According to the Gamestop and EBGames websites, both retailers have begun accepting a "limited" number of pre-orders for Playstation 3 consoles. The emphasis is on limited as the average number of PS3s allocated to each store for preorders is 15 units.
The most interesting aspect of this is that most of the pre-orders are heading towards eBay where a preorder ticket is already available for sale for a mere USD 1,999.99 price tag.
The fact that most of us know there will be a shortage of PS3s during the U.S. launch of the console means that such eBay phenomena are likely to become an everyday occurrence from now on and some people will, unfortunately, pay the extravagant prices.
What we will have to wait for is how well the console does after the supply issues are resolved and how well the hardware will perform under real world conditions.