I don't think a very large number of parents go to eBay to buy christmas presents.  I could be wrong though.  I think their first choice is the retailer, and when they hear the retailer explain that more will be in stock before Christmas, they'll probably just wait.  However, there's no real way of knowing for sure.  Christmas Eve tends to be just as big if not bigger than Black Friday, though.  Also, I would assume many of those who have kids asking for a game console would have parents going for nearer Christmas Eve than Black Friday.

If demand does stay low, I could possibly see Nintendo lowering the price in 6 months (like they did with the 3DS), if only to presuade people before the PS4 and NeXbox launch.  Of course, it wouldn't be anything like a $80 cut they did to the 3DS.  More like a $25 or $50 cut.  However, I don't expect one until 1-1 1/2 years into the Wii U's life.

It's possible, but I expect the PS4 and next Xbox to be somewhere between $400-$500, in which case the Wii U price tag will look all the sweeter.

I think Nintendo will unveil a slew of high-profile games at E3 to steal the thunder from its competitors. Footage from Metroid, Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Animal Crossing, or whatever will do more damage than a small price cut, in my opinion.

Time will tell if this is just because they shipped more, less demand, or a combination of both..

We shouldn't compare Wii U with Wii; we should compare it to PS360 instead. Wii was a phenomena, and was on track to outsell the PS2, but never truly could do this in the end. But it sold at a record breaking pace the first few years.

How does Wii U stagger up to PS360?

I don't really get the basic set - everywhere I go (I'm from Cardiff in the UK) the Premium bundle seems sold out but they have plenty of basic left. This seems to be harming sales of the console even though its the cheaper package!! Maybe people just prefer the black console (my WiiU is the best thing ever invented IMO =p).

The real questions won't be answered until later on in January and we know what it sold this first quarter.

Wii remained sold out and pushed out well nearly 4m units.
WiiU can be found most of the time in stock. Its launch week was relatively the same as Wii, but if it can't push 3-4m units before January, then it clearly does not have the same appeal/demand.

I wouldn't say its cost, as that Ebay chart shows Wiis were selling well over $350 on Ebay by the truckload.

However, its likely a combination of things, foremost a complete lack of retail based advertising. When Wii launched every retailer ran ads for it from launch day to every Sunday thereafter. While I've see a couple TV spots, I've seen zero paper ads for WiiU.

From my local Walmart (which is very very busy..i.e busiest Walmart in southern half of state), Its stock fluctuates. I go in there every couple of days. One day I see one in stock, another I see 4 or 5 of mixed bundles. I have yet to see it out of stock since Black Friday.

I think it has games and good word of mouth. I just think its missing retail advertising and potentially that killer casual game as many of the more core gamers may be waiting to see what MSony are doing. Nintendoland could be that killer game as it is a blast. On Thanksgiving everyone really wanted to keep playing it. However, that word of mouth growth isn't enough.

Not quite sure how the 360 stacks up, right off hand, but I do know the PS3 fared better on eBay.  Initially, there were sales that ended north of $9000.  And going into the 2nd week, the sales were averaging ~$1200, or more than twice the entry price.

Haha that's some wicked prices!!! It's just silly!!!

The basic pack is basically (pardon the pun) a very bad idea. It appears to be moving slowly or not at all all over Europe and America. It will be fazed out within the year, mark my words.