gamestop, Bestbuy and Target held systems for a BF release so why would this press release be that unusal?
    There was a line of 13 people at Bestbuy tonight with a posted sign on the door saying BB would have 15 Wiis for sale the morning of the 17th. I also heard the employees instore talking about if they could go ahead and sell Wiimotes and Nunchuks or was it also available for the 17th. The answer: First come, first serve via the line.

  • trigun0006

    Posted Dec 16, 2006 5:31 pm PT

    i didnt get to see best buy, but my circuit city had a designated line for their wii sale tomorow. they had a sign that said they had 18

  • davit0000

    Posted Dec 16, 2006 2:34 pm PT

    The comments on this board are ridiculous. As a former bb employee I don't understand why you guys are getting all upset over this. If anyone has ever worked in retail you would know that holding stock is common practice. How upset would you be if you waited in line on black friday just to see that the ad lied and the store only had 1 of the $200 tv. Why should the person who gets lucky to walk in at the perfect time get a Wii? Bestbuy,Circuit City, Wal-Mart, or anyother retail store does this. It's not stupid and and it's not the end of the world. If you really want one you should have preordered one. If you truly deserve a Wii you will wait till the ad comes out and be one of like 15 people who will get one. Are these companies trying to make more money by holding them? YES! Why wouldn't they? It is a business. If you don't like bestbuy don't shop there. Everyone quit whining. Bestbuy won't lose any customers to this, and their public image won't suffer. I waited 42 hours outside for a PS3! And it was worth it.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Dec 16, 2006 9:45 am PT

    Main reason this really sucks is just because of the people who make there living selling the things on ebay at unreasonable prices cuz it gives them a perfect opportunity to go wait in line and pick up another wii its just to badd that people bid until the things get to be 350 to 500 dollars if they didn't there would be a lot more in stores at 250 dollars for people to buy

  • hamnut

    Posted Dec 16, 2006 7:22 am PT

    Is this for Canada too?

  • Cloud737

    Posted Dec 16, 2006 2:44 am PT

    This is just low. Can`t BB think of anything but money? Like, for example, their own public image after this?
    Oh, well, I guess most of us are used to this.

  • Tehnubbin

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 9:00 pm PT

    slow-pc SAID:
    "Lets see ... people don't get mad at Best buy ... this is good and other stores have done this.... Toys R us did this same thing last week since it was in the ad... when you see it in the ad there is a minimum and they don't receive shipments on sundays at like 7am... , so did target ... and Circuit City.... and Walmart did on the 6th... It helps out by letting customers know when they are in and not create more of a ... you had them in this morning and we did not know situation. We are able to say... so you know ... we will have them on sunday when we open... be here like... the night before. It makes it a lot more organized.

    Simple as that... and yes I do work at a Best Buy... "

    It would be great, if the information was shared with the customer, but 9/10 times it's not. Instead, when calling the business, they feign ignorance and don't tell the customer anything about this little plan. I've called two Best Buys and at both of them, the employee claims they don't have any, they don't know when they will be here, and to keep calling in everyday, despite the fact that they are getting 50 calls a day about it and are tired of getting asked the same damn question over and over again. If they'd just pony up the info, things would be a lot better for them.

  • linak

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 4:28 pm PT

    It's true. Last weekend we were waiting outside out local best buy to see if we could pick up a Wii and the sales associate told us that they are getting more in stock soon, but won't sell them till next Sunday (the 17th) to coincide with their ad. I understand why they do it and I'll be one of those fools in line outside the store at 6 am or earlier just to make sure I get one before Christmas. :-D

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 11:54 am PT

    Best Buy isn't the only store doin this I know the two targets in my area have been doing the same thing and also the gamestops and babbages in the area. Which kinda sucks because my dad is on dialysis so his only hope of really getting a hold of a wii is on the random basis and when everyone does this it basically eliminates him from being able to get one. Its sadd but its true but i suppose we will just have to wait till after xmas is all. I have gotten to play the system a good bit which i don't know if that makes it worse or better cuz now i am really wanting my own even more. Oh well I would go wait myself but my dad thinks it would be bad for me to buy my own gift

  • SemiMaster

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 10:46 am PT

    PinkFloyd2003 : I agree with you 100%

    OMG t3h Wii is going to draw at least 40 more customers into our store who care nothing about the Wii itself and some games. Maybe they will pick up a PS3 that isn't in stock and buy our Pioneer Elite Plasma TV!

    Oh, wait, we have 2 employees working the cash registers and about 20 on the floor, with about 50 people in line who want to get the heck home, not stand in line during the Christmas Crunch Season.

  • nistergribber

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 10:20 am PT

    Yeah thats just lame - Bestbuy sucks things....dirty things.

  • PinkFloyd2003

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 1:23 am PT

    That's ridiculous... it's not like they won't sell if they don't do this. All this means is that 40 different people will get them than if the put them on the shelves earlier. This just forces bigger lines too being closer to Christmas which is a pain for everyone; employees and customers. DUMB.

  • cyber_sonix

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 12:18 am PT

    I work at a target and have several friends who work at best buy, and both store have done this a few times. Target and Best Buy will be selling their stock on the 17th. Our Target has about 60 in stock (vs. 32 for launch). So If you want a wii, I would head out to either store the night before. I wish you all luck in your search. Oh, for some reason, we dont do it for the ps3. I dont know why... I guess because we only get like 4 ps3s in at a time compared to the average of 20 wiis every few weeks.

