How much would you pay for one of these?

I got e-mail from my friend Karin on Tuesday asking if they were selling XBox 360s here in Iqaluit. I said I doubt it, because it normally takes awhile for those sorts of items to make their way up here.

She said that's too bad, because they were going for about $2,000 U.S. on eBay.

I seriously thought she was just messing with my mind. After all, who in their right mind would pay that much for a system that literally just came out. I mean, it was hours old when that bid went. Nobody is that crazy.



Today she sent me a posting from eBay for another winning bid on an XBox 360 - $12,100.

Are you fucking kidding me? Are there people that seriously mentally retarded to spend that much on a system that ordinarily goes for, what, $500?

I guess there must be. I just checked myself, kind of in shock. There are dozens of 360 listings that will close in the next couple of hours. I just watched one close at $1,000, so maybe things have calmed down. I'm assuming the rest of them will close at a similar level, but who knows. Maybe this guy got lucky and got a "deal."

I don't care how good a gaming system it is. To pay double, quadruple or whatever mutiple you want to assign to $12,100...you're nuts. For that much money, I'm assuming the system hops up from the TV set and blows you. It must. It's the only reason to pay that much.

Additional
Apparently I was right about the XBox blowing, just not in the way I though. Some sites are reporting that the 360 keeps crashing, no matter what game or setting. It's only early yet, but would anyone be really surprised to discover that Microsoft prematurely released a buggy piece of crap prone to crashing?

Last 5 on iPod
1. Secret World - Peter Gabriel (Secret World Live)
2. Horses - The Be Good Tanyas (Chinatown)
3. Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies (All Their Greatest Hits
4. Lighthouse - Ron Hynes (Face To The Gale)
5. Now that you're gone - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals (Cold Roses)