I'm not attacking iTrackr because I don't like there percentage, I'm making a statement because I've never got there site to work. Please, I'd love if it was accurate, so I can use it. About the percentages i don't mind if Wii is 39% available, I'm one of the ones thinking it's insane that Nintendo has yet to fix its stock problems. My point is in the past twice now I've called stores based on itrackr and they turned out to not have any in stock, so I've decided to test how reliable they are by calling all the stores in my area. I know that claiming they are ineffective nationwide based on 7 stores sounds unfair, but that's why I left it open, if you think I'm wrong, then challange me, and try yourself. No one will because everyone knows I'm right.

As to why I believe the person on the phone, is because iTrackr said themselves to call EB Games and Gamestop to find out for sure if they have stock so I guess my biggest reason for believeing them over iTrackr is because iTrackr themselves said to.(plus they are the ones looking to make money and sell products)

Next the percentage on iTrackr is about availability, so even if a store is concealing their Wiis for Sunday upon which they will sell out, you can't use iTrackr's info to suggest the Wiis are available but just aren't selling well. Something that is refused to be sold is simply not available. Kwaad constantly brings up the iTrackr percantage to claim supply is now outpacing demand, so saying that the systems are being held by the stores while they lie to customers and claim it is sold out, really doesn't make the point that supply is outpacing demand. It just means they are forcing a demand suspension, which in turn artificially pumps up the supply(artificial because according to demand it shouldn't exist.)

The reason you don't hear more about itrackr not working is besides the Wii their system should work fine. I never claimed that iTrackr didn't work. Just that when it came to a product like the Wii where stock was sold out so quickly it could never keep up. And there is way to many stores that haven't updated in more then 10 hours, and more then 10 hours could be days for all we know, so if they are notified on sunday morning that there is 10 in stock, they could be gone in two hours but for the next three days it might register on the site as being in stock. There is just no way there system can reasonably track such a hot product. And please anyone if you have found an available Wii through itrackr let me know, and then let me know how many other stores you had to contact too, so we know what it took.

 If I was attacking the site as a whole I wouldn't have specified the Wii, I would have asked you to find any product that they track. And I love how you don't name the product you were trying to find. I'm sure it does great looking for ps3s that are in every freaking store anyway and no one would actually need to use iTrackr to find. Please a can't swing a dead cat without knocking down a pile of ps3s. And when you walk in stores most of the year you don't walk past tons of "out of stock" signs, more stores have most products in stock, which means most of the time iTrackr isn't called into question. If you really wanted to make a serious attempt at debating my point you'd actualy call stores up and prove me wrong. I'm the only person that actually gave them the benefit of the doubt by calling a list of them. I think if I called a 100 more you still wouldn't believe me simply because you accuse me of having an agenda. I promise you if those stores even half those stores had Wiis I'd totally give itrackr respect for that. And you can't tell me fanboys are more annoyed by itrakr numbers then the people who actually go to the stores and don't find them in stock. That's absurd.

Fooflexible.

read my posts I have actually called the stores too. I have been calling for awhile. I have a freind(who is a manager at the virgin megastore in downtown SF on Market st.) who is looking for a Wii and still hasn't found one. She laughed at me for waiting in line for it because all the launch hype was for the PS3. She doesn't want to wait so I ahve been calling stores with no luck in this area. I also know the same thing is true for burlington county. So like you I am calling Itacker into question for slow updates that show somethign in stock because it was at one point but not any longer or at least unavailable ot the public.

Looking at cleveland I suspect that they may have some there but I am not really checking because I ain't going to cleveland to get it. Also another difference is when the PS3 became available pictures of it saturated the web. Where are the pictures for the Wii. I actually think it is bad for Nintendo to not meet demand yet. If it stays this high it will hurt the holiday sales because stores will not be able to stock them and I think Nintendo is too cautious of a company to increase production.

All the 'Big' name stores in my area that I watch on itrackr have been sold out, and there is 1 EBgames, and 1 GameStop. I called both of wich, but both update un-regulary. So basically They probibally had them yesterday. However There were 4/8 in my area. Now there is 2/8. Tomorrow I bet there will be 0/8. The big notice here is the fact that it is hanging around 38% stores have had it.

EDIT: But hey, at least gamestop DOES have a x-box 360 in stock! 

Took you long enough to pipe up Kwaad.

I think the 39% is probably inaccurate, but I really couldn't care less what the website says for availability.  If people are still waiting hours before stores open and lining up 20+ people, it's still selling like hot cakes, completely selling out or not. 

To be quite honest I wish they were right. As I've said I think it's high time Nintendo got more in stores. Sure they are selling like crazy, but not that crazy. Also when I first heard about itrackr, when Kwaad named it, the Wii availability was quite low, and I was excited to see a site tracking it, I tried it back then and found two stores that both didn't have them in, after that experience I was skeptical, and always sort of felt the percentages used to make arguements were unreliable, but didn't want to say anything before giving them another shot.

 I am sorry I mistook what you were saying. The items I found were a PS3 and a Wii less than one month from each respective launch... I found both when they were hard to find.

I agree about your reasoning on proving my point but when on of the creators used his program to get the 360 and when I went to get my Wii I had to ask the manager after being told no to my face. The second Wii I purchased for my sister came from the fact that I new someone who worked at a store and gave the heads up about it and sold it to me in the middle of the week.

Point blank I have been told an item wasn't in stock to my face when it actually was. And I am pretty sure it wasn't to the emplyees benafit to tell me this so I imagine this wouldn't be relegated to one chain of stores. So if someone can tell me wrong info to my face I am betting its alot easier to tell someone whatever they have to over the phone. 

 No, it means that itrackr is not a reliable source for availability on the shelves, just because they say its has a certain % of availability doesn't mean that there is actual stock on the shelves

I posted this in another thread earlier in the week:

Make sure you add a "mouseover" on the little clock icon and you will get a time since last update.  The problem isn't that Itrackr can't get accurate data, the problem is that either the systems they get the data from are not real time or they don't update fast enough.  Imagine 3 stores getting stock on three consecutive days, each selling out their stock -- even in hours.  On a three-day-old update such as my sample, these 3 stores are all showing stock and, say there are ten total stores, it's saying 30 percent availability.

 All in all, I found Itrackr to be completely worthless where I live.  The only time it has ever been accurate is when target was stockpiling units and that was because there was a lag of when the systems were reported as available and when they actually sold them giving itracker time to accurately reflect stock.  They might as well take Gamestop/EB games off of their list as it has no value whatsoever.

Don't feed sony fans, they think they're important to the industry.