Delays are good for Gamestop

Stranger 109:

“For each pre-order they take, they collect the minimum of $5 to hold. Because the upcoming HALO 3 comes in three different price points: $59.99 for the regular edition, $69.99 for the Limited Edition, and $129.99 for the Legendary Edition (pictured right), GameStop requires $5, $10, and $25 respectively to hold a pre-order. Assuming that most gamers only pre-ordered the regular edition (which is probably not the case), that would translate into 5 million dollars. But this could easily inflate to 10 million because the Legendary Edition is expected to sell out before the street date of September 25. So for just one game, GameStop will be holding anywhere from 5 to 10 million of their customer’s dollars for nothing more than the promise of supplying a game. One that could be widely available if they simply stocked it on their shelves.”