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Is waiting for, then reselling, game consoles worth it?

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waiting in line for playstation
I was walking along 57th Avenue in New York late one recent evening, two days before the release of both the Nintendo Wii and the Sony Playstation 3. I saw a huge line of people camped out, and my first thought was, "there isn't a Star Wars movie due soon, is there?" A few moments later I realized it was a line for a Playstation 3.

It's certain that many of those faithful campers would later sell their Playstation 3 on eBay; same with the Wii. According to the Wall Street Journal [subscription required], nearly 15,000 of Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)'s new game console have been sold, for around $1200 each, on eBay since the release last Friday. (Which is, if you're counting, some $500k straight to eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)'s bottom line) Those who sold, made about a $500-$600 profit. The way I calculate? It's so not worth it.

It's not just that you won't make money. No, you will make money. But one of my cardinal rules of time investment is (a) is it fun? and then (b) is this sustainable? In other words, can I repeat this for future success? And can I repeat it enough so that it was actually worth my time?

I've tried to sell things on eBay for profit a lot, it's been an ongoing hobby. And sometimes, I did make money. I made a lot selling things like CDs and DVDs. I made a little selling niche items, like Barbies (just for a lark, I swear) or Saveur magazines. But when I looked at the time invested vs. the profit realized -- even though sometimes it was a huge percentage profit! -- it wasn't ever worth it. Although it certainly was fun scouring garage sales for bargains.

Generally, if you enjoy your time spent standing in line enough for it to hold up on its own, great. Stand in line, get the goodies, sell them. But don't expect it to pay your rent. Let's examine the numbers:

The unit's retail price is around $599, plus tax and whatever other peripherals and extras you pick up in the store. Say, $650. You must, of course, pay this upfront. Add in listing fees, Paypal fees, and final value fees and you've knocked another $50 or $60 off your income.

If you sold at the average selling price, $1,186, you've made around $475. Not a bad profit, right?

But let's examine this. You had to wait in line for two days if you bought the Playstation the day it came out (and scored that higher sale price; if you waited in line on Black Friday, your Playstation 3 is only worth about $1040 or so thanks to the declining market value).

Even if you don't make Wall Street money, say, $100 a day, you've lost two or more days of work -- that's $200. Plus costs of waiting in line; snacks, and extra cell phone minutes (you're bored, after all), a new sleeping bag. $50 or so.

Now you've only made $225. Not terrible, not great.

And then let's look at reality. You're just going to turn around and invest that $225 (or so) in another Playstation 3! If you waited in line so long, I know as well as you do that you can't wait to play the darned thing.

Sure, you've gotten yourself a handy 30% discount on a game console. Brilliant. But now you can't get your hands on one 'til after Christmas.

Hmm... I think someone said they were selling on eBay...

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Last updated: November 26, 2009: 11:24 AM

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