Five guys bought new Xbox 360s and immediately tried to scalp them to other consumers still waiting in line!

When they had no takers, they drove to Mickey-D’s for some grub.

There, the lone scalper was held up at gunpoint and four of their 360s were stolen. I’m not going to judge them, but this was a interesting turn of events, no?

“After waiting nine hours in line, a group of five men entered the store as soon as it opened and purchased their limit: one per customer. The men, whose names were not available Sunday, tried to make a little extra holiday cash after emerging from the store.

They offered to part with two of their Xboxes to folks in line — for $600, police spokesman Paul Honeman said. No one bit. So the men, aged 14 to 24, piled into a van and drove to McDonald’s on Lake Otis Parkway near Abbott Road for breakfast. They left the 14-year-old in the car with the Xboxes.

Someone who also wanted an Xbox and who apparently saw them try to sell the consoles outside Best Buy followed them to McDonald’s, Honeman said.

A white, adult male who was described as bald and wearing blue jeans and a blue hooded sweatshirt walked up to the van, opened its sliding door and pulled a gun out, police said. The suspect ordered the teen to open the van’s rear door. Another suspect, described as a white male with dark curly hair, opened the door and took four of the Xboxes.”

Article
Found at 360 Insider

Here is another Best Buy insider leaked document. This one is dated today, December 20th shows they’ll be getting more 360s in this week.

The stores are instructed to secure the shipment and sell the product the next day. They will print vouchers and give them to you when you walk in the store, if you tell them you’re looking for a 360.

No numbers are yet known for this shipment.

Full Document

There are other rumors flying around this week about 360s being available at Sam’s club and Circuit City.

Sam’s club dates have ranged from Dec 12 to the 15 and as late as the 17th or 18th. You may want to call your local Samsclub to see if you can get shipment details. If not, just show up every day at opening to find out. (Various sources online - mostly forums.)

Also rumored for new stock is Circuit City this week:

“According to several tipsters, Circuit City has just received a new shipment of Xbox 360s which are available to be specially ordered on a first come, first served basis. Here’s the catch: the warehouses that service several states each are only getting about 170 units per distributor, so don’t expect your local store to receive more than 2 or 3 boxes.”

It looks like the next two weeks may be the time to score a 360. Be dilligent and I hope you shall find one.

Source

A WalMart employee gives us a peek into the “WalMart Wire” info for 360 shipments for this month.

These are harder to snag due to shipping arrivals during the day. However, the numbers look pretty promising, especially for next week:

WM Week 45(week of Dec.3)
9500 Units
Avg:3 units per store

Week 46(week of Dec 10)
27000 Units
Avg:9 per store

Week 47(week of Dec 17)
35000 units
Avg:11 per store

Week 48(week of Dec 24)(Tuesday after Xmas most likely)
24000 Units
Avg:8 per store

Maybe it’s time to find a new friend at the local Wal Mart electronics department?

Source

Here’s another retailer insider leak, this time for Target stores.

There is no scanned document to back this up, but a Target employee has claimed an email from Target HQ shows more 360s to be available this week and next week. Other employees have backed up this claim.

The numbers are as follows:

Week 3: Sunday the11th - 7,000 Consoles (mostly premimum)
Week 4: Sunday the 18th - 19,000 Consoles

Target stores are generally stocked at night, so you should be at the store when they open to try to snag a 360.

All stores should receive at least 1 unit per week. Busier stores will get more consoles. They are being shipped by volume of store sales.

Source

Regarding the Best Buy Dec 18th Sale, here is an official list of stores and the number of Xbox 360 console that will be available on this Sunday.

Go to BestBuy’s store locator and find out what store number(s) of the Best Buy store(s) you want to try this weekend. The store numbers are listed below with the expect number of Xbox 360s available for sale:

#004 - 38 systems
#005 - 24 systems
#006 - 24 systems
#007 - 30 systems
#008 - 24 systems
#009 - 24 systems
#010 - 28 systems
To see the full list click:
Read the entire entry »

A (supposedly) leaked insider document from Best Buy shows they are stockpiling 360 consoles to go on sale on December 18th.

A scanned copy of this document is linked below, and it is not verified, but does seem legit.

Here’s the juice:
“Hold All Xbox 360s for Dec. 18 Ad
The next Xbox 360 shipment arrives in stores between Dec. 11 and 16. All units need to be held for Sun., Dec. 18.”

Best Buy stores are also told not to take pre-orders, force bundle purchases, create waiting lists or hold the product for customers or employees.

They are also instructed to not hold a midnight or early opening.

There you have it! Those of you who haven’t yet snagged a 360, here’s your chance. Be at Best Buy early for their store opening on Dec. 18.

Update:
Best Buy console allocations for Dec. 18th

Target Ships More Xbox 360s in December

WalMart Allocation Numbers - Xbox 360 Console

Other Availability Rumors - Samsclub and Circuit City

Update 2:
Best Buy to Get Another Shipment This Week

See the document for yourself

The Register has an interesting article about the 360 vs. the PS3. They say it boils down to disk media each console uses. The 360 uses DVD, while the PS3 is reportedly going to support Blu-Ray.

An interesting read, but I disagree about the disk format being the deciding factor. I think whichever console hits the mass consumer installed base first will win. That’s what happend with PS2, when the original Xbox was late to the party.

Microsoft went with DVD, because HD-DVD just isn’t ready for retail yet. They decided to get the product out now, with the current gen disk media, to be first to market with the next generation of gaming.

I think it’s been a great move and I expect it to pay off. Sony has yet to announce a PS3 launch date, and Blu-Ray is probably going to be expensive, at least at first.

It’s still early to tell, but my money (of course I could be biased) is on the Xbox 360.
PS3 or Xbox 360 - which would you prefer?

Xbox 360 vs PS3 - The Register

“This Friday, Dec. 9th, strictly limited quantities of Xbox 360 will be available at all Best Buy stores throughout Canada. There’ll be a minimum of 10 units per stores, all available on a first come first served basis. Our doors open promptly at 9 AM, so come early. Sorry, no pre-orders or rain checks. ”

Right on! For our Canadian friends, it’s aboot time! Youbetcha.

proof at BestBuy

Via Xbox 360 Fanboy

There’s a great article warning Bidders to Beware on Xbox 360 auctions at Newsfactor Magazine.

Ebay sellers have tricked buyers into bidding on Xbox 360 boxes instead of the console. You know the cardboard that it came in. One of these listings read:
“This is the Xbox 360 Core bundle box. It would include things like a new xbox, power cords, and a controller, if there was actually an xbox for sale in this auction.”

One seller, after being suspended by ebay, says he doesn’t understand:
“I Cannot be more clear! This is not even a factory made xbox 360 box. I made it myself, just a few minutes ago,” read one of the disclosures in the listing, surrounded by pictures and descriptions of the actual console. “It does not contain an Xbox 360 console, just the Xbox 360 home-made box.”

Another auction using the phrase “does not” is also quite misleading and is easily misread:
“Microsoft Xbox 360 Premium Edition!! Package for sale does not include: * Xbox 360 Console * Xbox 360 Hard Drive * Xbox 360 Wireless Controller * Xbox 360 Universal Media ….”

One auction was simply selling pictures of the console:
“Why not remember this craze with a picture?” the listing said. “Up for auction is a computer printed photograph of the brand-new Microsoft Xbox 360.”

This stuff is just crazy. If you are bidding at ebay for a 360, be sure to read the entire auction and only buy from reputable sellers. (Sellers that have a solid positive history of feedback.)

Better yet, don’t buy the console from ebay and wait for reasonable retail prices. They are coming soon!

Read

Via Planet Xbox 360