Buy Nintendo Wii Online - 3 Smart Shopping Tips You Can Use To Buy a Wii Online

When I first published this Hubpage article during the 2007 Christmas shopping season, U.S. retail supplies for the Nintendo Wii system were severely limited and people who wanted a Wii console had to go to extremes to get one. But fast forward to now and it's a much different scenario altogether. Why? Because (1) brick-n-mortar retail stores usually have plenty of Wii consoles in stock, and (2) Nintendo has slashed the price of this bestseller to $199.99*.

Even though things have changed for the better, I still believe buying a Nintendo Wii console or bundle is a smart thing to do. You will save time, you won't have to fight for parking or burn up gas. And you won't have to run down the isles of Best Buy, Target or WalMart trying to find one (unless you get a kick out of that sort of thing). So do yourself a favor ... take a few minutes to read this article and use the shopping tips outlined in this article to buy Nintendo Wii online now.

So here are my 3 smart shopping tips to buy Wii online. And have yourself a blast with your family & friends this Christmas and all year-round (take it from me, playing the Wii is great family/friends fun)!

*(You can find Wii consoles and bundles in this price range or lower on sites like Amazon and eBay)

If you go about it the right (smart) way, buying Nintendo Wii online on eBay may give you the best opportunity to get a good deal on this popular game system. Looking at the current auctions for Wii, there are a great number of Wii consoles and bundles available for purchase. Combine this with the fact that EBay sellers of all shapes and sizes are competing with one another at different price points to sell their Wii inventory as quickly as possible. The Wii is a strong seller on eBay and no seller wants to miss out on making a sale. As a result, there will be differences in pricing and/or shipping costs that you may be able to take advantage of, so pay close attention and keep the following 4 tips in mind when bidding:

• Be specific when entering the search terms for the items you want to bid on in the eBay search bar and carefully read the auction description to be sure you know exactly what it is that you're bidding on - if you have any questions, contact the seller for clarification
• Carefully look at the seller's feedback rating to make sure you're dealing with a reputable eBay seller. Click on the detailed feedback link in the auction to review prior sales transactions (beware of sellers with low feedback scores and those who sold/bought a lot of very cheap items quickly to build up feedback)
• Carefully review the seller's requirements for making payment, return policy & shipping costs; many eBay sellers only accept PayPal - this can be good for you, too because certain auctions are eligible for buyer protection and PayPal's dispute resolution + the protection available from your credit card company, can intervene in the event things get twisted between you and the seller
• Focus your attention on auctions that have at least 4 days left before its listing expires and feature a 'Buy It Now' button. Save the auctions you're most interested in to your favorites (you can also subscribe to the RSS feed of the Nintendo Wii search results through the advanced search function) and use your time to research the recently completed auctions to determine if the 'Buy It Now' price represents a good deal for you or not.

*In most instances you will come out better if you buy the Wii console and not the bundle. The Wii bundle is going to cost more money, because the console is being bundled with one or more games at a marked up price. But you need to keep your eyes open for bundles that include games you really want and are attractively priced (meaning the bundle is actually cheaper than the console + the games purchased separately).

Buying through Amazon can provide you with a really sweet opportunity to buy Nintendo Wii online now through Amazon.com or Amazon Marketplace merchants. If the item is in-stock at Amazon.com, the listing will indicate that. If it's for sale through Marketplace, just click on the these sellers link next to Availability. You'll be able to see how many of these merchants have Nintendo Wii in-stock, the prices and whether it's new, used or collectible. Obviously, Wii inventory is constantly changing, so if you see the Wii console or bundle you want on Amazon, buy it. Just as you would with EBay sellers, pay close attention to the Amazon seller's feedback rating, the cost + shipping (shipping is separate from the item cost) and the condition. Here's a link to an article on how to buy wii online at Amazon.