PS3

MSRP of PS3 is US$600. 200,000 units were sold in the states during launch. It is estimated that Sony is losing $250 on every unit it sold. The lost can be recovered from the selling of software and accessories.

PS3 launch has generated enough hype. Customers lining up/ camping in front of the stores in order to get the limited quantity of available units. People were fighting, and stepping on each others while rushing in to the stores..

There are over 22,000 PS3 listings on eBay at the moment. Starting bid can be anywhere from $0.01 to the $10,000,000. All the exaggerated closing numbers you heard in the news, that were so close to winning a lottery, were real, but they were more just book numbers.

In the eBay community, the most difficult part is to get people to pay. Look into the details of those listings and you will realize most of the winning bidders does not have any legitimate trading history on eBay. Which means it is very likely that the seller won't get the gigantic sum they were hoping.

To me, even $1,000 for a PS3 is way too much. The PS3 units they are selling is not a limited edition, or the last batch that is going into production, they are just the regular units that Sony is going to market for the next few years. People may be paying more for scarcity, but if the information that Sony will have at least 4 more shipments of PS3 before Christmas is true, then there is no real shortage of supply of the game console. The extra money people paid are just the price for earlier admission.

The world is changing. So does the value system. Our desires control our spending patterns. But Alfred Marshall's supply-demand model still holds true. Customers are willing to pay a premium as long as the supply is lower than the demand.

http://www.ps3news.ca/11172006/14/dont_believe_the_ps3_ebay_hype