I can usually find a good bargain on a day that I don't have a product review, but for some reason I couldn't early this morning. But what I did find struck me as a bit odd. The gamers out there probably know that the Nintendo 3DS game console will be released on March 27th. Actually, it's already been released in Japan with great success. But regardless, as with most new electronics and new games, you can pre-purchase the 3DS system from Amazon, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc., which helps the companies judge just how much product to carry.

Along with that, customers can also pre-purchase just about any game or accessory that might go along with that system. The part that strikes me as odd isn't so much in the pre-purchasing of the games for the Nintendo 3DS, but for the accessories. Take this 3DS screen protective filter for instance:

Nintendo 3DS Screen Protectors and Filters for Sale at Amazon

Nintendo 3DS Screen Protective Filter List Price: $8.99 Sale Price: $5.00 You save: $3.99 (44%)

Why can't you go ahead and purchase it now? Why does it have the pre-order associated with it? And why do you need to pre-order at all? I have to assume that any store will have the protective filters on sale locally, maybe even cheaper, so I would hate to lock in at $8.99 when I might could get it cheaper. I'm also curious as to why one would want to put the filter on the 3DS. If you've ever used a game console with protective screens, you may have realized that it does affect the display just a bit, especially if you get a super cheap filter that's a bit foggy. With the Nintendo 3DS, the display is going to be the best feature of the system, and I just wouldn't want to affect the look, at least not right off when still fascinated with the 3D aspects of the game console.

Another product that struck me as odd as was the NASCAR Wii steering wheel. Again, if you are a gamer, you probably know that NASCAR has changed to Activision from EA for their official game. This new iteration called NASCAR 2011: The Game will be released on March 29th of this year. But what I find weird is that you can pre-order the NASCAR Wii steering wheel. Why can't you just purchase it now? I'm sure there's nothing too special about it, aside from the NASCAR logo at the top, and the fact that it's black, so it should work with any Wii racing game.

NASCAR Wii Racing Wheel for Sale

Wii Nascar Wheel List Price: $14.99 Sale Price: $4.90 You save: $10.09 (67%)

I'm definitely not trying to turn this article into a rant, but it seems like both of these products could just be sold now instead of as a pre-purchase. What do you think?

B. Daniels is the lead review expert with Find Cheap Bargains. B. was more than likely the person responsible for the hands-on review of every product on the site. He also spends time searching for sale bargains when not conducting and writing the reviews.