Except for the DS line. I never had trouble finding any of the non-special editions anywhere. If you want a Zelda or Pokemon one though (that isn't a 2DS, the 2DS that shipped with X/Y preinstalled was incredibly common) you are going to have a bad time.
Especially if the retailer lets you buy one then cancels it on you. I got a discounted regular New 3DS XL instead of a Zelda one because Best Buy let too many pre-orders in.
What really sucks is that the 3DS special editions I loved were JP only, such as the Pikachu ones and the Eevee one. Granted, I didn't totally love the Eevee one. My favorite is that the R/B 20th anniversary editions are only $300 on Amazon. And here's probably the coolest one for an easy $340 [0]. Sucks to be a Pokemon fan.
I'm super excited for the opportunity to see it announced that they're available, only to discover that they're sold out by the time I make it to an online retailer to purchase one.
I look forward to these selling out before I've had a chance to buy them at MSRP, then finding them resold by the dozen on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
I paid like $140 on Amazon for the Nintendo Classic. MSRP is just a made-up number - the true price of anything is where supply and demand reach equilibrium.