The 3DS has only been available in NA markets for one day and as predicted, units picked up or received today immediately ended up on Ebay, presumably in an attempt to captalize on the considerable hype built up leading to the launch.

What is interesting is that as of this writing, there are are mere 133 listings for 3DS systems. What is equally interesting is that the average asking price is around $299, or a mere $50 over retail, which many may recall was the secondary market price premium for another video game related item that was also limited in availability relative to demand back in December (Kinect standalone kits averaged about $199).

In the past hour two 3DS portables actually sold for less than the $249 MSRP ($225 $235 plus shipping) which could be interpreted as meaning Nintendo was right on target in pricing the 3DS and that initial shipments relative to demand have been sufficient. If the sell through percentages on the initial shipment are anywhere near 100%, it's hard to imagine a more successful launch, without taking game unit sales and attachment rates into account.

This is precisely why I didn't buy one to sell on eBay. I had a feeling the 3DS would be well stocked and not instantly sell out. I will however buy every next gen console and sell them for thousands next gen.

They are not selling high on eBay because you can easily find a 3DS at places like Bestbuy, Target and Walmart.

I live on Long Island and a quick check on Bestbuy.com shows that it is available at all stores here within a 50 mile radius.

Nintendo promised that they would fix the supply issue. And they did.

I am praying that it is easy to find because the price is too high.

That would bring a much earlier than expected price cut, especially later in the year if NGP releases. I want a 3DS but $250 is too steep.

In the UK, retail prices started at £229 when preorders began but have sunk ever since gradually to £187. This is actually looking like weak demand.

http://kotaku.com/#!5786255/3ds-turns-up-used-in-spades

might be a case in Japan.

I was originally planning to buy a second to sell on ebay, good thing I didn't

You do realize we're in March?

You realize that handheld systems have rarely seen the kind of initial demand or speculative sales on ebay that home consoles have?

Prior to the NA release, new Japanese market 3DSs averaged just under $400, which for an imported item not available in other regions seemed a bit on the low side. There were however, a lot more listings for pre-orders for NA market handhelds to be delivered upon reseller receipt.

The best thing to come out of this is that there seems to be little market for console flipping, which is generally only an indication that the hardware manufacturer either underestimated demand and underproduced output, or they underpriced their product relative to demand.

Depending on how the 3DS picks up steam or even just maintains sales relative to production, it may end up seeing faster price reductions than the Wii. Given that the production cost is just over $100, Nintendo has a lot of space for price cuts while maintaining good margins on every unit sold.