XBOX 360 For Pennies a Day!

In 2006, I purchased an XBOX 360 bundle from CostCo for about $550, including the console, a game and two wireless controllers.

In April of 2007, my 360 caught the “red ring of death” (“Ring around the rosy, pockets full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down!“), at which point I brought it back to CostCo and exchanged it for the bundle they had available at the time, which was $475. They refunded me the difference!

Net return: $75 in one year on an initial investment of $550.

Earlier this month, my new 360 also caught the plague and I returned it again to CostCo, where the holiday bundle now costs $400.

Net return: $75 in 7 months on an initial investment of $475 in 58% of the time from the last return of this amount.

If this continues, at this rate I’ll have made my original investment back in another 9 months, at which point I’ll have had the use of an XBOX 360 for 28 months for the opportunity cost of the original $550, which is approximately $50 at 7% over two years after taxes, $1.80/month or 6 cents/day.

What a deal! : )

P.S. The moral of the story: buy your electronics at CostCo.