Dear People Who Bought a PS5 Just to Sell It For Doubled On eBay

[ladynadiad]

8 hours ago, Wavergray said:

Don't worry, the PS5 is not some kind of limited time item. In a couple weeks/months those same people will have to sell all those extra PS5'S at normal price because people will just be able to go buy them at normal price elsewhere.

 

People who try to resell things like video game consoles at a higher price really don't understand how supply and demand actually works. 

 

With the fact that we're getting into the holiday season, I doubt it will happen until after New Years.  It's going to be a hot item like new consoles typically are and any time a store gets them in they'll sell out in no time just like past holidays with new console releases.  The scalpers are very aware that many people get so into getting the perfect gift for someone that they'd be willing to pay extra to get some hot item like a PS5 rather than disappoint someone they care about.

 

The honest truth is that the scalpers are just part of the many problems that exist with the holiday season in general.  It might sound weird to already be speaking of that since it's still pretty early to be thinking about holiday presents, but I know a decent number of my friends have already started because they know very well the pandemic is going to cause worse shipping delays than the norm for this time of the year.  Also can't forget that Black Friday is next week.

Edited November 20, 2020 by ladynadiad

[rusty1027]

7 hours ago, VigilantCrow said:

Sure it has and I wholeheartedly approve of it. Covid's just as good an excuse as any other personal financial problem in the household.

 

If you can afford to bot for 40+ PS5s in one drop you don't have a "personal financial problem". I can deal with people buying one and then selling it, losing out on the chance to play in exchange for money. But the problem with scalpers is that they're buying in bulk while regular customers, like with today's Walmart drop, get flagged as bots.

[pinkrobot_pb]

6 hours ago, rusty1027 said:

If you can afford to bot for 40+ PS5s in one drop you don't have a "personal financial problem". I can deal with people buying one and then selling it, losing out on the chance to play in exchange for money. But the problem with scalpers is that they're buying in bulk while regular customers, like with today's Walmart drop, get flagged as bots.

 

The two demographics are entirely different. The people who are doing this are not gamers themselves, they have a well oiled system in place to make money off of pretty much every new popular tech device. Which makes it so silly to try and offend them with a post on this gaming forum. Regular people can hardly get 1 PS5, let alone 50 to sell off at eBay.

 

Anyway, a few of my friends have popped online with a PS5 and they are all playing Astrobot. I'm sure it's a fun game, but is it worth $1.500? It's like buying a Ferrari and not being allowed off of your driveaway for the next 3 months. Have fun sitting in it I guess.

Edited November 20, 2020 by pinkrobot_pb

[LoveInHell]

You literally have 7 years to get one, I wouldn’t worry so much if I were you. So what that you didn’t get it early?

 

For the people selling them on Ebay, good for them, easy money.

[Dr_Mayus]

The people who do this are assholes but a lot of the blame has to go the buyer as well. If people refused to pay stupid prices...then people would stop selling for stupid prices.

 

No one needs a new system at launch so just wait 2 or 3 month until the stores are restocked. I worked for playstation for 3 years...we never had a shortage of systems. You just might not get it until February.

[l33sar54]

As someone who has tried to unsuccessfully buy a PS5 console since the launch day and has seen stock claimed by bots and resold for triple the price, I'm slowly starting to reconsider my priorities. I read through this whole thread and what I gathered was that people don't particularly mind someone selling a console they got legitimately and fairly for profit, but are angry at scalpers who run bots to buy dozens of consoles anytime they go on sale to flip for exorbiant prices.

 

I planned to get PS5 as soon after launch as possible, and I even finished my PS4 backlog (I know, crazy!) so that I can start fresh. I sold my PS4 Pro before the launch day and hopefully managed to make someone's life a little happier with a great console for a fair price but now I'm in that weird spot where I don't have the old console anymore, and I don't have the one yet. After reading rumors that PS5's supply situation may not get better until Spring or even Summer 2021 or possibly later due to the pandemic and the unprecedented interest in gaming it generated, I'm facing the very real prospect of getting out of gaming for at least a couple of months, or unless I manage to beat the bots somewhere before the end of the year. I lost interest in refreshing online stores in hopes I get lucky and manage to snag one, and I absolutely refuse to enable scalper behavior by feeding them my money.

 

While I agree that patience is indeed a virtue, it has been disheartening to see "Out of Stock" pretty much everywhere I look non-stop for almost two weeks, online or in person. While I consider myself a patient person, not having anything to game on for months is not making me happy. Then again, it allows me to focus on my other hobbies I neglected over time, and maybe it will make my experience with PS5 all the better.

[RadiantFlamberge]

I will wait. I've got enough PS4 and PC games to play in the meantime.

 

While I could pay double or triple the MSRP for a PS5, it will be a cold day in hell before I do. To give in would be tantamount to showing approval of scalping, and would egg on these resellers to keep it up. Also... what if you pay these insane markups and the seller actually delivers you a defective PS5, or even nothing at all only to disappear with your money?

 

If you absolutely, positively can't wait... please, be careful!

[ladynadiad]

3 minutes ago, RadiantFlamberge said:

Also... what if you pay these insane markups and the seller actually delivers you a defective PS5, or even nothing at all only to disappear with your money?

 

A defective PS5 would be covered under warranty if all else fails.  However, eBay and Paypal provide protections for buyers in regards to not receiving a product or a product not being as described.  That even includes things like the shipper losing the item or damaging it.