According to an Internet user's blog, an individual called "Eiji" and his three friends ransacked approximately 30 stores in Japan two months ago for reservations, and came up big on launch day, acquiring 150 PlayStation 3 consoles. With more units than most retail stores' allocations, "Eiji" and his friends are seeking to profit from their foresight. They certainly aren't the only ones who are trying to cash in on the demand curve, as an informal poll of those interested in buying a PlayStation 3 at launch shows at there are more people aiming to flip it for a quick profit than keep it for gaming.

Prior to launch, many were selling pre-orders through eBay, where auctions ran up to several thousand dollars. Supply of (not quite) guaranteed pre-orders were in short supply, and the theories of economics took over.

Now that Japanese online auction sites have been flooded with PlayStation 3s, it appears that the laws of supply and demand have been called into duty. Of course, supply for the PlayStation 3 is still at an all-time high, but with a much greater pool of product to bid on, auction prices have dropped dramatically since launch day in Japan.

Thousands of PS3 consoles have hit Yahoo! Japan auctions, with some smart bidders grabbing machines for near-retail prices. The Associated Press reports that, "some had game software thrown in with the machine, selling near the retail price of about 60,000 yen (US$510; €400) for the more expensive model with a 60-gigabyte hard drive, and 50,000 yen (US$420; €330) for the cheaper model."

Undoubtedly, U.S. auction Web sites will see a rapid influx of PlayStation 3 following launch this Friday, November 17, which opens up the possibility of dropping auction-end prices.