Even without new entries in the Wii franchise on the horizon, flippers (folks who buy merchandise with the intent to resell it at a higher price online in the face of high demand) are managing to get prices on the upside of US$550 for the system—more than twice the system's retail value.

Wii systems have been hard to come by for a full year now, and if these prices are anything to go by, the holiday season is going to be a full-bore repeat of last, with shoppers and flippers alike buying up entire shipments of the console the minute store doors open.

Scalpers' delight: Wii price surges to $500-600 on Ebay, Amazon Marketplace (gkrykewy, NeoGAF)