• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Walmart in-store Wii U preorders begin 10/14

Traumatized by the Toys r Us Wii Pre-order line, I went at 5:30AM and it was empty. Grabbed breakfast, and sat in line at 6ish, and 2 people lined up behind me. About 7 people in line once Layaway opened.

There instructional sheet didn't have a maximum order limit per person, so the manager gave to okay for unlimited preorders, grabbed two and was out. The cashier said to come back Nov 14th to pick it up, but I'm just guessing she saw the 10/14 order start date and confused it with the release date.
 
XxCGSxX said:
I'm from Ponce that's too far away, my Mom works for one of my local walmarts and she asked personally but they said no also. I know they will get them on launch day because I got my 3ds on launch date. It's the preordering bit that I really don't know if they will do the same as US stores. Oh well I still could get one easily there on launch date anyway.
Click to expand...
The thing is it's technically not a pre-order according to their policies the way I'm understanding it. You're putting an item on lay away and you're using a piece of paper instead of the physical item to do it.
 
Decided to go for this.

Thanks for posting those scans up, people. It helped the employee working the counter figure out what he needed to do. Turns out they had the info in their puter, all he had to do was print it out and scan the barcode.
 
Specialmias said:
My experience in Laurel MD was fun.

They had someone at the layaway desk who was talking to a customer who was asking for a wii U bundle as well. I noticed her muttering that they wouldn't be able to do it because there's nothing for her to scan. So I joined in, said I'm waiting for it as well and she suddenly looked concerned because now her problem had multiplied.

I kindly showed her the circulator that showed on the FRONT page to place it on layaway today for Nov 18th pickup. She insisted it was only going to be there Nov 18th. Then she brought another employee who again said, "look it says Nov 18th you gotta come back then". Now the guy I was with was irritated and asked for her to get a manager.

That manager came with two employees from electronics and they both looked at it and said. "Yeah we don't sell stuff that isn't on the shelves, it comes out Nov 18th look at the circulator." They then asked me if I could just get a regular Wii and buy the games separately instead of the bundle.

Now the guy who was there before me was fairly pissed. So the manager claimed he could call corporate but they would just tell him the same thing that they wouldn't get it until then. They sent two people out back to go "check" on what was going on and call the corporate office.

Meanwhile a 5th employee helped me and the guy setup preorders following the instructions from this thread, no dice. She seemed concerned because it was on the front page and the store had no idea how to do it. She insisted the other employees do something about it because she was sure they would get more people asking about it later.

The manager comes back and says corporate had no idea what he was talking about and that Walmart Policy is that they don't do preorders because of a need to physically scan the item for the lay away system and recommended a regular Wii as a replacement. Furthermore coporate also said that sometimes manufacturers ask for ads to be placed in the circulator for items they never get a stock of because they're in limited supply. The guy I was sitting in line with at this point was pretty pissed so he called ANOTHER Walmart that's an hour away and they claimed they just got an e-mail about it at 12:01am. He gave the phone to the manager on duty and he looked scared shitless that the other store was doing preorders as early as midnight and his store had no idea how. He went back and disappeared into his office on the phone with the manager from the other store doing preorders

He came back with faxed copies of the e-mail that was sent to the other walmart and they processed the layaway that way. He told us to pick up the Wii U's at the managers office on launch day because once ordered the store would receive a certain amount labeled just for us in theory. The lady at the layaway counter started making notes and leaving instructions for people on other shifts after that. I sincerely hope this is the case on launch, my receipt says holiday layaway and the holiday fee was nulled to zero somehow.


Whew this should be fun.
Click to expand...
Wow, when did you go? Because... well, as surreal as this is, that's the exact same store I went to, and I had absolutely no issues around 10:00 AM. Guy at the electronics desk said they had just gotten the memo around the store, and it was very much posted at register #23 like he'd indicated.
 
Shadow Hog said:
Wow, when did you go? Because... well, as surreal as this is, that's the exact same store I went to, and I had absolutely no issues around 10:00 AM. Guy at the electronics desk said they had just gotten the memo around the store, and it was very much posted at register #23 like he'd indicated.
Click to expand...

I got there at 8:50am right when they opened #23. When the manager shit bricks and realized he screwed up, he and the nice cashier who was helping me at that point in time put the note to the register with tape and printed several copies for their records. I assume the guy at electronics you talked to is the same one the manager brought down with someone else when I came. I also assume that after this fiasco they told him about it.
 
Specialmias said:
I got there at 8:50am right when they opened #23. When the manager shit bricks and realized he screwed up, he and the nice cashier who was helping me at that point in time put the note to the register with tape and printed several copies for their records. I assume the guy at electronics you talked to is the same one the manager brought down with someone else when I came. I also assume that after this fiasco they told him about it.
Click to expand...
Well, if it means anything, your plight made my life a whole lot easier, so thanks for being so obstinate with the staff so I didn't have to :P
 
Went to my local Walmart this morning at 1000am PST here in Las Vegas (Fort Apache Store).
The Lady in Layaway knew exactly what I wanted to do. She said I was only the second person to put one on Layaway. So I put my 10% down of $42.83, and got my Black 32GB WiiU. My only concern was that I wasn't able to put any Games on Layaway??? The Lady said that if could check back later, and add Games as they get into their system.

