Samsung Galaxy Nexus

This morning I added the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to the Verizon Mobile Phones In Stock Tracker. Not sure how many of these phones are out there, but I do know there was tremendous interest in this mobile phone. If stock continues to hold at the current levels, there will be options in getting your own Galaxy Nexus. Visit the aforementioned tracker to see where it is available. If stock dries up, well then sign up for our FREE in stock alerts and when our trackers see stock available for purchase, we will alert you! PLEASE NOTE: I am not sure how tracking will work with Verizon Wireless or more aptly, how accurate it will be. Typically you need to enter a zip code prior to adding an item to your account. Amazon Wireless and Best Buy are great in that there is no need for a zip code to see if stock is available.

Vigilance

If you have already read my note for acquiring super hot items, and you chose to heed the advice contained within, then you might have succeeded this morning with acquiring a LeapPad Explorer from Toys R Us. In Stock statuses began to show to our tracker at about 7:42 AM EST. It continued to pop in and out of stock for the next 30 minutes. Then all of the sudden at 8:12 AM EST inventory showed as in stock constantly for the next 44 minutes. This is a prime example of what I meant by Remaining Vigilant in that note. If you are still looking for a LeapPad Explorer and are signed up for alerts, then I really suggest you read the piece on Acquiring Super Hot Items as it currently applies to the LeapPad Explorer. I have directed many people to that note and many have thanked me as a result. I wrote it for a reason, to help you get that LeapPad Explorer!

See, we at NowInStock.net do read to those product suggestion requests you make. Here are a few of the latest in stock trackers we recently launched to help users get their hands on the latest hard-to-find items:

Orbeez Soothing Spa In Stock Tracker – spa experience for the young ones.

VTech KidiJamz Studio In Stock Tracker – Let the little ones jam it out; you might just have the next Idol.

Power Wheels In Stock Tracker – Not sure if Power Wheels fit into the Play 60 motto, but they sure can be a blast!

Also, we added tracking for the Disney Princess Sing-Along Boom Box which can now be found in the Disney Tracker.

And lastly, we have been updating the UK based trackers. It looks like the US isn’t the only place having trouble picking up the LeapPads. If you are from the UK and looking for a LeapPad, then head over to the NowInStock.net UK LeapPad Explorer In Stock Tracker.

Just a  quick note to let interested parties know we just released two new trackers on the site today.

Hot Wheels

Those looking to get their hands on the Hot Wheels Wall Tracks Starter Set, you now can sign up for the free alerts via the Hot Wheels Tracker.

LEGO Kingdoms

If you are interested in getting a LEGO Kingdoms King’s Castle, then you will be happy to know we released the LEGO Kingdoms In Stock Tracker.

Weekly update on all that is happening around the world of hot, hard-to-find products and NowInStock.net

Amazon Cancels Pre-Orders for Transformer Prime

This is one of the most frustrating events to occur in sometime, at least for those that were eagerly awaiting their pre-ordered ASUS Transformer Prime. Amazon has decided to cancel a large portion, if not all, of the pre-orders placed for the Transformer Prime. And those that got their preorders are voicing their displeasure from commenting on the Amazon product pages of the Prime (which Amazon decided it should delete), to forums like over at TransformerForums.com to articles about the debacle on Engadget and Android and Me among others. I pre-ordered one myself and sure enough I also received the slap to the face. There is nothing more frustrating than having your anticipation squashed. What really irritates me is the canceling of the order. I expected delays on the Prime when I pre-ordered it, and I was willing to accept receiving my pre-order well into January/February. What I was not expecting was for Amazon to rip me out of line and kick me to the curb. This is what I call a failure of customer relations. Yet, I have a service representative trying to apologize to me when questioning the incident. I want whoever made the decision to rip me out of line to apologize for their failure. And I don’t care if the reasoning was ASUS is having issues with demand; I will wait in line!

But never fear, there are retailers still accepting pre-orders. They may or may not go through in the end, but at least you can try. If you are still interested in placing a Prime pre-order elsewhere, head over to our Transformer Prime In Stock Tracker to see who is still offering them.

LeapPad Explorer

LeapPad Explorer continues to shine in the sales department and there is no sign of demand letting up. We saw subscribers pouring into the site this past week. When adults have a neat toy, the kids will want one too. LeapPad is there to fill the void and give the kiddies something to play with while mommy and daddy use their own tablets. If you are going to want a LeapPad for Christmas day, you better register for our FREE in stock alerts now! If you really want a LeapPad, I suggest you sign up for a FREE account then get the Desktop or Browser Alerts running on your computer. These two methods are the fastest and most efficient at alerting you when stock is available. If you want to role the dice and see if stock is available right now, head over to our LeapPad In Stock Tracker.

