A retail chain in the U.S. is taking advantage of the Nintendo Wii shortage by selling its inventory over eBay at grossly inflated prices.
According to an Ars Technica report, Slackers, a regional chain based in Illinois and Missouri, has been selling all its stock of the Wii via its eBay store at a price of $399.99, $150 more than the regular retail price. The systems had originally been priced at $499.99, but weren’t selling at that price. A Slackers employee who provided the story to Ars claimed that over the past year, the retailer has only sold Wii systems through its normal storefront once, during a promotional offer. “The real crime is that we get Wii shipments regularly. In fact, right now we have about 20, but none of them make it to the store front,” he said.
Ars Technica contacted a Slackers location in St. Louis to ask about the practice, and were referred to the company’s owner. At last report, they have not been able to contact him, and Nintendo has also refused to comment. Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime, however, recently expressed his displeasure with companies who take advantage of the demand for the Wii to drive up their own profits by forcing people to buy them in unofficial bundles.
The full Ars Technica report is available here. The Nintendo Wii consoles for sale on the Slackers eBay Store, which we strongly urge you to not purchase, can be found here.