I really want to play Zombi U. ;)
 
Somnia said:
The manager who was back there said all wiiu's in the first shipment are being shipped to the layaway department and will be locked up in their rooms, they will not be sold to the public unless there are extras.
Click to expand...

That's what I was told. Also, you have until the end of the layaway period (Dec. 14) to pay your system off just in case you need the extra time. Yeah, they lock them away for you.
 
wldrhino said:
Went to my local Walmart this morning at 1000am PST here in Las Vegas (Fort Apache Store).
The Lady in Layaway knew exactly what I wanted to do. She said I was only the second person to put one on Layaway. So I put my 10% down of $42.83, and got my Black 32GB WiiU. My only concern was that I wasn't able to put any Games on Layaway??? The Lady said that if could check back later, and add Games as they get into their system.

I really want to play Zombi U. ;)
Click to expand...

GameStop has plenty of game pre-orders available for everything you're gonna want. The console is the thing you should be most worried about. The games will be everywhere.
 
I can't remember the last time a launch game actually went out of stock at all participating retailers. Some of the better DC and PS2 titles got rare but not unfindable. Usually launch titles are massively overproduced and usually third party titles are out the week before launch!
 
Got the preorder, never purchased anything at Walmart. Expecting the worst hoping for the best. Anyone in the oc, Walmart Santa Ana has preorders. No luck in foothill ranch.
 
I just went and got my pre-order in about 45 minutes ago and I live on the east coast. I asked the person taking the reservations how many other people had come in and she said four.
 
Walmart tends to get a lot of consoles, usually on par with Gamestop and Best Buy. You should be good today if you can find one doing layaway and maybe tomorrow. Associates are seemingly not blocked in anyway from getting in on this and the word about scalping them is out though so expect the situation to change very quickly when it hits critical mass.
 
So I texted my friend this morning who is a manger at the Walmart down the street. He was working and didn't know about the pre order but said he would ask. This was at 10am. I had a brunch to go to and on the way he called me and told me that he had the sheet of instructions and he informed the layaway staff. I went a few minutes ago and was shocked to find out I was the first one to pre order. Glad I was able to get one.
 
Man God said:
Associates are seemingly not blocked in anyway from getting in on this and the word about scalping them is out though so expect the situation to change very quickly when it hits critical mass.
Click to expand...
Yep, I'm assuming they'll all be out by the end of this week at the latest. When I went in a few people overheard what I was doing and started talking about preordering their own Wii U so it's only a matter of time before all of that talking spreads and people buy up the limited stock that each Walmart has.
 
Lot of talk about people being either the first or 2nd person to preorder so far

again, I think some people are overestimating the demand for Wii-U, cuz a lot of people still don't even know that it exists or what it is
 
Medalion said:
Lot of talk about people being either the first or 2nd person to preorder so far

again, I think some people are overestimating the demand for Wii-U, cuz a lot of people still don't even know that it exists or what it is
Click to expand...

Well if anything, the WalMart ad will generate the interest of the Average Joe's. I can only imagine what Black Friday is going to be like.
 
Medalion said:
Lot of talk about people being either the first or 2nd person to preorder so far

again, I think some people are overestimating the demand for Wii-U, cuz a lot of people still don't even know that it exists or what it is
Click to expand...

Yeah, this situation is decidedly different than the Wii. At least so far. It could change drastically once they start showing it off. I personally dont know anyone that gives a shit about the Wii U. They probably wouldnt be interested in a new Xbox/PS either.
 
Medalion said:
Lot of talk about people being either the first or 2nd person to preorder so far

again, I think some people are overestimating the demand for Wii-U, cuz a lot of people still don't even know that it exists or what it is
Click to expand...

Every other place that did preorders weeks ago sold out of deluxe in a day or two and basic in a week or so.
 
Shin Johnpv said:
Just to play devil's advocate, in all fairness Walmart and other retail outlets pay their employees so fucking little, why should they give any fucks and bother? I do think it might be different if retail actually paid a livable wage, and gave benefits. Then the store could enforce knowing your shit. When you're getting paid 7 bucks an hour and are only allowed to work 25 - 30 hours a week though, why give a fuck?

There's no incentive in retail to do the job well. If Employee 1 busts his ass and works really hard they might get a 25 - 50 cent an hour raise compared to Employee 2 who gives no fucks and barely does anything.

Any other job you get paid a livable wage, get benefits, paid days off etc etc. It's all related.


Edit*

Side note, fuck scalpers. Places really need to institute limits of 1 pre-order and no same person doing it under another name.
Click to expand...

