Do you want to get a Wii this holiday season, but you’re not interested in paying the scalpers on ebay? There’s Nintendo’s raincheck deal Thomas talked about, but how about an actual Wii? It’s possible. I did it last year around this same time — picking up one as a gift for a friend, one as a gift for five younger siblings, and finally getting one myself — and you can, too.
The first two I bought last year I got in the traditional launch (or near launch) way;; by camping outside overnight. The people in the lines were nice and it was fun talking to them, but it was cold and unpleasant even in California, and it took a few tries to get my hands on one. Scalpers in lines abounded, and it really isn’t an option anymore.
I was willing to put in that kind of effort for family and friends, but the way I’ll recommend if you’re interested in getting a Wii this season is the same way I used to get the one for myself — the lazy and comfortable online route. You can’t find them in stock most places, and as it gets closer to Christmas this is only going to get harder, but this advice should work well after Christmas, too.
My secret weapon was nowinstock.net. They track different stores and offer you the ability to receive emails when stores have it stock. Here’s the key, though — don’t have it sent just to your actual email; instead, take advantage of the fact that most mobile operators let you receive emails as SMS messages.
You’ll have your phone with you more often than your computer, but make sure to subscribe with both — some carriers cut off long messages, leaving you without the address you need to click. The online stock will sell out within minutes, too, but you should manage.
The way each carrier lets you turn an email into a sms message is different; here’s a few directions for common US carriers:
T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
AT&T: phonenumber@mmode.com
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
Replace “phonenumber” above with your ten-digit phone number without any separators or spaces — for instance, if your number was (415) 725-1917 and you had T-Mobile, you’d use 4157251917@tmomail.net
All that being said… the raincheck guarantee isn’t that bad of a deal; at least you’ll be certain.
~Ricky
on December 21st, 2007 at 1:16 am
Recently Nintendo started new strategy by selling Wii Certificates which guarantees you Wii console after a month. Certificate price is $250. I personally believe it’s one of the best way to purchase a Wii, the only matter is time but then again it’ better late than never
on January 5th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
what website do you go into to get this deal?
on January 6th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I think the raincheck deal ended already; sorry!
on January 13th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I, too, have been struggling for months to purchase a Wii console for my family. My parents have called several local stores, and many electronic stores in general, and we keep getting the same response. According to the employees from the several stores I have called, Wiis are IMPOSSIBLE to get, and no one is offering a waiting list for them because they are in such high demand. I was promised this gaming system before Christmas, and have been frantically searching for one since. If there is ANY way possible to buy a Wii, please tell me how. Thanks.