Other Notables and New Items

While LeapPad is the clear dominator this holiday season, there are quite a few other products that are in demand, some were on the site last week, but we also have a few new ones:

Monster High Dolls – the Monster High Dolls strike again this year. With the hottest dolls being Toralei, Abbey, and Spectra. Holding steady near the top, but nowhere even close to LeapPad Explorer.
Angry Birds – taking the life of the party on your tablet offline was sure to be a hit. Angry Birds board game-style is selling like hotcakes. This past week interest has increased, but not much.
Lalaloopsy Dolls – Lalaloopsy is back again this year. Some interest is definitely there, but Monster High still tops them.
Doodle Bear – This cuddly little bear is not gaining anymore momentum.
Skylanders – seem to be warm, but even with a mention of shortages in inventory from Activision, interest still seems static.
Fijit Friends  – This is a new one of those dancing items. Not sure it will get any more interest, but I could be wrong. They are available fairly frequently.

What is NowInStock.net?

We are a web service that monitors the availability of hard-to-find products then alert you when those products come in stock. In order to receive these alerts, you need to register for FREE account, add items that you want alerted on to your account, then choose what types of alerts you want sent for each of these items. We offer TXT alerts, email alerts, browser alerts, and desktop alerts. Once in a while, we offer Twitter alerting (if Twitter allows us) when a product becomes really popular.

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all of those US readers out there. And with Thanskgiving comes the true beginning of the holiday season. This is also typically our high time of the year here at NowInStock.net and marks the  beginning of Holiday Hot Item Updates.

LeapPad Explorer

With the way things have been progressing on NowInStock.net and the rest of society, I think it is safe to say tablets of all types are here to stay for some time. As a result of this hot trend, we will have to predict that LeapFrog’s LeapPad Explorer will be the hottest item this holiday season. Subscribers are flooding to the site awaiting their next FREE alert to grab one of these LeapPad Explorers without the hassle of holiday shopping in stores or racing from store to store. Typically, when you have one hot item, a subsequent item then takes up some of the slack caused by lack of inventory. Will the VTech InnoTab be this item?

ASUS Transformer Prime

For all of the grown-ups out there, your tablet needs are not to be forgotten. ASUS has recently launched the long anticipated follow-up to their highly successful Android tablet from earlier this year called the ASUS Transformer with the latest version dubbed Transformer Prime. The first tablet sporting the brand new NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with 5 cores! Couple this with the tablet likely being one of the first tablets to land Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0, this tablet is poised to be a great follow-up to the original ASUS Transformer. Pre-orders are sold out on Amazon, yet there are still other places to get your order in. The official release date is still pretty vague, but it looks like December 8th is when inventory will start hitting the shelves. If you want to pre-order the Transformer Prime, head over to the Transformer Prime tracker.

Other Notables

Monster High Dolls – the Monster High Dolls strike again this year. With the hottest dolls being Toralei, Abbey, and Spectra.
Angry Birds – taking the life of the party on your tablet offline was sure to be a hit. Angry Birds board game-style is selling like hotcakes.
Doodle Bear – This cuddly like bear your kids can decorate with markers is making a presence this year, but can it gain anymore momentum?

To those new to NowInStock.net, we are a product inventory tracking site. If there is a hard-to-find item out there, that you are dying to get your hands on but can’t find it anywhere, we will constantly monitor retailer sites online to help you find it. When we find stock available for purchase, we alert you via TXT, email, or from within you Browser or Desktop… all for FREE! Register for a FREE account today. Or, make a product suggestion if we don’t already have a tracker for the item you are looking for.

A quick post to let all know I am currently working on adjusting Target. They have released a new site and all tracking of Target is now inaccurate. Making adjustments as I write this; everything should be functional and accurate again by noon. The season of new site launches is upon us and tracking may be affected as a result.

UPDATE: It appears Target is still working out the kinks on their site. Until they have a site running without errors, we will not be able to update the tracking fully. Over the next few days we will monitor Target.com to see how things progress.

I guess after 6 years of running this site, my database’s history table decided to crap out. So from this point forward history will once again begin from scratch.

While it was nice to look back and see when stock was last available, there was never really any valid analysis with regards to this history. As a result, I felt it was more important to get the site live ASAP instead of waiting for a history table that might be able to be repaired.

