A major retail chain might be selling GameCubes the minute they get off the truck.
Nintendo representatives for Wal-Mart have said that they are not relying on the release date of November 18th. They will be selling the units of hardware and software the very moment they arrives at the stores. The ship date, according to Nintendo, for the hardware and software it November 15th (the Thursday before launch). Once this date hits, it would probably be a good idea to start calling Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart will also be receiving playable demo machines around the same time as everyone else, late September.