Open-box Wiimotes $25 each

[Samstag]

Check them out here.  Sale lasts until tomorrow afternoon or when stock runs out.  They may have cosmetic blemishes and might be missing batteries, but there's a 30-day guarantee.

They seem to be a bit like Woot.com, minus the clever humor.  I ordered a couple of open-box 360 controllers from them yesterday and I'll probably grab one of these, but I don't have any other experience with them.  Heresay on the internets seems mostly positive with a few bad customer service experiences.  Use them at your own risk.

[ahofle]

Thx for the link.

They seem to be a bit like Woot.com, minus the clever humor. 

And minus basic English skills LOL:
"We here these things are kinda in demand..."

[Kangum]

sold out.

[tommy]

I wouldn't touch used electronics like these. Chances are they have been dropped and or bashed into something at some point in it's lifetime. Even with a 30 day guarantee.

[Howard_Casto]

True, but these are nintendo products.  Nintendo's stuff doesn't break.

[ChadTower]

It also doesn't get returned, so where do open box items come from?

[shmokes]

A lot of people think their remotes are defective when they first get them because they don't read their instruction manuals and realize you need to use the synchro button inside the battery compartment, in conjunction with a relatively hidden button on the Wii to get the controller talking to the console.  My brother returned the first controller he bought, thinking it was defective.  He works at Target in the electronics dept. and says that since then he's explained it to quite a few people who have returned supposedly defective Wii controllers.

If this is the case, these controllers may have been open-box, but never used.  That would be a good deal indeed.

[tommy]

If you're not able to test them first there is no point in shipping controllers back in forth if needed, just buy one new or used from a place where you can test it first.

[shmokes]

Well . . . these are out of stock, so it's probably neither here nor there.  I can definitely see where you're coming from about being sure they're working before laying down cash.  But $25 is a pretty great price.  If I was in the market for controllers I probably would have risked it.

[ChadTower]

A lot of people think their remotes are defective when they first get them because they don't read their instruction manuals and realize you need to use the synchro button inside the battery compartment, in conjunction with a relatively hidden button on the Wii to get the controller talking to the console. 

I just set up my Wii and didn't have to do that.  It worked as soon as I had the strip set up and batteries in the Wiimote.

[shmokes]

All the more reason that people think their remotes are broken when they buy new ones from the store and they don't just automatically work like the one that came with the system did.

BTW, what do you think?  Is it worth all the fuss?

[ChadTower]

Haven't used it more than ten minutes yet.  Once I got it onto the net it took 2+ hours to update itself and then we left to go to the inlaws' house.

[tommy]

All the more reason that people think their remotes are broken when they buy new ones from the store and they don't just automatically work like the one that came with the system did.

BTW, what do you think?  Is it worth all the fuss?

If you buy electronics and do not know what you're doing then that's that persons fault. If you have problems working the things you buy, people need to take the time to read the instructions, yes, I know that's not a common practice among most people but it needs to be done.

I can see how a person who is not familiar with these sorts of things thinking it's broken as you said and that's why it might be returned, but I think the possibility of that and It just have been abused being a much higher chance then a fool bringing it back.

[boykster]

True, but these are nintendo products.  Nintendo's stuff doesn't break.

 

[ChadTower]

BTW, what do you think?  Is it worth all the fuss?

I got to spend about 20 minutes with it last night after we got home.  I was thoroughly exhausted by then, and there is only a small bit of room not quite straight on the TV set, the rest of the room is taken up by the Xmas tree and furniture.  Our living room is small.  I only played Wii Sports... boxed a match, did some training, then on to baseball training and the Wii Sports Age test.  Boxing was fun but I had trouble getting it to throw an overhand right.  For baseball it only took 5 pitches before I was hitting 500ft homeruns on about every 4th pitch.  My Wii Sports Age is 49 because I spent most of the test trying to figure out the subtleties of control.

I'm surprised at how "on" the controls feel and how easy they were to pick up with only a couple of on screen prompts.  That opinion could easily change once I've played games that weren't specifically designed to show off the controls but so far it's pretty cool. 

[nostrebor]

A lot of people think their remotes are defective when they first get them because they don't read their instruction manuals and realize you need to use the synchro button inside the battery compartment, in conjunction with a relatively hidden button on the Wii to get the controller talking to the console. 

I just set up my Wii and didn't have to do that.  It worked as soon as I had the strip set up and batteries in the Wiimote.

That is because they (Nintendo) sync the remote that comes with the console. It says that right in the instructions. If you buy additional remotes, you have to sync them yourself. It also says that in the instructions.

I fall into that very small minority of men that read an instruction manual from cover to cover before using a device. It has saved me from more than a few headaches. Plus making your kids wait until you've read the book before using their Wii is a great way to pay them back for getting up at 5:00 am on Christmas Morning.

We had great fun with the new console yesterday. Today my shoulder hurts. I may be too old, fat, and out of shape for this console.

[ChadTower]

Bah to instructions.     I do have to break them out soon to figure out the friend code stuff, though, and to see if I can lock the kids out of the Shop channel.

The worst revenge was probably the 2+ hours it took to update itself when I connected it to the internet.  The kids were climbing up the walls waiting and by the time it was done we had to leave anyway.

Perhaps Wii Fit is in order...?   

It appears as though the model of chip this one would need is way beyond my soldering skills.  Poo.


EDIT:  Just saw that Radio Shack has a recharge station for $20 this week.  Anyone have one?

[CheffoJeffo]

We had great fun with the new console yesterday. Today my shoulder hurts. I may be too old, fat, and out of shape for this console.

Ditto ... on all counts ...

 

[knave]

Plus making your kids wait until you've read the book before using their Wii is a great way to pay them back for getting up at 5:00 am on Christmas Morning.

Hehe, I didn't tell my kids we had a Wii...I played with it for two days, tucking it in the video game area before they noticed.    That was fun. 

I had to get out the instructions to sync my second Wiimote...I never would have found that tiny button. (That's what my wife said anyways,  )

My wife likes to stomp me in tennis, and I her in bowling. We have Super mario bros on the VC and that is fun too...

[ChadTower]

(That's what my wife said anyways,  )

 

I found the buttons right away but didn't know exactly what they did until I got the book out.  I'm the guy that opens a box, tosses the instructions aside, and then pours over every physical detail of the hardware before doing anything else.