Kyle has been saving his money for a Nintendo Wii since before most of us knew what the Wii was. For his birthday last August he asked us not to buy him presents, but for "Wii money". By the time the game console was released last month, he had saved enough money to buy it and a few accessories.On the morning of the Wii's release, Q took Kyle to Target just before the store opened. Ticket had been handed out to those in line, but they were too late. One guy offered to sell them his ticket for $500. No thank you. In the following days, we tried called stores and even drove around trying to find Kyle a Wii. They were all over ebay, with auctions ending at thousands of dollars--way more than the $250 retail price. In the meantime, I was soothing a lot of crying.
Fast forward to now. Kyle has resigned himself to waiting until after Christmas when we can find one in a regular store for a regular price.
But the Nintendo Wii is not the only item I'm having trouble finding. I won't go into specifics because certain family members read this blog and I don't want to give away any surprises.
Back on December 2, I bought an item at Buy.com. I chose to do business here based on an offer of $20 off a $50 purchase if I used Google Checkout. Sounds good to me. According to the website, the item was in stock. I placed the order and my credit card was promptly charged.
Several days later, I hadn't received a shipping confirmation, so I checked the status of my order. Next to the item name were the words "on order". Translation: "oops...we don't have your item just now!" Well, after navigating through some red cyber-tape, I managed to get the order cancelled, my account credited, and I bought the item elsewhere.
Then there was an item Kyle wanted. We spotted it in Target one night, but I couldn't make the purchase just then since he was with me. When I returned a few days later, they were sold out. No problem. I'll get it somewhere else, right? Wrong! I tried the Toys R Us across the street. I had Q try the TRU near his office. I even checked Wal-Mart. WAL-MART, People!!!!! Yes, I am willing to forgo my personal boycott in order to ensure the look of elation on my son's face on Christmas morning. Anyway, they didn't have it, either.
I ended up ordering it from an online shop that I had never heard of. The price was the same, but I had to pay shipping fees. Oh well...better than sales tax. It arrived on the doorstep last night.
Elsewhere, I was tired of being told that "this item is not currently available, but you might enjoy....(insert inferior or overpriced product here)".
Apparently, I'm not the only one who's noticing these toy shortages. It was a topic on local radio last week. I read an article about it on MSN Money last week. Unfortanately, I'm having trouble finding the link at the moment.
Anyway, here's hoping you're all able to find those special gifts that will dazzle your families and that you don't settle for anything less.
3 comments:
Another Elmo debacle huh? These gifts are so difficult to get because of the hype. Yes, it is better to buy them as soon as you see them and tell them, that's your early Christmas present.
Here's hoping you have a lovely Christmas this year Val. You have a lot to celebrate, Q, you and good grades, the boys being so good and lovable and all of you together.
Take care Val. Thanks for the BC points when I needed them :-)
Tell Kyle that this tech nerd says you should never buy a new gadget when it first comes out. There are ALWAYS bugs that get fixed within the first couple of months. I hear there have already been some recalls of the Wii (which looks soooooo cool, by the way!) because the handstraps came undone, resulting in broken television screens. He's a smart guy to wait.
Why can't I be as responsible with money as your child?!
Actually, Ces, other than the Wii, the items I have been seeking out aren't exactly classified as "hot" toys. One of them is widely available. I've seen it in every store I've been to. I just got greedy and wanted to buy it online at a steep discount. In fact, it could have been a contender for Bargain of the Week.
Christopher, you're right. Kyle has been watching all the news reports about bum Wii remote wrist straps doing damage to TVs, windows, walls, Grandma's china, etc. So he's happy to hold out for a unit with a"new and improved" wrist strap.
As for being responsible with his money, that only happened because it never reached his hands. Basically, Q and I banked it for him. Whenever he got money from a non-parental source, he turned almost all of it over to us to put in his account.
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