If you didn\'t find yourself in possession of an Xbox 360 by the end of the 22nd, eBay was pretty much your only option. Stores reported being sold out across the nation, many saying they had pre-sold their next shipment in advance, with no knowledge of when that next shipment might be.
The night after the 360 released, Premium systems on eBay were selling at more than $2000. Since then, the price has dropped substantially; a vigilant ebayer might pick one up for somewhere between $600 and $900.
But are the prices going to go up from here, or down?
The day after launch, eBay\'s records reported that there were somewhere in the range of 28,000 listings in the Xbox 360 system category. A day later, that had dropped to 22,000 listings. Following that, the number of listing continued to slip to 18,000, then 15,000 shortly after that.
At the time of this writing, five days after the Xbox 360 began selling in the United States, the number of Xbox 360 units available on eBay stands at just about 13,500 units.
[color=\"yellow\"]In five days, the number of Xbox 360 units being sold on eBay peaked at 28,000, and then dropped by 14,500 units, nearly 3,000 units a day.[/color]
The $2000 dollar price tag that seemed common on eBay just after launch disappeared when it became evident that there were a significant number of units available.
But those numbers are quickly dwindling. At this rate, eBay will have no more Xbox 360s to sell in 4.6 days, or by Tuesday, December 1st. Just exactly at the point when we enter the Christmas season.
People who were willing to sell their 360s have, and the rest are busy playing them.
Unless Microsoft manages to deliver a second shipment of units to stores by that time, replenishing the eBay and second-hand stock on the Internet, it\'s possible your Xbox 360 might be worth substantially more than it was even on launch day.
At least on the 22nd, people had the possibility of turning to eBay when their retail outlets let them down; in 5 days that might not be an option.
Everything revolves around when Microsoft manages to get more units to retail. There\'s no official word on when exactly this might be, with some retail outlets saying they\'re not expecting a second shipment until January. Microsoft has repeatedly stated that they were aiming to supply on a world-wide basis, sending consistent shipments throughout the holiday season; this would suggest that we can expect the second round to start arriving in the next week or two. However, it also seems unlikely that this second shipment will get here within the next 5 days, even assuming Microsoft is able to supply demand as they\'d like.
Of course, the stock will not reach zero; as availability becomes more limited, prices will rise above the point that even the hardcore gamer is able to ignore. However, the Xbox 360 was selling for over $2000 when there were in the range of 4,000 to 6,000 units available for purchase.
Without Microsoft\'s intervention, 6 or 7 days from now might be the worst time to be buying an Xbox 360, and the best time to own one.
Assuming you\'re willing to risk not having an Xbox until January...