Santa's Page

This is a follow-up to my earlier article Where can I get a Wii in the UK? where I revealed that despite the scarcity of the console in the UK and the high prices demanded by people trading in them in entrepeneur fashion, it was still possible to purchase from Amazon on the continent at the RRP. I reported availability in Germany, but it appears that Amazon France were also shipping to the UK.

Unfortunately, it appears that Amazon UK Marketplace sellers are being supported (or should I say "aided and abbetted"?) in demanding high prices by other European Amazon sites refusing to accept orders from the UK, not just Germany, but also France.

Shame that.... because it was working out the same price delivered from the EU compared to the RRP here.

I don't believe that there is much anyone can do about this, as it will typically be for the retailer to set their own terms of trade which we can accept or decline, but we cannot insist on a retailer agreeing a sale with us.

There has been much discussion on boards regarding Restrictions on Free Trade, but as this is just a Retailer deciding which markets they will service and not Governmental border issue, there does not appear to be any legal axe to grind.

However, it is curious that the Wiis have good availability on the continent yet no-one has the wherewithall to move stocks to the UK where the consoles are scarce.

And who loses out because of the incompetency?

• Kids - Santa Claus will refuse to buy at the premium prices, though I accept that there is still some market at these high prices.
• Nintendo - same reason as above - Santa Claus may wait until next Christmas or parents may buy next Birthday, however with Christmas approaching the sale may just go to Sony or Microsoft instead.
• Games Manufacturers (including Nintendo) - with a finite budget for Christmas, if Santa Claus has paid premium prices for their console, there will be precious little cash left to buy additional games & peripherals.

Is there anything that can be done in future to stop this abuse? Well, I have an idea that would possibly improve things overnight......What if it were to be made illegal to sell goods above a manufactures RRP (or a set percentage over it) for a given country? There are certain complications with this idea, but in principle if those practicalities could be worked out, it could stop the entrepeneurial purchases that are potentially creating a stock shortage at a decent price and give us back credibly priced goods.

You only have to look below here to see the latest prices being charged on Amazon Marketplace in the UK versus the standard £180 RRP.

Labels: Amazon, Nintendo Wii, wii, Wii availability