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[theindieboy]

The weird thing I noticed is that in the video it showed that the Liquidator has been able to get new stock in. Since he can get new stock in, it can't be a case of him holding back stock until now so where are these NES Classics coming from since we know they are no longer producing them.

I wonder if the NES Classics are fakes/reproductions since they are known to exist and there shouldn't be a legitimate way he has access to these systems and continually receives new shipments of them.

They have been sat in a closed wharehouse/stores while the bankruptcy goes through and a liquidator appointed, plus I am sure that if he gets a name for being able to move switches and nes classics fast and for a good price other liquidators without the connections will sell to him, there job is a basically to get as much money as possible quickly to pay off people the buinsess that went under owes money, they are usually very happy to sell well under even the wholesale value if not a very in demand item they tend to want shot of stuff as quickly as possible or end up with warehouses full of useless stock the switch/nes are the excepetions even PS4/xbox ones are dropping in price (certainly in the UK) so if you sat on 500 or 5000 of them for 3 months would lose a lot of money even if just worth £5 less, compared with shifting them straight away.

 

[sixteen-bit]

It'd be insane if ThinkGeek was found to be selling counterfeit NES Classics. They'd be so fucked.

I don't think that's the case though.

TG is a subsidiary of Gamestop, right? I can't imagine they'd be fake.

ThinkGeek, eh? Owned by GameStop? Haven't they done the same type of stuff before?

TG sold new old stock Dreamcasts a few years ago.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=359527

 

[KingSlime]

TG sold new old stock Dreamcasts a few years ago.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=359527

I bought one of these and what they sent me was clearly used.

 

[Omegasquash]

They know there's demand, and they're squeezing for it. I won't call it scalping, since they're not sitting with their finger on F5 with intent to resell (they have relationships with publishers and manufacturers, after all).

I'll call it scalping lite. And it's still a dick move. Haven't purchased much of anything from a GS in years, and I think I'm pretty OK with not doing so from TG going forward for the most part, unless there's something that I really want. Shame, since I used to hit them up a few times a year, especially around the holidays, for stocking stuffers and gifts.

I bought one of these and what they sent me was clearly used.

GS and TG go very well together, it seems.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Thought this was about Chernobyl. But to remedy the situation, Nintendo would have to make more units to abolish this madness.

They are limited by stock of materials for switch units.

No excuse for NES classics though.

Did Nintendo stop shipping product directly to the stores and bypassing retail distribution? I thought they did this for the longest time to avoid situations like this.

I remember them being renowned to be able to track individual product from their location to any store shelf in the country.

 

[spookyfish]

I'm not sure they are using the term liquidation correctly.

Ha! My thought as well!

 

[Varth]

And how is this illegal?

Blame Nintendo ridiculous manifacturing practices.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

And how is this illegal?

Blame Nintendo ridiculous manifacturing practices.

Something doesn't need to be illegal for it to be bad?

 

[7DollarHagane]

aren't liquidators the people that come in when a company goes bankrupt hence is a chain of electronics shops goes under could easily have pallets of stock that never made it to stores before they went under, this would explain why the NES minis are popping up it can take some time to sort out.

I work for one of the biggest retailers in the country. We had an entry for NES classics but never got a single one in stock. Some company about to go bankrupt wasn't getting NES classics. They were extremely hard for even national retailers with thousands of stores to get any.

 

[opoth]

The NES Classic I get it, but people are still trying to scalp the Switch?

It's not THAT hard to find, I've seen them at Target 3 times over the past month or two while I was there shopping for other things and slept on them, will probably get one closer to MO/XC2's release.

 

[Mzo]

Then again, people thought Gamestop paying for new copies of Wii games to be made and sell was illegal because .. I never figured out why.

They were selling the new stock opened as a used game for higher than the original retail price. Might not be illegal, who knows, but it's shady as shit. Other reprints come in at the original price or less, like the recent Yakuza ones, and are sealed.

 

[7DollarHagane]

And how is this illegal?

Blame Nintendo ridiculous manifacturing practices.

The illegal part is for a distributor or warehouse to make product "disappear" and sell it to somewhere else.that pays them more for the product than the retisler it was intended for. That's what I suspect in the worst case is happening. They pay back Nintendo for the "lost" stock and make a profit selling them to a reseller or wholesaler who lists them at a markup online.

 

[mugurumakensei]

The only way this can be from a liquidator is if all the stores closing were part of some money laundering operation, and these 3 guys are the ones who cleanup remaining stock after all the money has been siphoned from the company.

 

[Ouroboros]

I bought one of these and what they sent me was clearly used.

