Even CNN feels the need to get in on the excitement.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/amp/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-tips-hacks/index.html

What I learned even a cheap ch yoke is worth a fortune right now check ebay - crazy

Someone screwed up with the X-Plane demo of the Paro landing! 

34 minutes ago, Richard Sennett said:

What I learned even a cheap ch yoke is worth a fortune right now check ebay - crazy

Maybe now is the time for my to upgrade to a Honeycomb yoke....

18 minutes ago, pjs37 said:

Maybe now is the time for my to upgrade to a Honeycomb yoke....

Ebay has some starting at 450$ - only 200$ more than manufacturer 

1 hour ago, Richard Sennett said:

What I learned even a cheap ch yoke is worth a fortune right now check ebay - crazy

so glad I didn't get rid of my CH Flight Sim Yoke.  Had to map from scratch but oh, so nice.

 

10 minutes ago, wthomas33065 said:

so glad I didn't get rid of my CH Flight Sim Yoke.  Had to map from scratch but oh, so nice.

 

Im not so glad I sold my saitek cessna yoke - it was awesome with a honeycomb throttle quadrant I would be all set but cessna yoke is very rare

38 minutes ago, Richard Sennett said:

Ebay has some starting at 450$ - only 200$ more than manufacturer 

Totally crazy, I really hope retailers and mfr's can get the stock issues sorted out.  I went to pull out my X52 (original from 2004) that I hadn't used in about 3-4 years since I took a break from simming and realized I need to replace it big time.  The "soft touch" coating on the main stick was all sticky, probably breaking down from hand oils over the years, and I had to strip it off with rubbing alcohol so I could fly.  That was the Monday night release night.  Promptly went looking for a new one and realized everything was sold out everywhere 😞 

If prices are like this on Sticks and Yokes, I expect the market for the new graphics cards to be completely insane.

33 minutes ago, snglecoil said:

Surprisingly, I’ve found CNN to be rather aviation friendly.

I am happy. I prefer this to: ‘Tarmac’, ‘Tarmac’ , ‘tarmac’, ‘tarmac’ , ‘Tarmac’ , ‘Tarmac’ , ‘Tarmac’ .

1 hour ago, Richard Sennett said:

Ebay has some starting at 450$ - only 200$ more than manufacturer 

Well I was thinking of ordering it to get in line and just wait for it to come in....some day...

29 minutes ago, pjs37 said:

Well I was thinking of ordering it to get in line and just wait for it to come in....some day...

Your best bet really - no sense investing in something thats way over priced and not be happy 

3 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

If prices are like this on Sticks and Yokes, I expect the market for the new graphics cards to be completely insane.

On the contrary actually. Since Nvidia announced their 3000 series of video cards, people are trying to dump their cards quickly before release. Supposedly, per Nvidia, their new $500 card (3070) will outperform the 2080TI and their high end card (3080) will be $699 and that will offer 1.5x-2x the performance. But there have been no third party testing yet. People are panic selling to get as much return as possible right now. The 2080TI prices have dropped sharply, people believe this $1000+ card is about to get outpaced by a $500 cards and clobbered by a $700 card.  

AMD is also announcing their next gen of graphic cards OCT 28th. 

If in the market, December/Jan would be a good time to buy. New cards or old cards will get devalued enough to justify upgrading.

What I expect is that just like with sneakers, certain types of toys, concert tickets and excetera, there will be professional scalpers, with automated Bots that will buy up all the new cards as soon as they appear, and then sell them at twice the price on eBay.

I will not be surprised if availability gets jammed up for quite some time, and with ridiculous prices.

 

I like the conclusions:

"Perhaps the most amazing thing we've discovered about Flight Simulator is not just its technical wizardry, but the fact that it is a door into a universe of like-minded enthusiasts, always eager to help out, ever ready to share knowledge and tips graciously about specific places around the world, how to fly there and how to handle the planes.

It brings together people of every nation, culture, religion and orientation -- in an age of polarization.

Flight simulation is a world of amiable nerds who are just trying to reach out at a time when so many things have suddenly become untouchable. Bringing the whole world virtually into our homes, with unprecedented realism, is at least some consolation in the age of Covid-19."