Originally posted on: www.roadtovr.com
While Valve’s Index headset has lately been widely available in Europe and difficult to find in North America, the tables have turned.
For the first time in many months, the Index ‘Full Kit’ is now available in the US and Canada with a shipping estimate of less than two weeks, along with Controllers and Base Stations.
Meanwhile, most Index packages are either out of Stock or seeing significant backorders across Europe.
We checked stock availability for all Index packages across all 31 regions where sold. The latest shows that Valve Index is now most available in the US and Canada, with the ‘Full Kit’ finally returning to relatively quick availability, with Valve estimating shipments within two weeks of ordering.
The ‘Base Station’ package has also made a return, while it was previously ‘Out of Stock’ in the region for long stretches. The ‘Controller’ package remains available as well, but the ‘Headset + Controllers’ and ‘Headset’ alone packages still have a long “8 weeks or more” backorder.
Europe, on the other hand, is now largely out of Index stock, with the ‘Full Kit’, ‘Headset + Controllers’, and ‘Base Station’ packages completely out of stock. While the ‘Controllers’ package is still expected within two weeks, the ‘Headset’ alone package is stuck with the dreaded “8 weeks or more” backorder.
Valve Index availability in Japan remains largely the same; though the ‘Base Station’ package has become available in the region once again, the ‘Controller’ package is now out of stock along with the ‘Headset + Controllers’ and ‘Headset’ packages. The ‘Full Kit’ remains available. Shipping estimates, however, are unclear.
Like other headsets, the Chinese-manufactured Index saw a double-whammy in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic: supply decreasing due to manufacturing disruptions and demand increasing due to shelter-in-place orders in many parts of the globe.
Availability of Valve Index stock fluctuated pretty significantly throughout 2020 but looked to be generally trending toward improvements in availability over the last two months.
With Europe now seeing lots of ‘Out of Stock’ on the board, it isn’t clear if we’re looking at temporary disruptions due to the holiday season or something more significant.
Despite the remaining backorders, in many cases it’s still possible to register your interest in any of the Index packages. To reserve a spot in line, check out the Index store page and click the order button. Valve is then sending out notifications by email when stock is available, giving customers a window to pull the trigger.
Oculus had been in the same boat with Quest and Rift S in the first half of 2021, though since the launch of Quest 2 it has kept up fairly well with demand.
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