SNES Classic Edition Buyer’s Guide Tips

Nintendo just announced its follow-up to last year’s mini NES, the SNES Classic Edition. Nintendo’s newest retro console comes fully loaded with 21 games, two wired retro controllers, and enough nostalgia to transport you straight to 1991. But if previous product shortages are any indication, getting your hands on one may very well be a challenge.

Although Nintendo has assured the public more SNES consoles are being made this time around, there’s still a good chance that demand will far outweigh supply. That’s why it’s best to be prepared, and we’ve got you covered with the tools and tips you need to increase your odds of nabbing the SNES unicorn.

In-Stock Checkers

As the name suggests online in-stock checkers such as NowInStock and Zoolert track product inventory at popular retailers such as Walmart, Target, Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop. Totally free to use, these services will send you emails, text messages, or browser alerts when your target item—the SNES Classic Edition—is available to purchase. Nowinstock and Zoolert auto-update every minute which is as fast as you can get beyond manually spamming the refresh key.

Google Chrome Extensions

If you’re a Google Chrome user, there are a number of extensions that will give you an edge during your quest for the SNES Classic Edition; my favorites are Keepa – Amazon Price Tracker and Savelist. The former adds a little box to each Amazon product page with a fancy graph and tons of useful info. Ignore that for now, all you need is the Track Product feature.

Keepa will monitor any Amazon product and send you an alert when it comes in stock. Alerts are deliverable through email, Twitter, Facebook Messenger, desktop notifications and more. Its notification speed is just about on par with the in-stock checkers, but what really sets Keepa apart is the sheer amount of information it provides such as how popular a product is during any given period and price history reports from both Amazon and third-party sellers. It’s great for deal hunting and buying limited merchandise.

Where Keepa only works with Amazon, Savelist works virtually everywhere. It has similar notification features but it’s most valuable for keeping all your most-wanted items in order, especially if the SNES Classic Edition isn’t the only thing you’ve set your sights on. Savelist monitor’s product pages from anywhere on the internet and allows users to organize those websites into lists.