~~~~ The OFFICIAL AnandTech PS-2 Thread ~~~~

[AnandTech Moderator]

As has been widely reported in the news media, there have been many problems on the web related to the well publicized fraudulant offers to sell PS-2's. Also, when the PS-2 was first released, we had a flood of posts about supposed PS-2 sightings, many of which were bogus.

For this reason, we banned such threads on our forums, but we left one thread on the subject open to try to help those who were interested in PS-2's. That thread is now quite long, so we have started this ONE AND ONLY Official PS-2 thread to help you find one in time for the holidays. It works like our ~~~~ IWANNA ~~~~ and other official threads. Here are the rules for this thread:

Please try to keep your posts to helpful information such as confirmed stock at honest prices. Anything else will only lead to disappointing our members.

Posts such as "Oh boy, I got mine." will only clog the thread.

Do NOT post to ask where to find PS-2's. Read the thread to find your answers.

Links to auctions may be reason to lock your account.

This thread will stay open as long as it stays cool and the information is real.

We wish you all the very best of luck in finding your PS-2's. You'll need it!

AnandTech Moderator

 

[scamjefe]

I just want to moan about the little scam cc put up today.

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Moaning about it won't do any good. Posting legitimate warnings against frauds will help our members.

Thank you,

AnandTech Moderator

 

[dealgod]

Well first off, let me add 2 urls that will help find a ps2.

SonySearch

and Ps2bargains

they both have daily ps2 updates.

Also, call your local B&M every morning. I had success twice this week calling around.

 

[JKurtz]

I can vouch for ps2Bargains's forum section. There is a program out there called PS2Finder written by a guy named Travis Hill.

His program alerted me to KBKids.com today while I was working. I installed it yesterday! Mine is on the way.

So, I would suggest that you hop on over there an find a thread talking about the program and download and install it.

Link to a thread about the program

 

[Looney]

If you're Canadian check out www.futureshop.ca... i've seen them on there a couple of times already... First time they had 5 in inventory, 2nd time they had 3. But i think they get them in weekly.

Price is $699Cdn, but includes another controller i believe, and two or three games.

 

[Xzaver]

I bet a ton of people were waiting to get a PS2 from CC.
This should have tought you guys and gals a valuable Lesson.
Everything and anything is a scam until proven other wise.



-Xzaver-

 

[auyong]

Dealcatcher.com has a similar search engine to locate availability of PS2

 

[jcballer1]

techbargains has an AUTOSCAN program that checks sites for PS-2 availability. It shows if it's in stock at most popular retailers.
Use the following link:

http://www.techbargains2.com/ps2test.cfm

Good luck. If you get more than one, remember ME!!!
Let me know if there are other programs out there. I heard of ONSCAN--how does that work--where do i get it??
thanks!

ps: i know it's a tough job, but thanks for making an "official ps-2 thread" MODS !!

 

[dafatha00]

techbargians autoscan has some bugs..i clicked on it and it took me to bluelight.com which was sold out

 

[Pab_]

The PS2 sale at CC wasn't a scam. I was one of the lucky few who was able to buy one & it has already been shipped. They were just snatched up so quickly that many people didn't even get to see the link appear.

Note: This isn't a brag post. I just wanted people to know that it wasn't a scam so that you all can try to get one if CC sells them again.

 

[cisco]

Well I got one at best buy and saw people walking out with them in their hands the other day at another BB, today I stopped in a target and was told they had 9 in stock yesterday that lasted about 30 minutes.
some stores are getting shipments. Be in the right place at the right time and whalla , you will get one. onscan works too (scans websites every 5 minutes and calls your cell phone when in stock) I got a call last saturday that amazon had them in , 120 PS2s lasted about three minutes. Usually onscan misses it because they sell so quick.
good luck..

 

[dealgod]

check your B&m this am.

i have a feeling...

 

[l0g0ut]

i believe techbargains autoscan it's not buggy. it clearly says on the page that you must have an account set up at some of the sites you want find.

this is PS2 thing make good business for sony.... (i don't believe they produce so few of this thing by 'accident'.. must've been their marketing strategy)

 

[Seizure]

It's weird how it feels like PS2's are all sold out. But my roomate's dad owns a gamestore chain and he has like 15 in his garage. I told him about how PS2's are very scarce but he tells me his dad is expecting like 50-100 units incoming every month. That doesn't seem like it's very scarce. Especially since his dad's store isn't very big. Oh and if anyone wants to know the store name it's called [deleted] and it's located in New York City, on Steinway Street. They can be obtained for a very high $600 I think for just the system.

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Any store that charges hundreds of dollars over the retail price does not deserve to have its name posted on a Hot Deals forum.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[Virtus]

$600 is too high - especially since people are bidding $400 - $500 online! PS2 demand in my city is waning a bit - they'll sit on the shelves for an hour and a half before they're gone.

My friends and I have had a lot of success at local B&M stores. Here are some tips:

Most stores around here put them on the shelves as soon as they get them (and the employees snag a few), so there's no "golden time" to get them. But we've had repeated success at Target between 10:30 and 11:30am. Bring a buddy (or a cell phone) because most places only let you buy one - even if there's 10 on the shelf and no one else in the store wants one. Last time they were in at Target I actually watched a guy pick one up and put it back!

Sign up for the store's credit card when you buy it and you'll usually get an extra 10% off. You can pay it off right there to avoid finance charges. If possible, pay for the PS2 in the electronics section and carry it out in a bag. That might buy your friends some time to get to the store. We snagged our first PS2 at Target when we saw a lady walk to the front of the store with a PS2 in her hands - we had just looked 10 minutes earlier and were walking out the door when we saw her. Came back at the same time one week later and snagged another one.

We've gotten two at Target for $269 each and 2 at Best Buy for $299 - all in a two week period. That sure beats $600.

Hope this helps.

 

[stonerdave]

yeah, with all the shopping bots out there now, you actually have a better chance getting one from a b&m, and you can get it with the games you want instead of a $$$ bundle.

if you don't believe me, walmart.com ran out of their ps2 bundles in about a half-hour when they had them Oct 27 and early Nov....now they sell out in a few minutes! Just my opinion, the demand seems to be dying down a little bit, as e-bay has showed us.

edit/ I mean the overall demand, it seems everyone wants to order a bundle online now, but otherwise the hype has cooled off a bit.

 

[WayneK]

Sorry never mind.

 

[Harvey]

WayneK -- B&M means Brick and Mortar store. That is, not an online store, but a real store located somewhere on nearby, friendly Planet Earth. You may have visited there, before.

 

[Smokey0066]

heres a tip..
the local target gets trucks in everynight and they stock them on the shelves over night.. then they sell them in the morning.. thats how its usually been.
my mom works overnight at target and she nabed me one very early in the game.. but they made her wait in line the next morning to get one. i guess they follow the rules and make no exemptions whether customer or employee. the system is nice.. i've been playing with it for a while.
try early like right when they open up. the shelves have usually just been stocked.

good luck.. its a great system.

 

[NICKel]

Kbkids.com has been screwing with their playstation bundles HTML pages tonite..... Dunno if that means they are gonna change something ie( playstions in stock??????)

 

[auyong]

great tips on the Target! Will try tomorrow!