xbox: the new ebay cash cow?

Forget concert tickets, the new Xbox 360's are the way to go. Or so the story goes. Just heard on the way home that they were retailing for about $400 yesterday while they were in stock (which lasted maybe two seconds at any store not already pre-ordered out) and there's now a glut of them on Ebay for hundreds more. So I decided to verify this insane profit margin. A quick Ebay check shows literally thousands on there at prices starting around $600 and going as high as $800 from the few listings I saw. Microshaft's suggested retail price is $299 (at a cost to MS of $75/console). So even if the stores are padding their own profit and marking the price up a hundred bucks there is still room for a few hundred in profit for would-be scalpers. Problem is, one has to come up with one of these things first. Given the rush that always accompanies a gaming console debut, getting a dozen U2 GA's would probably be easier.

So, better money and less risk? Nope, I'm calling BS on that one. The return is much better on good concert tickets, not to mention they're less expensive and easier to come by. And if the strategy backfires you at least have some awesome tickets on your hands instead of an expensive plastic box. Not worth the trouble...although if I happened to see an Xbox on the shelf I'd buy it for sure.