November 16, 2007
How to Find a Wii
Every day, multiple searches land people on this site, people who are still looking for a Nintendo Wii. A year after my quest for a Wii, I can’t believe that people are still having trouble finding them for Christmas. Instead of just reading about how I was one of the lucky ones who found a Wii, I thought I’d give you googlers some advice about how to find one. Here goes:
- Investigate all the local stores that sell Wii’s. Where are the people most friendly? Where are the managers or sales associates who are most like you? I made "friends" with the Electronics Department Manager at my local Walmart and it worked wonders for me. Don’t waste time traveling all over looking for one. You only need one manager/sales associate who likes you. Make that the store you’re determined to get a Wii from. In my area, the Walmart received weekly shipments and they usually received more Wii’s than the other stores did, 15 to the other stores’ three or four.
- When I say "make friends," I mean, talk to the manager instead of just barking "Did you get any Wii’s today in their face?" I was the master of schmooze. I always asked her how she was doing, when she thought another shipment might come in, how many she thought she might receive, and I always thanked her for her time and help. It really paid off.
- Do some investigating about when your chosen local store receives their shipments. My Walmart received shipments on Wednesdays around noon, which means I arrived at the store at around 11:45 and hung out around the incoming boxes.
- Be persistent, but don’t be annoying. Obnoxious people don’t get Wii’s. A Mom, toting two kids, who looks incredibly depressed every time the manager says "Sorry, we don’t have anymore" gets the gold.
- That being said, it doesn’t hurt to tote your kids along when you’re looking for a Wii. Think empathy factor: a mom trudging through crowds of people with children in each arm. . . you get the idea. If you don’t have two of your own, borrow your nieces or nephews, with permission of course.
I firmly believe that the manager saw my perseverance and "awarded" me with a Wii. One had been returned unopened, and she snuck me back to the layaway area so that I could buy it in peace without some lunatic swiping it from me (because last year, someone totally would have done that). She had seen me arrive at Walmart on all the shipment days, with a heavy one-year old in my arms every time and I was rewarded for my efforts.
That being said, Good luck finding your Wii!
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Gee, after all the work we had to do to EARN our Wiis, you’d think Nintendo wouldn’t have the guts to actually CHARGE a price for them! The least they could do would be to up production and shipment of the damned devil boxes! I’ve had my Wii for like 9 months. Mom found it for me, and I have NO IDEA how she did!
While I’ve LOVED Nintendo products since the 1980’s, I think Nintendo acts very poorly with America! Remember the “Great Super Mario Bros. Two Shortage” of the early 1990’s? That made me so mad. My friend Nick Sherrilla (he’s probably in jail or dead by now) got an SMB2 as soon as it was released, but I had to wait like half a year because there weren’t any in the stores! That’s tough for a 10 year old! Mom knew I was saving my allowance for it and so the day she saw a copy in the store she bought it for me! Stupid Nintendo!
You are a Jedi-master of working WalMart employees. I can just see you crutching through the electronics section with your little ones with the poor me thing going on. Who wouldn’t help you! describing how you develop relationships with these managers is such a simple concept but amazingly not too many people have figured this out. It is easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar? something like that.
When I was a kid we had Pong which was a cave man’s version of what they have now days. I am not a fun Dad however because I won’t let me kids get any video games (the real reason is so their Dad doesn’t become an addict)
Wow. I’m amazed that they’re still hard to come by, too!
I agree with all of your advice. We got ours in a similar way, by talking to the staff, being polite, asking when the shipments were coming in and being patient. Of course, I’m not a mom toting two kids, but I’m here to tell you that, while it might help, dads can be charming, too. 🙂
The only thing I would add is, if you’re going to do the rounds and be militant about finding a Wii (or any product), jot down the delivery times for each store in a notebook and then plan to be there AT those times. Not after.
My personal advice, though (and it doesn’t help with this one… unfortunately), is this: Order early. Pre-order online or in a store. If you KNOW you’re going to want one, just bite the bullet and pre-order. In most cases, this guarantees you to get one. Sometimes, rarely, you won’t get it in the initial shipment, but you’re on a list and the store in question has your name tagged so you are guaranteed to get one. So, instead of just saying, “No,” to the kid behind the counter when they say, “Would you like to pre-order? It’s only $5.” Say, “Yes.” 🙂
We almost missed out on Rockband by waiting too long. As it is, it hasn’t even shipped yet and they’re going for over $400 online now. We pre-ordered and should get ours well before Xmas and paid MSRP for it. Of course, our entire family is anxiously awaiting this one! As it is, we’re playing up the difficulty in purchasing them so that it will be a bigger surprise on Christmas if we do get it, and if something should happen delaying our shipment, the kids won’t be disappointed.
Ultimately, though, keep things in perspective. It’s just a toy. Just my two cents ($40 if you don’t pre-order!) 😀
By the time we finally got our Wii, the store manager knew my husband and I by sight and we didn’t even have to wait in line to ask him any more. He just thumbs down-ed us when we came in on Tuesday afternoon around 3 p.m. (That being the soonest we could get in on Tuesday after their approximately 1 p.m. truck came.)
(I suppose it didn’t hurt that husband was in there buying/selling/trading DS cartridges all the time, too.)
I am kind of amazed that they are still in such short supply.
You should also sign up for wiialerts.com I just ordered one after getting an alert! My kids didn’t get one last year, because they were so scarce. But this year, they will!