Same here. The box looked new, but the dreamcast had a few scuffs on it and the controller had the EU blue swirl on it, not orange. I was a little ticked, but I wanted a dreamcast, so I kept it.

 

[mindatlarge]

Once the retailer has paid for it they can do whatever with it - it's their property. Nintendo already has their money at the point the pallet goes on the truck.

Also, Nintendo actually got sued by the government years back for trying to control sale amounts and setting prices in the NES era. They avoid ever making a guff about it since then.

Anyone can buy in bulk from Nintendo, but you're gonna have to buy more than one pallet. You generally have to buy a whole shipping container worth as a minimum. This goes for any manufacturer.



A bunch of retailers also closed stores in the last few months

Well of course it is the retailer's property, I'm not disputing that. But what you are speculating on is that retailers that sell Nintendo goods and apparently Nintendo as well sell bulk to individuals. I do not believe this to be the case, unless you can show me otherwise. I'd imagine becoming a Nintendo sales partner in general is not a simple process and carries rules and regulations like any wholesale partnership.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I bought one of these and what they sent me was clearly used.

That's shitty. Hope u got a refund.

 

[coughlanio]

Is an NES Classic worth ~$200? I've been considering grabbing one just to have, and money isn't really an issue, but just curious if it's conceivably worth anything near that?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Is an NES Classic worth ~$200? I've been considering grabbing one just to have, and money isn't really an issue, but just curious if it's conceivably worth anything near that?

If money is no issue like you say and you really want one to have, why not?

 

[digitalrelic]

Is an NES Classic worth ~$200? I've been considering grabbing one just to have, and money isn't really an issue, but just curious if it's conceivably worth anything near that?

Well, that's really up to you to decide. It's a collection of 30 NES games. If you purchased all 30 games on Virtual Console, it'd cost you $150. You get a cute perfectly miniaturized replication of the original NES, and a Nintendo brand authentic NES controller with a shitty, 3ft cord.

I'd say that the majority would say hell no, it's not worth $200. But if money isn't an issue and you really want one, I don't see why not.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

I have a theory And it really does involve wharehouses and liquidators.

HHGregg filed for bankruptcy in march of this year (March 6) entered chapter 11 and closed all stores in April.

My guess is that from those 200+ stores they acquired all wharehouse product. If they never pushed their switches or NES classics to stores then they sat in a wherehouse until purchased, this doesn't sound so crazy. It's still bizarre, especially because the NES classic launched in the peak retail season when they were still in full operation. The switch sounds a bit more reasonable. Never pushed stock, liquidator assesses the stock and finds them.

Still rough, especially with the NES classic, but with a major electronics retailer recently closing all operations it is in the "plausible" category.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Having watched the full video this is just tin foil hat stuff.

 

[Greigor The Fellhand]

I mean this video is just silly.

I work in this industry, resellers and liquidation; only 30% of the sales of the company i work for is in video games.


a 3 man team buying 1+ mil in stock and slowly selling it is becoming more standard. If you FBA, (send the item to amazon so amazon fulfills it) all you do is select the price/or sell to amazon at a set price then ship the items in bulk to amazon to handle.

amazon takes 25% cut on most video games now, on top of a % of the gross sale and a listing fee for video games.

even as liquidators, this 3 man company most likely spends 60+ hours a week trolling ebay and other sites to snatch up the classic nes that go up cheap.

and its standard practice to raise prices on high demand items, even if they have lots in stock, especially if they have lots in stock. thats basic capitalism, supply and demand.


could they be buying knock offs from china? yep, have they probably sold some knock off from china knowingly or unkowingly? most likely.

resellers of retro stuff arent the devil, they act as a buffer for people that dont want to buy from bob off ebay, a good reseller will test, clean and complete a system before sending it out, so in that sense you're paying for peace of mind.

now resellers that target new items and buy everything to increase cost I am not a fan of. but thats how the market works.

 

[Blam]

It's not that it's illegal. It's just odd that these people are able to pay for palletes of these products when they are so difficult to find.

 

[Jimrpg]

hundreds or thousands?

hundreds is really not that many in the scheme of things.

 

[FyreWulff]

They were selling the new stock opened as a used game for higher than the original retail price. Might not be illegal, who knows, but it's shady as shit. Other reprints come in at the original price or less, like the recent Yakuza ones, and are sealed.

MSRP has zero legal weight. They were selling it for cheaper than ebayers were (used!), too.

If they had sold those copies at below-new prices.. they would have been snapped up by all the ebayers and sold at the price Gamestop was selling for them anyway.

Other reprints weren't funded by a retailer. Gamestop paid for those copies, they could sell them at the price the market could take on a luxury item that nobody actually needs.