  • deftones2307

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 11:17 pm PT

    I work at Circuit City and will be working at 7:30am on Sunday as they plan to relaunch the Wii as well. Don't know of the minimum number of units, but it seems that all retailers are pushing for Sunday being a major shopping day as sales also start on Sundays.

  • fahad2mail

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 11:05 pm PT

    What is their problem?

  • StillWingless

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 10:00 pm PT

    SumoG60 said, "How do we know that Gamestop, Target, Eb, WalMart, CompUSA aren't holding out on us as well?"

    assume that they all are. the last full week before christmas is a big sale week. stores already have sales planned, they just have to have enough product in stock to provide for those sales. otherwise, all kinds of legal stuff gets involved.

  • StillWingless

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 9:55 pm PT

    multiple stores are doing this, they're just not telling you. wal-mart is getting a little notorious for it in texas, and other companies are doing the same thing.

    because we're sick of having 20 people line up just for 3 systems.

  • exedeath

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 8:37 pm PT

    Same thing at Gamestop. We are supposed to hold the systems for the new FSI on sunday, so we can try to get people to buy more things. We have at least 6 in my store now that we cannot sell. That also goes for controllers too.

  • cybergooch

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 7:37 pm PT

    After reading some of the comments posted here, I am forced to wonder if these people actually work for a living. The practice of holding merchandise for sales is not a new one, as retailers in the 80's were doing this with Teddy Ruxpins, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Atari 2600 and Nintendo NES boxes. The week before Christmas is a big sales event and I don't think Best Buy is going to lose many customers to this practice because there are A LOT of big box retailers doing the same thing. The idea is to lure shoppers into the store for Wii's(?) and get them on their ways with more goodies. But it must be nice for you guys to sit on your perch atop of the world and declare bad business tactics on a successful retailer. I'm sure that if you had your own store with your own inventory that you would "do things differently" and sell your stock as soon as you had it. Then come the week before Christmas when you didn't have anything to pull shoppers into the store, they would come because you were the good guy (or gal) that sold your Wii's when you had them to sell. Yeah, see you in bankruptcy court.

  • Po77InAtOr

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 6:46 pm PT

    As an employee of Best Buy I can tell you we have been holding stock since the beginning. It doesn't matter when we get the shipments in, we have to hold them until certain dates sent down from the head office. Right now my store has at least 25 sitting in the warehouse. Then they expect us "store level employees" to tell everyone we don't have any. I'm not too impressed with Best Buy for this.

  • SemiMaster

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 6:06 pm PT

    I literally just got back from Best Buy about 20 minutes ago and it is 100% true that they are holding Wiis.

    I said, you guys got any Wiis?
    Nope...
    How about Wiis in the back?
    Yep...
    Mind if I ask why you aren't selling them until the 17th?
    You didn't hear this from me but we have 17 Wiis sitting back there, but our manager wants us to hold them so we can put them out at once instead of just trickling them all out every so often.

    So this guy thought he was giving me this great hint from God almighty that they have Wiis for Sunday...

  • The_Great_Gabbo

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 6:05 pm PT

    Uh.... this is NOT stupid. Actually I like the idea, and I'll just get one on Sunday.

    Instead of everyone going to or calling their Best Buy everyday hoping for a Wii, its not "oh, check back tomorrow", but rather, "We'll have a bunch on Sunday, so try then." It keeps the consumer informed with reliable info, and Best Buy can now advertise that they'll have a lot on Sunday, making it easier for everyone.

    And I just happen to be doing nothing on Sunday morning.... hm......

  • josephmadde2005

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 5:28 pm PT

    Thats messed up. Wonder if they are holding back the freakin component cables.

  • Jedi_Osborn

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 4:47 pm PT

    I'd like to see a follow up to this to know if it was true or not.

  • hepcat00

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 4:41 pm PT

    Not bogus....I was at Best Buy on tuesday, and a sales associate was looking for someone to buy a PS3....lucky me it was the 60gig version, and just rec'd my HDMI cables purchased online ($25).....not like the suckers that buy monster ultra-9999x cables for $100-plus.

    Anyways, I picked up a Wii on launch day and only got Zelda, thinking extra accessories would be widely available....so I was actually shopping for extra wiimotes which they said they had but couldn't sell them until Sunday along with new shipment of Wiis....bastards. So I guess I'll have to wait until sunday to get extra controllers for my wii so I can play the wii sports with friends (tennis and boxing).

  • Logpaq

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:41 pm PT

    ok ????

  • umbrae

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:37 pm PT

    EB games held back 2 shipments for Black Friday. Then sold all by 2 to employees before they opened.

  • jmie76

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:35 pm PT

    All the major retailers have done this at least once already in my area. Doesn't surprise me bestbuy is doing it again, have fun waiting in line folks.

  • trublevr92

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:32 pm PT

    k first of all i do believe that gamestop and target as well as walmart are holding back on the consoles, but hooever says nintendo is forcing them 2 do so i certainly a 360 or ps3 fan!

  • NathanHawkins

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:17 pm PT

    Guess I'll have to head to Best Buy.

  • Jaeme

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:08 pm PT

    I know from an inside source that EB Games was doing the same thing, but to a lesser degree(5 consoles held back) for a sale as of Dec 15. The reason I was told was that it was because they had an ad coming out (which went to the printers more than a month earlier, before launch when everyone believed there would be plenty of wiis around)that claimed the console was available in store. Thus they were holding some consoles back so they would have some. This was just for the Wii, though. PS3s were straight sell through. I assume Best Buy is in the same spot and doing the same thing. I can remember people chidding Reggie from Nintendo for saying everyone should preorder if they wanted one. Everyone thought they`d be able to walk into the store and just get one. Guess he was right.

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