The official on-sale date for the new Xbox 360 Elite is this Sunday, the 29th — but that isn't stopping underpaid big-box store workers from selling one to you now. Game|Life reports that some NeoGAF forumites have been able to purchase the new unit more than a week before launch. Also spotted for sale in the wild were the new 120GB hard drive and black controllers.
So, if you want one, you can probably find one now without too much trouble. Something tells me that you'll most likely be able to find one post-launch pretty easily, too. I'm in no hurry, either way.