It's not that it's illegal. It's just odd that these people are able to pay for palletes of these products when they are so difficult to find.

Because liquidators front a lot of money and hope they can get the money back and then some.

If you see a lot with high demand items, you'll buy that lot and hope the high demand stuff covers your ass on the other stuff you might have to firesale for pennies.

Well of course it is the retailer's property, I'm not disputing that. But what you are speculating on is that retailers that sell Nintendo goods and apparently Nintendo as well sell bulk to individuals. I do not believe this to be the case, unless you can show me otherwise. I'd imagine becoming a Nintendo sales partner in general is not a simple process and carries rules and regulations like any wholesale partnership.

I can't think of a situation where someone goes "hey Nintendo, I'll pay you for a whole shipping container of product" and Nintendo goes "nah we're good"

 

[Dynomutt]

They mentioned he can actually sell them legitimately through Amazon to re-sellers. So they acquired them legitimately some how. If the liquidator has the money they have it. Regardless of whether 3 person operation maybe the have the paper to back it up. Yeah sucks for regular consumers but they are working gotta feed their families.

They even say they problem is between manufacturers and retail so Nintendo needs to make more. Whether he had 7 or 7000 the liquidators obligations is not to gamers it's to their profits. Just cause the item is not widely available does not make it sketchy.

You guys think consoles are bad go talk to a Sneakerhead...

Edit: Talking about calling the BBB and possibly affecting someone's business just because an item is hard ot find comes off as super salty. If some buys something for $60 they have full right to sell it for $200 that is their prerogative especially if someone is knowingly and willingly paying for it.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Dude came to my store and bought 36 switch consoles. Buys out every single one as soon as they're delivered.

They barely sell for profit after seller fees and shipping. Why??

 

[KingSlime]

That's shitty. Hope u got a refund.

I did, but they were really hesitant to do so. Destructoid did a story on it back in the day, actually, which led to a TG response: https://www.destructoid.com/rumor-thinkgeek-s-new-in-box-dreamcasts-not-so-new-132670.phtml

Anyway, point is that I wouldn't put too much faith in TG...

 

[easyheimer]

I also wouldn't rule out Nintendo's role in this. They've recently become a company with some sketchy supply and demand issues (artificially created). Think Amiibo's. Can't say I'm surprised with these recent findings.

 

[Tadaima]

Well, acquiring $100,000's worth of Nintendo Switches sounds like something that can only occur illegally.

?

That's not a lot of money.

Especially not if you make a business out of scalping.

Edit: basically exactly what Greigor The Fellhand said.

 

[Koppai]

Amazon Treasure Trucks were out a few days ago and apparently were completely loaded with NES Classics, how did Amazon get them?

I think companies are just hoarding them.

 

[kyser73]

I also wouldn't rule out Nintendo's role in this. They've recently become a company with some sketchy supply and demand issues (artificially created). Think Amiibo's. Can't say I'm surprised with these recent findings.

Why would this be anything to do with Nintendo? If these are being sold via a liquidator Nintendo's relationship with the goods ended with the company that they originally sold to prior to it's bankruptcy.

 

[NateDrake]

I also wouldn't rule out Nintendo's role in this. They've recently become a company with some sketchy supply and demand issues (artificially created). Think Amiibo's. Can't say I'm surprised with these recent findings.

What supply has been artificially created?

 

[jviggy43]

Sigh, oh well! Thats what happens when you discontinue a heavily sought after item. Idk what else there is to say about this.

Amazon Treasure Trucks were out a few days ago and apparently were completely loaded with NES Classics, how did Amazon get them?

I think companies are just hoarding them.

Very likely. They had hundreds of them, and everyone in the area was walking around with one.

 

[RootCause]

Amazon Treasure Trucks were out a few days ago and apparently were completely loaded with NES Classics, how did Amazon get them?

I think companies are just hoarding them.

Amazon/GameStop were the scalpers. What a twist.

 

[Terrell]

Once the retailer has paid for it they can do whatever with it - it's their property. Nintendo already has their money at the point the pallet goes on the truck.

If a retailer is selling a product, they are bound to their contracts with Nintendo as a reseller. Those are legally binding. And since Nintendo typically pays slotting fees as part of those contracts for guaranteed shelf space of the products distributed to said retailers and are bound by certain terms, which can often include clauses against inventory hoarding... NO, resellers bound by contract can't do whatever they want with the stock they receive. They're expected to sell based on their contract. Failure to do so due to intentionally empty shelves is a violation of a standard reseller agreement and is subject to legal action. It's partly why hardware makers send reps to stores and warehouses/DCs, to measure compliance with their agreements.

