360 Bundle: Prem + Dead Rising + TDU + Saints Row

[Shifty Geezer]

That's true. But then neither does it make much sense to sell a console cheap and then bundle in the likely most popular titles instead of selling them separately!

Fry's don't seem to concerned with turning a profit, if this is their usual pricing behaviour. I guess they're actually a front for the Illuminate or Masons or some underground Geek movement.

 

[Nesh]

For those still holding out. Fry's aka outpost.com has a 360 bundle for GREAT price.

Prem + Dead Rising + TDU + Saints Row all for $360. Great deal for those still on the fence or holding out for a price drop.

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5017865

taken from GAF: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123118

Wow thast what I d call a superb offer

 

[Powderkeg]

Based on my past experiences with Fry's it would not surprise me a bit to find that they are selling refurbished and repackaged 360's as new ones.

 

[rumaki]

Deal seems dead as you cannot add it to your cart.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Deal seems dead as you cannot add it to your cart.

It doesn't seem to exist at all anymore.

 

[tcrews]

I can't find that Amazon deal anywhere (or any amazon bundle)

We will definitely see bundles going forward as the games are aging and as Acert said, the system is already costing less to produce.

The deal on Amazon is during October you get the system and one of the above games, not both. You get a coupon from Amazon for the game.

 

[Powderkeg]

The deal on Amazon is during October

It is October.

He still can't find the Amazon deal.

 

[thatdude90210]

Fry's has ridiculously cheap cpu/mobo bundles all the time... never seen anyone attribute anything negative about Intel's or AMD's sales due to those bundles.

 

[cthellis42]

It is October.

He still can't find the Amazon deal.

I refer folks to my above post.

That WAS that link for the GoW/Pinata deal, but now it's for different titles instead. It will probably keep changing to be different games throughout the month. <shrugs>

The Outpost deal is tremendous. The Amazon deal...? Not so much.

 

[scooby_dooby]

I think the discussion point is not whether bundle of sorts exist. The Fry's bundle seems to top all of them. Am I correct ?

Well the bundle I'm talking about is an official MS bundle, with a custom box and everything bundled inside, not just a promotion from a retail outlet.

Canada has already recieved one, just a matter of time till the US gets theirs.

 

[patsu]

Fry's has ridiculously cheap cpu/mobo bundles all the time... never seen anyone attribute anything negative about Intel's or AMD's sales due to those bundles.

Different business. CPU retail price changes by the day and mobos are not consumer devices. In any case, the Fry's deal is not necessarily all bad.

Well the bundle I'm talking about is an official MS bundle, with a custom box and everything bundled inside, not just a promotion from a retail outlet.

Canada has already recieved one, just a matter of time till the US gets theirs.

I see. Given that MS gets its share of the console profit only after they are sold at Point-of-Sales... MS should have a say in Fry's promotion too (especially with heavy discount). As someone mentioned, we'll have to see if this deep discount applies elsewhere.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I see. Given that MS gets its share of the console profit only after they are sold at Point-of-Sales... MS should have a say in Fry's promotion too (especially with heavy discount).

I don't see why. As long as they're paid whatever they're due, why should they care how much of a profit/loss the retailer is getting? They don't make any money from the game disc sales either, so that's not an issue.

 

[patsu]

I don't see why. As long as they're paid whatever they're due, why should they care how much of a profit/loss the retailer is getting? They don't make any money from the game disc sales either, so that's not an issue.

Retail price is a strategic issue. Usually it is enforced by the product vendor to manage demand, optimize profitability and also prevent issues like parallel import.

If Fry's is subsidizing the promo, then it may be a non-issue to MS (number-wise) in that region/account, but it may cause problems for neighbouring regions or even other partners.

In some cases, the discount can also be funded by both (e.g., Fry's promises to take title of many Xbox 360 in exchange for steeper discount from MS). In which case, MS will do its own math to see if the bulk deal is worthwhile. At the same time, the lower price may attract people who would not have bought Xbox 360 (good), or it could be forward sales (taking Xbox 360 customers from the future -- can be good or bad). Whatever the outcome, MS still exercise control to approve/reject such deals.

If MS loses control over retail price (e.g., let retailers lower prices without coordination), consumers may actually wait for the "best" lower price before buying. This has happened to some hi-tech, bakery and fashion companies.

