Consoles on eBay – and is TMX Elmo worth it?

Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, called “black” because accountants use red ink for losses and black ink for income. Black Friday is a nice way to start the end-of-year shopping extravaganza.

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, the unofficial start of the online shopping season, and Reuters got together eBay, Shoppin.com, and PriceGrabber to see what’s going on.

Elmo. TMX Elmo was the most searched-for-item on Black Friday on eBay and Shoppin.com. On eBay, 2,537 TMX Elmos were sold on Black Friday for an average price of US$ 70.10. That’s far less than the 250 bucks I saw as an asking price for a TMX Elmo.

Is Elmo worth it? For 250 you can have lots of giggles with a Wii or a PSP Entertainment Pack. Seriously, the whirring of the TMX Elmo’s motors, the horribly stricken look on its face, and its jolty and nervous movements make it look as cuddly as a metal clucking chicken. Other QJ writers think its adorable.

Still, I just watched Pink’s “Stupid Girls” video and I agree: girls should grow up to be presidents and scientists instead of bimbos and beauty queens – so get your little girl a robust game console (that engages the mind) instead of a stuffed toy. Gosh I sound bitter, don’t I? Maybe it’s just because TMX Elmo’s always sold out.

The consoles. You might have heard that people are selling PS3s and Wiis on eBay. We might have mentioned that once or twice. Here’s a count of how many has been sold so far.

• PS3: 14,675 sold – average price of US$ 1,186.39
• Wii: 26,708 sold – average price of US$ 412.53

This is the home stretch people! The last few yards! The shopping season is upon us, and we’ll see the sales of consoles and games go up. We’re excited to see what the figures will be come 2007 (we mean sales figures, not waistlines – go easy on the gravy and eggnog!).

By the way, with all the interest in console gaming, it’s no wonder that TV sets were the most searched-for item on Shopping.com.

Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, called “black” because accountants use red ink for losses and black ink for income. Black Friday is a nice way to start the end-of-year shopping extravaganza.

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, the unofficial start of the online shopping season, and Reuters got together eBay, Shoppin.com, and PriceGrabber to see what’s going on.

Elmo. TMX Elmo was the most searched-for-item on Black Friday on eBay and Shoppin.com. On eBay, 2,537 TMX Elmos were sold on Black Friday for an average price of US$ 70.10. That’s far less than the 250 bucks I saw as an asking price for a TMX Elmo.

Is Elmo worth it? For 250 you can have lots of giggles with a Wii or a PSP Entertainment Pack. Seriously, the whirring of the TMX Elmo’s motors, the horribly stricken look on its face, and its jolty and nervous movements make it look as cuddly as a metal clucking chicken. Other QJ writers think its adorable.

Still, I just watched Pink’s “Stupid Girls” video and I agree: girls should grow up to be presidents and scientists instead of bimbos and beauty queens – so get your little girl a robust game console (that engages the mind) instead of a stuffed toy. Gosh I sound bitter, don’t I? Maybe it’s just because TMX Elmo’s always sold out.

The consoles. You might have heard that people are selling PS3s and Wiis on eBay. We might have mentioned that once or twice. Here’s a count of how many has been sold so far.

• PS3: 14,675 sold – average price of US$ 1,186.39
• Wii: 26,708 sold – average price of US$ 412.53

This is the home stretch people! The last few yards! The shopping season is upon us, and we’ll see the sales of consoles and games go up. We’re excited to see what the figures will be come 2007 (we mean sales figures, not waistlines – go easy on the gravy and eggnog!).

By the way, with all the interest in console gaming, it’s no wonder that TV sets were the most searched-for item on Shopping.com.