Let the Profiteering Begin
As a side effect of the Xbox 360’s huge stock shortages when the console launched, the potential reselling profit margins for anyone who managed to get their hands on one are huge. Sitting around the office yesterday we were tracking one particular eBay auction where a system finally sold for £925. For this, the buyer is getting something which they could buy for £280 at retail in a month’s time.
According to eBay’s CEO Meg Whitman, 40,000 Xbox 360s have been sold through their site since launch. If that number is correct, then it means that 10% of all of the available systems in the US have been routed through eBay.
You realise this means that, to date, eBay have made more money out of the console than Microsoft has? Welcome to the wonderful world of market forces.