Also, Nintendo actually got sued by the government years back for trying to control sale amounts and setting prices in the NES era. They avoid ever making a guff about it since then.

Source?

Anyone can buy in bulk from Nintendo

... after signing a contract to become a reseller, yes.

A bunch of retailers also closed stores in the last few months

If a retail chain closed individual stores, they are more likely to reclaim and redistribute the valuable inventory, as it would still be in their ownership. The entire retail chain would have to go under to go to liquidation, typically.

I can't think of a situation where someone goes "hey Nintendo, I'll pay you for a whole shipping container of product" and Nintendo goes "nah we're good"

No, it's more like "Hey Nintendo, I'll pay you for a whole shipping container of product" and Nintendo goes "I have agreements with other retailers that I need to fulfill due to our obligations in the reseller contracts they signed, so sorry."

 

[Drazgul]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tkkXx7aPcs

Used to be Pokeyman cards, now it's entire consoles.

 

[thepenguin55]

Then again, people thought Gamestop paying for new copies of Wii games to be made and sell was illegal because .. I never figured out why.

You're leaving out the tidbit where GameStop produced new copies of Wii games that they previously made a deal with NOA to put out (Xenoblade & Metroid Prime Trilogy) but then sold them as used, most likely to cut Nintendo out of the loop. Pristine used copies of Xenoblade and Metroid Prime Trilogy (with unused Club Nintendo cards) magically started appearing in GameStops across the country right around when both games reached peak rarity I have a hard time believing this wasn't a breach of whatever deal they made with Nintendo but I'll admit that I could be completely wrong.

 

[Kobun Heat]

I stopped watching the video as soon as someone started loudly tapping on their keyboard, but yeah it doesn't take some kind of massive conspiracy for there to be a few more NES Classics left over.

 

[crackhead_bob]

What's the appeal of an NES classic over downloading them onto the WII U, buying their original cart versions, or even pirating them if cost is the issue? I loved retro gaming, but if I can simply download them onto my Switch or WII U, what's the point?

I would never buy the NES classic as it is, but if it allowed to interface with Nintendo's online store to purchase downloadable games from their back library, I would definitely be more in.

 

[see5harp]

That's fucked up. Nintendo needs to hunt them down and shut them down.

Or maybe Nintendo could just produce enough stock that this isn't an issue.

 

[ironmang]

What's the appeal of an NES classic over downloading them onto the WII U, buying their original cart versions, or even pirating them if cost is the issue? I loved retro gaming, but if I can simply download them onto my Switch or WII U, what's the point?

Initially I think just the novelty was the biggest appeal. Having a mini NES as a decoration that can actually play games is pretty cool. Now I'd guess a lot of it is panic buying due to the rarity.

 

[PaulExcellent]

This is some bullshit. :/
Never even got NES Classics at my local Walmart.

 

[Vice]

What's the appeal of an NES classic over downloading them onto the WII U, buying their original cart versions, or even pirating them if cost is the issue? I loved retro gaming, but if I can simply download them onto my Switch or WII U, what's the point?

I would never buy the NES classic as it is, but if it allowed to interface with Nintendo's online store to purchase downloadable games from their back library, I would definitely be more in.

Cheaper than original hardware or Wii U's VC if you like all, or the majority, of the titles in the collection.

Edit: cheaper assuming you pay retail or less Than the cost of the games on VC or cart.

 

[Futaleufu]

How come this is never a problem with Microsoft or Sony products?

 

[SalvaPot]

It could be a case that they somehow were able to get an order in a long looong time ago and only know Nintendo/Their distributor/Importer has actually bothered to give them the owed stock.

How come this is never a problem with Microsoft or Sony products?

You must have missed the high demand days of the PSVR.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

How come this is never a problem with Microsoft or Sony products?

Being multimedia powerhouses with an army of their own factories usually solves the problems of constrained supply. it also helps that neither companies have made these sort of things before.

 

[RedSwirl]

What's the appeal of an NES classic over downloading them onto the WII U, buying their original cart versions, or even pirating them if cost is the issue? I loved retro gaming, but if I can simply download them onto my Switch or WII U, what's the point?

I would never buy the NES classic as it is, but if it allowed to interface with Nintendo's online store to purchase downloadable games from their back library, I would definitely be more in.

If you're even aware of pirating or VC or the Wii U itself for that matter, you aren't the audience for the NES Classic.

And you save money by buying an NES Classic (at MSRP) compared to buying all those games individually, whether it's on VC or the original cart versions.

 

[joe_zazen]

Why do businesses never have waiting lists for Nintendo products?

 

[OverBlood 3]

Those crazy liquidators.