hey i have an idea for you, i got my ps2 the same way, and its pretty easy.
i went on to amazon.com the day it was supposed to be in.
(you dont know how hard i was searching for this thing it was like youre prediciment mabye not as worse though)
then i sat on the site at the right time and pressed the refresh button for 3 hours (while listing to music)
the price for one is $499,
it includes a system(comes with controller) an extra controller, free arameggdon dvd,3 games.There are 4 different choices on those,
1.Madden 2001,SSX,and NHL 2001.
2.Madden 2001,TTT,Ridge Racer V (i got that one)
3.Madden 2001,SSX,Ridge Racer V
4.Madden 2001,SSX,Ready to Rumble: Round 2
its really not that hard to get. people may say it is, and amazon may say it sells in 8 minutes, but in reality it dosent.(30 minutes or so) its a good deal and worth it.
if you are willing to spent 2 hours clicking a mouse every 5 seconds.
page is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/301718/104-5568070-7602352or you could just go to the main site and click on playstation 2 in the bar near the top, that will probably tell you when the next shipment is coming in.(check this often!!)
Finally, be sure you put youre purchasing to a one click purchase. it is the best way to do this .
Good luck!! this is one of the best ways to get it without being ripped off.