wii-ze does it

According to the BBC website, there is currently a shortage of Wii's on the highstreet. As a consumer who's been trying to buy one, that doesn't come as any sort of surprise. Any shop you walk into, in any town will normally give you some form of "if they come in, then its on Friday, but we don't know how many we'll get, if any". Of course you're asking this question on Saturday or Sunday, when the sign says "out of stock".
But today, my new Wii arrived. I ordered it on Sunday evening, got despatched from amazon.de on Monday morning, arriving by DHL this morning.
Good old fashioned German efficiency.
I strongly suspect that the supply shortage is simple a mechanism for Nintendo, and the retailers to maintain high prices. From amazon.de it was just 254 euros, or about £170. There are some amazon.co.uk resellers offering it for £289...