Oculus Rift to be Sold in Best Buy, Amazon, and Microsoft by May 7th

[Wander Away]

Article here: http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/2/11565972/oculus-rift-retail-sale-demo-best-buy-amazon-microsoft

 

Quote

The Oculus Rift is coming to retail stores this weekend, and things just got a little more complicated for preorder customers. On May 7th, 48 Best Buy locations across the US will start offering demos of Oculus' virtual reality headset. The chains will also have an "extremely limited" supply of Rifts available for purchase, marking the headsets' first appearance in brick-and-mortar stores. For anyone who can't make it to Best Buy, a small number will also be going on sale online through Amazon and the Microsoft Store, starting at 12PM ET on May 6th.

 

Meanwhile I'm still waiting on my preorder that was placed on the first day it opened. It was pushed back to be shipped by June 20 to 30.

I feel a bit... left out. 

[WaterproofBeanie]

So you can buy it in stores before preorderers get theirs? hmmm

[Dietrichw]

I find it strange that people are complaining that they are having "some" retail units. Stores can also make orders and probably had retail units ordered before individual pre-orders were available to the public. 

[christianled59]

That's bullshit. This is really fucking over those who preordered. They need to compensate a little more than just free shipping.

 

I'm still waiting on my vive. I'd be very pissed if something like this happens with the vive.

[Optmus Prime]

this does not make me happy at all..... im not expected to get mine until mid July and i prerecorded it with in a hour of it going up......

[Derangel]

Most likely they made commitments to retailer that they absolutely have to meet. As much as it sucks they can afford to push back the average consumer's order to meet retail demands. If they piss off retailers then no one will stock the product and they're in big trouble. Still, they need to issue some kind of statement to people that pre-ordered simply explaining why they're sending units to stores before everyone else that is getting delays on their orders.

[Rune]

Retailers get to order before the general public. This is always how things work, why is anyone surprised?

Edit: As a side note, I look forward to toying with one even if I can't buy it

[unsubscribed]

I personally am not willing to spend nearly €1000 (yes, that is the cost of Rift/Vive here in Europe) on first generation device hoping for direct manufacturer's support should something go wrong. Especially in case of Oculus where they have pretty much no retail background.

Once HTC Vive and Oculus are sold on Amazon site by Amazon then yes, I will buy one. Only because I know their support are one of the best when it comes to replacing defective device or returning one that did not meet your expectations.

[jaggysnake57]

3 hours ago, christianled59 said:

That's bullshit. This is really fucking over those who preordered. They need to compensate a little more than just free shipping.

 

I'm still waiting on my vive. I'd be very pissed if something like this happens with the vive.

nope, its your own fault for pre ordering

[Lethal Seraph]

I want to try it myself. Not sure if there's any demo units around Dayton, OH though.

[Sakkura]

3 hours ago, edsdrafts said:

I personally am not willing to spend nearly €1000 (yes, that is the cost of Rift/Vive here in Europe) on first generation device hoping for direct manufacturer's support should something go wrong. Especially in case of Oculus where they have pretty much no retail background.

Once HTC Vive and Oculus are sold on Amazon site by Amazon then yes, I will buy one. Only because I know their support are one of the best when it comes to replacing defective device or returning one that did not meet your expectations.

The Rift is cheaper than that. 699€ to be precise. 

[unsubscribed]

1 hour ago, Sakkura said:

The Rift is cheaper than that. 699€ to be precise. 

Excluding shipment. Also, I am not looking for Rift, more interested into HTC Vive. Either way none are available in store in Ireland or on amazon.co.uk

[Sakkura]

1 minute ago, edsdrafts said:

Excluding shipment. Also, I am not looking for Rift, more interested into HTC Vive. Either way none are available in store in Ireland or on amazon.co.uk

Shipping is free for preorders before 1 April.

[unsubscribed]

1 hour ago, Sakkura said:

Shipping is free for preorders before 1 April.

Not if I to buy one now. Pre-order does not interest me much, I would like to test it first, especially when it comes to VR. I just hope some retailers in Ireland will be doing it shortly. Either that or amazon.co.uk listing sold by Amazon so I could buy with confidence.

[christianled59]

6 hours ago, jaggysnake57 said:

nope, its your own fault for pre ordering

Preordering in this case is different than a video game. There has been plenty of reviews and I needed mine asap for game development. Besides, the preorder comes with like $80 of free VR games. 

[dmegatool]

Hope Best Buy Canada will get some too... 

[dalekphalm]

10 minutes ago, dmegatool said:

Hope Best Buy Canada will get some too... 

Eventually, but I wouldn't count on it happening any time soon. By end of summer if you're extremely lucky.

[Sakkura]

1 hour ago, edsdrafts said:

Not if I to buy one now. Pre-order does not interest me much, I would like to test it first, especially when it comes to VR. I just hope some retailers in Ireland will be doing it shortly. Either that or amazon.co.uk listing sold by Amazon so I could buy with confidence.

Yeah not if you buy now, but that's not really relevant to the discussion about preorders. And many preorderers will be able to test it first, in the US at least. I mean lots of people who ordered on day one still dont have their Rift, so just imagine the people who put their order through the rest of January, February, and March. They would be able to check it out IRL and then cancel (if necessary) before they get their Rift in July-August.

[CTR640]

8 hours ago, jaggysnake57 said:

nope, its your own fault for pre ordering

This! Only those people who pre-ordered shit, have only themself to blame.

And that's why, kids, don't do pre-ordering.

 

This is basically the same as pre-ordering games and you'll get are bugs, crashes and glitches.

[dmegatool]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

By end of summer if you're extremely lucky.

Wow we're getting this in 2021 then

[Misanthrope]

I think I'll get a Vive just to spite Oculus. 

[Unhelpful]

2 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

I think I'll get a Vive just to spite Oculus. 

And because it's looking like it's a purely superior product.

[Sky Daddy]

11 minutes ago, JoeyDM said:

And because it's looking like it's a purely superior product.

Once touch is released, they're both going to be nearly identical.

 

I'm getting the rift if only for convenience/comfort. (lack of built in headphones on the vive is a major inconvenience)

[GoodBytes]

Can't you go and buy it at BestBuy or Microsoft Store, come back home, and cancel your pre-order?

 

Anyway, this is not new, and it all highlights the many problem of pre-order. I never pre-order anything, as you pay for a promise, with lots of hype, and not the product itself which you can determine if it is worth it or not.

 

[Atmos]

thats kind of shitty. though...  i suspect they are having trouble with preorders because the retailers bought up as many as they could before preorders went public. 

 

Eitherway imma still wait for vr, both of my rigs are ready, but i just dont have the cash atm, and i still have my gen 1 rift dk1 from the original crowd funding. It screen doors like a bitch, makes you nausious to use, and tracks like shit, but hey, its w/e