All the buzz leading up to the launch of the Xbox Series X mini-fridge culminated as pre-orders finally went live at some national retailers. In a cruel, yet predictable twist, the collectibles quickly sold out only to reappear on reseller sites at much higher prices.
Xboxhappily announced that thepre-orders for the Xbox Series X mini-fridgewent online this morning. Fans were eager to get their chance at pre-ordering one and knew to be up and ready to try and snag one. TheXboxMini-Fridge was available exclusively at Target in the United States for $100, and GAME in the UK for £90. Unfortunately, the pre-orders evaporated within seconds, leaving fans upset and disappointed. To make matters worse, reseller sites almost instantly became propagated by listings for the “confirmed” pre-orders of the mini-fridge at trumped-up prices.
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Consumers quickly made their frustrations and disappointment known on social media. They either never got a chance to see the buy button thanks to some issues with the Target website, had a technical issue themselves that prevented them from checking out in time, or just got to the site too late and missed their chance.
As the tweets rolled in, the Xbox Social Media team assured frustrated would-be consumers that the pre-orders were not an end-all and that there will be more chances to buy one in December. Nevertheless, it still remains a point of contention that anothervideo game collector’s item has been scooped upquickly with very few seemingly going to fans that really wanted to own one.
Ebay listings currently range from $200US up to $1000 for “presale confirmed orders.” Including the word, “presale” seems to be the escape word, as eBay has a company policy about selling pre-order items that the reseller may not physically have in their possession. This is the second pre-order debacle in as many weeks as theNintendo 64 Switch Controller launched, sold out, then went live on eBay moments after the Nintendo Online store ran out of their pre-order allotment.
The Xbox social team was responding to some fans, explaining that there will be more chances to get the Xbox mini-fridge on December 5th, the official launch date of the item. Aaron Greenberg, GM of Xbox Marketing sent out a tweet assuring fans that the majority of inventory will be available in-store at Target in attempts to quell anger directed at the company and retailers. The frustrations with buyinga game console or any gaming-related productcontinue to affect the market as opportunists continue to see the gaming space as an area ripe for exploitation and retailers slow to adapt even after a year.
TheXbox Series X Mini-Fridgeofficially goes on sale on December 5th.
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