Wow, this past week has been really busy. Below is a quick update on some new things released here at NowInStock.net.

ASUS Transformer Madness!

The ASUS Transformer continues to be on fire. I even picked one up myself to give it a whirl since I have been waiting for the best Android tablet to come along at a reasonable price. The device does not go without some issues (to be expected), but overall my laptop has definitely seen less usage over the past week. It definitely is a nice device to have around. Now I just need to get that NowInStock.net Android app coded. If you are still looking for an ASUS Transformer to add to your tech collection, then head over to the ASUS Transformer In Stock Tracker and sign up for the FREE in stock alerts.

Toshiba Android Tablet Tracker Launched

We launched a Toshiba Android Tablet Tracker. Not many stores are currently listed, but more will be added as more retailers begin to list this item. This is another highly anticipated Android tablet, but rumors of high cost might ward off potential customers especially with the recent ASUS Transformer release. Want FREE in stock alerts for the Toshiba Android tablet? Head over to the Toshiba Android Tablet Tracker.

Chromebooks are coming!

The laptop might be nearing its end if Google has its way. The ever expanding cloud is coming to a netbook near you in the form of Chromebooks. Running the ChromeOS, these device don’t warrant large storage, the intent is to keep everything in the cloud and give users nothing but a browser and some apps. Currently, Chromebooks are being manufactured by Acer and Samsung at the time of this post with more to come I am sure. If you want to know the minute pre-orders for these devices begin, then head over to the new Chromebooks In Stock Tracker and sign up for the FREE alerts. If you want pre-order alerts for Chromebooks, make sure you turn on the pre-order switch! As soon as Best Buy launches product pages for Chromebooks, we will add them to the tracker and send all subscribers an update email so you can add them to your account.

Canon Video Cameras – XA10 HD

Lastly, we had a user request for another video camera tracker, the 2nd in a weeks time with the last one being the Sony Video Camera Tracker. The Canon XA10 is a newly released video camera that is back-ordered all over the place. If you are one of those people looking for the Canon XA10, then head over to the Canon Video Camera Tracker and sign up for the FREE alerts! We will notify you as soon as we see stock available for purchase.

If you haven’t noticed by now, the effects of the unfortunate earthquake and tsunami in Japan are finally being realized with regards to the digital camera market. Inventories are low and numerous “Out of Stock” messages are plastered all over the largest web retailer sites. From Amazon, to B&H Photo, to Adorama, the message is pretty clear that inventories are basically struggling for the majority of the top DSLR cameras out there.

After reviewing our in stock trackers here at NowInStock.net, the cameras which are showing major inventory shortages are the Canon 7D and T3i as well as the professional level Canon 1D Mark IV and 1Ds Mark III. As for Nikon, the hard-to-find models are professional level Nikon D3s and D3x as well as the pro-sumer models of D7000 Body and D700. As for Panasonic, their already super hot Panasonic GH2 has been lacking inventories right when it was starting to meet demand.

If you are having trouble finding these or any other cameras, then be sure to sign up for our FREE in stock alerts. As soon as we see stock available for purchase, we will alert you. Visit our Camera In Stock Trackers to see if stock is available.

Could this Disaster Change Inventory Strategies Going Forward?

What I wonder is will the impending disasters of the future, as there are sure to be more, change the inventory strategies of any of these major camera manufacturers to help sustain or even grow profits and user bases. Will they begin to stock pile cameras locally so that inventories can continue to ship if/when the next disaster occurs? Does it make sense to even do so or do they already do so and have exhausted those inventories?

I guess in order to get to the root of that answer, we would have ask ourselves, if Canon or Nikon had such a strategy in place, would it have made an existing camera user switch to a competitor if their competitor had inventory available? Or would a first time buyer change their mind and get a competitor model because stock was available?

Of the two above questions I feel the later is the most likely scenario to occur. And this is a costly one. Losing an aspiring photographer means losing subsequent lens and accessory sales as well.

If you are one of the many looking to have the faster video card on the planet regardless of the noise… well then you will definitely want to check out our new AMD Radeon 6990 In Stock Tracker. Yes, we are tracking the fastest video cards on the planet so you can be the envy two fold with your friends. You will have the fastest video card out there, plus you will have the card while every one else waits… unless you want to spread the secret of NowInStock.net to your friends, not your enemies, of course.

At the time of writing this post, there was the HIS card in stock at Newegg.com. If by the time you read this stock is no longer available, then be sure to sign up for our FREE alerts!

Also, in the future, all AMD cards will be located in the AMD Video Card tracker section.