Retail Tips

• Stores holding midnight sales, have, on average 54.5 machines. Stores that are not holding midnight sales have considerably less inventory, at 22.5 machines per store.
• Some stores are opening an hour or two earlier for the PlayStation 3 rush. This is especially true of Best Buy.
• Many of the stores that reported to me say their Play Stations 3 shipments are on the truck tonight.
• Smaller stores are complaining about the number of machines they are getting. You’ll probably want to avoid smaller stores.
• Rule of thumb: The bigger the gaming section of the store, the more machines they have in stock.
• Sony Style stores have more gaming systems than most other stores, but you can expect Sony to deny this to give an impression of fairness.
• Toys R Us: They will only sell to those who have tickets from their pre-order celebration.
• GameStop: Do not bother camping outside. Many stores oversold on pre-orders, and they may not be able to deliver enough Play Stations 3 consoles to everyone that owns a pre-order ticket.
• EB Games: Falling short as well.
• Game Pro: None reported.
• Sams Club is a hidden gem – you may be able to grab one if you go right when they open. But their inventory is very light, so call ahead.
• Circuit City: Have some still available, get in line there if you haven’t already.
• Wal-Mart: Many stores reporting lines already. Local management have been advise to setup a ticket system to keep customers safe.
• If you want a Play Station 3, I recommend you call around ask simply ask: If I come in will you have a Play Station 3? Ask inventory, etc. Ask them for their store policy on Play Station 3. Be simple and direct. Once you have an idea of stores in your local area, go down and consider camping outside. Or, you can show up first thing in the morning in many markets.

• Amazon.com DID NOT DO pre-orders, so if you log in at 12:01 a.m. you may be able to grab one. UPDATE: they will post them online as soon as they get them in, on a rolling basis.  Keep checking Amazon.com.  But they have yet to promise that they would offer any on opening day. I still think they will have a few so if you’re at home try that and refresh the Amazon.com product page (SHIFT+RELOAD to clear your chache). Make sure you sign-up for one-click buy so you can order instantly. Demand is suppose to be so strong that you’ll not likely get it if you have to take time to fill in all your information.
• COSTCO.com will be offering PS3 Starting Friday at 8 a.m. PST - SOLD OUT IN MINUTES
• SAMSCLUB.com and WAL*MART offering on a rolling basis, check back soon.
• More online outlet reports coming soon… check back in a few hours while I compile my field information….