You're sitting around in summer 2005 as a dedicated gamer, dutifully reading your joystiq feed daily (okay, hourly), and you're seeing all kinds of ramblings about a holiday release for a fancy new next-generation console.
Everyone knows that holiday releases of consoles never have have supply problems (N64, PS2). There's certainly no chance there could be a shortage predicted even before the console was released.
So you do what any scum-sucking, bottom-feeding, ebay-selling entrepreneur would do. You preorder as many of the things as you possibly can. You preorder core systems from the local Gamestop and EBGames because it's all they have left. You get up (or stay up) to get in line at Target at 4:00 AM on launch day. You even buy vast preorder bundles from big-name online retailers, betting that the ebay prices of the console alone will cover the hardware, the games, the accessories, and the taxes and shipping.
Worst case scenario: You have to return a few packages to the local WalMart or CostCo, and you get a refund for your $50 Gamestop deposits.
Best case scenario: You leverage the real-time synergy of the ebay economy to schlep your consoles at 100% mark-up to people with more money than sense to preorder appropriately, or rich people with spoiled kids who need to have one for Christmas.
I fell into the later scenario, thankfully. To be fair, I wasn't greedy, and put up all my consoles with very fair and low-priced 'Buy-it-Now' pricing, which was used in most of my auctions. ("Low-priced" compared to other auctions, not compared to MSRP, which I doubled, in most cases)
The end result? Four consoles sold, a few games and controllers returned to stores, and I was sitting on a new premium Xbox 360, 2 wireless controllers, 4 games, a year of Xbox Live Gold, a few batteries, 2 play and charge kits, and a couple hundred bucks to buy Christmas presents for my family.
Who's excited for the PS3 to be delayed from spring to November? I smell a holiday console launch....
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