I work at Walmart, get 40 hours a week an get $12.60/hr and I'm not even a manger. Your argument is invalid
 
Baconsammy said:
Yeah, this situation is decidedly different than the Wii. At least so far. It could change drastically once they start showing it off. I personally dont know anyone that gives a shit about the Wii U. They probably wouldnt be interested in a new Xbox/PS either.
Click to expand...
People thought you'd be able to walk into a store day 1 and buy a Wii right up to the launch date. It's hard to predict.
 
Well 0-2. Tried the one here and they had not a clue in hell what was going on. The one the next town over had no sticker to scan. Needless to say I guess I'll be waiting till I can walk in and buy one.

Oh well. No big deal to me. It does sadden me to see how shitty they've gotten though. Back in the days when I worked there we knew what we were doing and weeks in advance. Now they don't even know what a Wii U even is. So pathetic.
 
Medalion said:
We've got 1 month and a few days left till launch... Nintendo sure is taking their sweet time to advertise for this
Click to expand...

If they're smart they'll push it on shows like The View. They've already created a roadblock for themselves by naming it the Wii U, giving the impression that it's a tablet upgrade for the Wii. A simple advertising campaign won't correct that. Demonstrations on daytime and nighttime talk shows will help with that. And that kind of marketing is free.

RagnarokX said:
People thought you'd be able to walk into a store day 1 and buy a Wii right up to the launch date. It's hard to predict.
Click to expand...


That's true, and after the huge success of the DS, I assumed the 3DS would sell it. It didn't come close to doing so. I think the Wii U's supply numbers will be limited enough to stay sold out for months.
 
1st in line for a pre order i think, the manager on duty had to explain and give a paper with the upc/bar code to the layaway person.

$43 and i was out the door :D

hurry up november
 
Just pre-ordered mine. There was confusion in the electronics department whether people could pre-order online or not. I was just about to leave when a different employee said to pre-order on layaway. I was disappointed to find they're only selling the $350 bundle. I'll try to trade for a $300 one around launch.
 
Man God said:
Every other place that did preorders weeks ago sold out of deluxe in a day or two and basic in a week or so.
Click to expand...

He's right though, Wii (and PS3) were on an entirely different level. They both actually presold out BEFORE stores even opened. They were literally turning away excess customers 30 minutes before they even opened the door--for fucking preorders like 2 months prior to release. Granted that was Gamestop and it was announced a week or two in advance, but still. The fact that U is lasting days or even weeks shows it's clearly a very different situation. I think it's more to do with waning interest in consoles in general than any kind of commentary on the U specifically They've lost so much mind share (of the general public) with this 8 year generation. I don't think they're ever going to recover it either.
 
I know I was at work that day getting ready to preorder the Wii and I got in and they went sorry, we only got 20 units had had 100 people.

Gamestop was scared straight by the rampant corruption of just the year prior's disaster of a 360 launch where many associates and managers jumped the line, preordered a ton of consoles and ebayed themselves to a few months salaries in profits.

You are absolutely right though in saying this is different. More stores are doing preorders (every major US retailer except target is!) Amazon is staying out and only a few places have started a second round of forced bundles which some people caved for to get the Wii. I think this is going to be a strong six month period of being a hard to get console, especially the deluxe model. This would put them on track with the DC, 360, and PS2 in terms of availability.
 
MrDanger88 said:
I work at Walmart, get 40 hours a week an get $12.60/hr and I'm not even a manger. Your argument is invalid
Click to expand...
That's not how invalidations work. Do an informal survey of your co-workers and see if you're the rule, or the exception.
 
I want to say two things:

- Why are people paying almost $80 in tax on a $350 console? $43 is 10% of $430.
- I want to say that I have grown sick of pre-orders. It has gotten to the point that you either pre-order or you may not get one. I know this won't be a popular opinion but there it is.
 
Anyone going to the Walmart in Kapolei can thank me for informing them on this lawaway. I would suggest anyone who is still trying to print out that walmart memo, so they can scan it. Even if they don't know about it, their checkout system does.
 
Vane_MagicCity said:
I want to say two things:

- Why are people paying almost $80 in tax on a $350 console? $43 is 10% of $430.
- I want to say that I have grown sick of pre-orders. It has gotten to the point that you either pre-order or you may not get one. I know this won't be a popular opinion but there it is.
Click to expand...

Its $38 plus a $5 layaway fee. It's been said before.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Walmart saves gaming - Order Walmart products directly inside of games.
Business Cringe Game Dev 
24
354
ShirAhava replied
PlayStation begin rolling out age verification checks
2 3 4 5
202
785
Draugoth replied
Wii U: Better than you remember - Game Sack
2 3
136
1K
ResurrectedContrarian replied
Windows 10 support ends Tomorrow (October 14, 2025)
News Platform  2 3 4
175
2K
Grenseal replied
Playstation Store is garbage
2 3
100
738
Arsic replied
Top Bottom