Nearby Networks Reveals the Top Ten Most Sought-After Items by Online Shoppers During the 2006 Holiday Season

Online shoppers show willingness to pay premium prices for hard-to-find items such as PlayStation 3, TMX Elmo and Wii.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 28, 2006 -- Nearby Networks today revealed the top ten most sought-after items of the 2006 holiday season by online shoppers. Topping the list is the Sony PlayStation® 3 (PS3), garnering a sales price often more than double the manufacturers’ suggested retail price of $499.99. Other items on the list, ranging from TMXTM Tickle Me Elmo to Nintendo’s WiiTM to “Boondock Saints” movie merchandise, had shoppers searching and paying high premiums for hard-to-find items.

The full list of sought-after items in the online arena includes:

Not surprisingly, the ‘always available’ deals were often the ‘worst deals’ because game consoles were very, very scarce—and those deals were at the auction sites, where some of the most passionate gamers were willing to pay huge premiums over retail price

Nearby Networks gathered this information through its new Web-based service called BidNearby.com, which 2.5 million online shoppers used within the last month to find some of the season’s hottest gifts. BidNearby.com, which went live less than 60 days ago, focuses on helping people find highly desirable items available in their geographic areas.

While some shoppers used BidNearby.com to find the best available retail prices for some items (such as iPods and computers), other shoppers entered hotly contested bidding wars for hard-to-find items. Online shoppers demonstrated a willingness to pay premium prices for certain items, such as PS3s (with a selling price averaging between $750 and $1,000 versus an MSRP of $499.99 for 20 GB version or $599.99 for 60 GB version), TMX Tickle Me Elmo (with a selling price averaging $55 to $85 versus $40 MSRP) and Wii’s (with a selling price averaging $250 to $500 versus $250 MSRP).

“Not surprisingly, the ‘always available’ deals were often the ‘worst deals’ because game consoles were very, very scarce—and those deals were at the auction sites, where some of the most passionate gamers were willing to pay huge premiums over retail price,” Andy Estes, CEO of Nearby Networks.

Here’s how the service works: Shoppers visit BidNearby.com (or one of its niche sites which focuses on a specific item such as Ps3.BidNearBy.com and Wii.BidNearBy.com) and the site automatically identifies the approximate location of the shopper and tells him or her where to find the item(s) locally. BidNearby.com aggregates information about available items from numerous different sites, including eBay, Amazon, Craig’s List, Best Buy, Target and more. In addition to locating the items, the BidNearby sites feature tips and rumors about the upcoming availability of sought-after products within a shopper’s region.

For more information about BidNearby.com, visit www.bidnearby.com.

Contact:
Beth Andrix Monaghan
617-264-0420
Meg O’Leary
978-779-9884

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7. Xbox 360 9. Apple iPods 9. Suzuki GSXR 10. Computers What in the world is Boondock Saints?

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