Note that I'm not saying the Fry's deal is bad. I'm pointing out that a product vendor typically wants to control the retail price. Special discount usually requires approvals.

 

[cthellis42]

http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/outpost/get-a-sweet-xbox360-bundle-this-weekend-206186.php

Fry's Outpost is out of the Xbox360 bundles we posted about in the Morning Deals, but fear not!

If you missed the package, which contained a XBOX 360 Premium Console, Saint's Row, Dead Rising, Test Drive Unlimited for only $359.96 (a $200 savings)....

Starting this Saturday at 5am Eastern Pacfic Time, Fry's Outpost will have the same bundle, or even better, available for purchase. The Fry's rep we talked to said it's part of their big anniversary sale.

An anniversary sale? More like CONSPIRACY sale!

 

[Geo]

Yeah, there's been threads like this in the past, it just suddenly stroke me as odd and as a straight out advertising message.
Nothing to do with being specifically an xbox in question.
Still, as the discussion is continuing in a general manner about bundles, it might be ok.

Mods have some latitude to make a judgement call. Speaking personally, I'm always going to look first at the poster. If I see a Registered userclass with a post count < 5, sayonara.

Actual members (22psi has over 100 posts) are going to get some latitude, so long as they don't also have a history of abuse and warnings to knock it off, etc.

It's never been our policy to prevent you guys from being informed of good and interesting deals, and particularly (as someone noted) they also give some visibility of what's going on in the market in general. We just don't want you bombarded by spammers with a personal financial interest, and probably a damn questionable ability to fulfill their offers.

 

[Boke]

Some folks are reporting that they're order has been canceled.. I knew it was to good to be true.
My order still says its processing but I'm sure it will be canceled.

Oh well, I may give the Wii a shot after all!

 

[Acert93]

It's never been our policy to prevent you guys from being informed of good and interesting deals, and particularly (as someone noted) they also give some visibility of what's going on in the market in general. We just don't want you bombarded by spammers with a personal financial interest, and probably a damn questionable ability to fulfill their offers.

Exactly, even as a non-ad this is a pretty interesting and relevant discussion to the industry.

Which, just because I remembered such:

The $399 Premium SKU doesn't contain $100 more "stuff" than the $299 Core SKU.

Basically the HDD and Wireless controller probably cost MS no more than $50. i.e. The Core SKU is more expensive for MS to sell.

So any cuts on the Premium SKU are less drastic in some ways than cuts into the Core SKU, as MS loses more per unit on the Core than the Premium.

$360 for the Premium and $299 for the Core actually seems "reasonable" considering the differences in the packages. $399 is just MS losing less per unit... so a price drop on the Premium wouldn't tell us much OTHER than MS's willingness to lose as much per Premium as they already do per Core.

 

[cthellis42]

Some folks are reporting that they're order has been canceled.. I knew it was to good to be true.
My order still says its processing but I'm sure it will be canceled.

Oh well, I may give the Wii a shot after all!

Considering they got Digged (among other things), I can certainly see their orders exceeding capactiy. One wonders if they'd give folks the option of shifting their order to the one on Saturday, if they are indeed repeating the same.

 

[cthellis42]

Thank you for your recent Frys.com order. Unfortunately, a
clerical error was made during the composition of the Ad for an
item contained in order # XXXXXXXXXXXX

Due to the error we will be unable to fulfill your request.
Your order has been cancelled. Please note that your credit card
has not been charged. For further assistance you may contact us
by phone at 1-877-688-7678 or Email at service@outpost.com

In other words...

One wonders just what percentage got through.

 

[cthellis42]

According to the manager I spoke with, NONE of the packages that night were redeemed, so if anyone's got through it would be interesting to note. (And be used as leverage for them to make good on our own cancelled ones. Aren't companies basically obliged to make good on any offers made--clerical error or not? Within the bounds of reason, of course...)

At any rate, the deal is back up: https://shop1.outpost.com/product/5017865?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

...but at a much less HOLY CRAP!!! price: $450

If you're wanting most/all of the game ANYWAY, it's still pretty good, but otherwise it isn't so hot.

I was told today is the last day for the deal. Who knows if the "Saturday at 5am" bit actually means something? Not I...