nintendo selling refurbished stock on eBay

[Hoagtech]

After Nintendos strange decision to buy back all stock of remaining Wii U's from alll major outlets, they are now selling refurb units factory direct on eBay for 200 bucks

. I already bought one and plan on keeping it sealed.

But keep in mind the next option for a new Wii U goes for 430 bucks.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/112237169726

[Ikaruga11]

. I already bought one and plan on keeping it sealed.

Why?

[Hoagtech]

. I already bought one and plan on keeping it sealed.

Why?

Well for one I already own a Wii u and its opened.

And because the value of an unopened Wii u shot up overnight when Nintendo announced they stopped production last November.

Also add to it that they bought all remaining stock back from every major retailer after Christmas and it went from 360 bucks to 430 new after the New Years.

Also the Wii u was a flop. less models were produced and are readily available especially new.

If you don't believe call, GameStop, best buy, your local video game store, target, Walmart and try to buy a new Wii U.

I did and I wasted a whole day driving trying to find even one who could order me one.

Walmart being the devil they are, gouged their own website and are selling their remaining stock of warehouse Wii u's for 500 bucks on Walmart dot com.

Those same units were selling at Walmart for 249.95 six months ago.

[tacoguy64]

. I already bought one and plan on keeping it sealed.

Why?

Flipping.

[bobrocks95]

The $500 units on Walmart.com aren't being sold by Walmart, they're third-party sellers.

[kamiboy]

And a new Dreamcast is borne.

[Ikaruga11]

Do you think they have any Wind Waker or Mario Kart Wii Us?

[HydrogLox]

After Nintendos strange decision to buy back all stock of remaining Wii U's from alll major outlets...

What you call strange, I'd call interesting.

I'd speculate that Nintendo is taking a shorter term hit for storage costs and is foregoing some quick cash from discount sales in order to push potential retail customers towards purchasing a Switch - because at this point in the game over the long term they stand to make more money off of a new Switch owner than somebody who picked up a Wii U from a bargain bin. If that is true then Nintendo intends to keep price of Wii U consoles above or on par to that of a Switch until:

• The supply of Switch units to retail outlets is reliable and steady.
• Most of the exclusive/first party titles that the Wii U is valued for have been ported to the Switch.

Basically Nintendo may be trying the keep the price of the Wii U up until the point where there is no point of acquiring a Wii U for the sake of the library that is exclusive to the Wii U.
Is The Wii U Still Worth It? (2016-08-06).

The other issue is whether the units being sold off are in fact refurbished. Given the new stock that they must have still around they certainly wouldn't need to keep the refurbished units around to satisfy the hardware support services for the (lets say) next two years. But at the same time they could be dumping some new units with a reduced warranty in a controlled manner in order to prevent a price escalation in the market (that ultimately Nintendo wouldn't benefit from). So basically the current Wii U end-of-life maneuvering by Nintendo may very well be an attempt to maximize the receptive audience/market for the Switch (even at a short term economic cost to Nintendo).

I already bought one and plan on keeping it sealed.

If it is truly intended as a backup unit then it makes more sense to take advantage of the warranty period and use it intensely during that time so that you can make a claim if something should go wrong - there is nothing more frustrating than storing something for years only to have it fail shortly after you put it into operation.

[Guspaz]

FYI, they've been selling refurb Wii U for years on their store:

https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/browse/c ... d=cat20005

The only thing new here is that they're doing it on eBay.

Also worth checking out is their retro section, where they sell replacement parts going back to the GBA (new GBA SP batteries in that case). Getting a new DS stylus is also nice: my DSi XL came with a loose stylus, and I was able to get a new OEM replacement, albeit not the right colour.

[HydrogLox]

FYI, they've been selling refurb Wii U for years on their store:

https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/browse/c ... d=cat20005

The only thing new here is that they're doing it on eBay.

Well, prices can to get out of hand on eBay. Though the 12 month warranty is generous in any case. Typically refurbished products only have a 90 or 30 day warranty.

Though on the official Nintendo site people who want to buy a Wii U would tend to go
http://www.nintendo.com -> http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu (via the top navigation bar)
rather than
http://www.nintendo.com -> http://store.nintendo.com (via bottom of page "Nintendo Store" under "Where To Buy")

Also add to it that they bought all remaining stock back from every major retailer.

IIRC some retailers "charge" vendors for shelf space - that would also give Nintendo some incentive to pull at least some of the stock.

[Hoagtech]

Thanks for the tip @guspaz.

I wish I would have been there first I could have bought the Mario 3d world bundle for 15 dollars more

-----> https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/br ... d=cat10002

Also those SP batteries are a great find as the eBay ones are all garbage.

@hydroglox I do think they are repackaging new wii U and selling them at a discount outside of the public eye. But hey that just makes my refurb a little less "refurby"

[HydrogLox]

I do think they are repackaging new wii U and selling them at a discount outside of the public eye. But hey that just makes my refurb a little less "refurby"

It allows Nintendo to sell units at a slight discount without changing the official MSRP and more importantly prevents buyers from claiming that they were purchased as "new" (to turn around and re-sell them as such) - I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are packaged in a special "refurbished merchandise" box or one that has been defaced with countless, impossible to remove "refurbished" stickers. I suspect that from this point onwards purchasing a "refurbished" unit from Nintendo directly is the most cost-effective way to acquire a reliable Wii U console - at least until the Switch (and more importantly its library of games) truly gets going.

I wish I would have been there first I could have bought the Mario 3d world bundle for 15 dollars more

My Mario 3d World Bundle was digital only - and it is tied to the console - not your NNID. So your money is better spent on a physical copy for US$19.99.

[bobrocks95]

Since it looks like half the good Wii U titles are just going to be ported to the Switch with upgraded versions, it's turned me off of buying any Wii U games anyway. I just got Xenoblade X and I have a feeling an enhanced Switch port will be out within a year and I shouldn't even bother opening it.