How Much Can You Really Save With A Nintendo DS Lite Bundle

In this day and age of economic uncertainty, the smallest of savings can mean a world of difference for one’s budget. Hence, a Nintendo DS Lite bundle – if such a package indeed offers some savings – would be a very attractive option for someone who’s planning to enter the world of portable electronic entertainment.

But how much can you really save with a Nintendo DS Lite bundle?

How much you save is of no moment, of course, as an amount saved is an amount you’ll get keep rather than spend.

But what if a Nintendo DS Lite bundle is a deceitful marketing ploy? What if, amidst the hoopla over the exclusive colors and the packaged software, is a trick that will make you spend more compared to buying the individual components separately?

How much can you really save with a Nintendo DS Lite bundle? Will you really be able to save some money by choosing such a package, in the first place? Alas, this is the goal of this investigative piece: to determine whether or not a Nintendo DS Lite bundle is the best choice for would-be purchasers.

Let’s do a little computation.

Let’s take, for example, the newest Nintendo DS Lite bundle in the market today: Nintendo DS Lite Green Spring Bundle includes Personal Trainer: Cooking and Carrying Case. Released only in July 1,2009, this bundle carries the SRP of $150 (though some online establishments are selling it for $140).

That sounds like a good deal, right?

Let’s take a look at the corresponding prices of the individual compents:

Nintendo DS unit: $130
Personal Trainer: Cooking: $20

Alas, the grand total is: $150, which is the same as the undiscounted SRP of the Nintendo DS Lite bundle.
What makes the bundle more special and enticing, however, are the bonuses that come with it. The bundle in our example comes with a carrying case. Though such a carrying case can be purchased separately somewhere between $7 and $25, depending on make and quality, the fact that it’s free with the Nintendo DS Lite bundle is a welcome addition, indeed. Also, the Nintendo DS Lite that is packaged with the bundle comes in spring green color, a variation that you can’t find in separately sold units. This exclusivity alone should make the bundle worth its asking price, right?

There are Nintendo DS Lite bundles, however, that are sold at a more expensive price than the sum of its individual components. This is true for limited edition bundles that are no longer sold in the market. Such an example is the Nintendo Ds Lite Cobalt Blue with Mario Party package which fetches the high price of $172 as of this writing. The Nintendo DS Lite bundles of today, especially the limited edition ones, are sure to command a higher price in the near future.

Which brings us to one important, and immeasurable, characteristic of Nintendo DS Lite bundles: collectivity. Because of the rarity of certain features included in these bundles, such as the color of the unit and some of the additional items included in the package, their values are not set in stone. They may cost $150 today, but they may fetch a $300 price tag next year.