p@rrish blog

Wii Fit with Balance Board seems to be in great demand since its release on May 21. It has become harder to find than the Wii itself. However, I have one, and it wasn’t as hard to get as you might think. No, I didn’t rush out on the release date and stand in line before the stores opened. No, I didn’t pre-order it online. No, I didn’t pay twice the price on Amazon or eBay… Here’s what I did:

I went to Walmart.com. It is “Out of Stock” online, but they have this handy little feature called “Find in Stores” where you enter your zip code and they show you the availability at stores near you. Nearly all the stores are sold out at any given time, but a few random stores get shipments in every day.

This handy list is updated in the wee (or is it Wii?) hours of every morning. So, all you have to do is wake up early every morning and check the list (link). If the item is listed as “In Stock” or “Limited Stock”, you’re in luck. I would suggest giving the store’s electronics department a call to make sure they actually still have it before you make the drive. They won’t hold it for you, but you might get lucky like I did… the store where I found mine was keeping them behind the counter, out of view. Otherwise I’m sure they would have sold before I got there (I got the last one!).

This isn’t limited to Wii Fit. You should be able to track down anything Wal-Mart carries. What a nice feature, eh?