- Scalpers are selling their successful pre-orders before even receiving the console bundles
- There are counter listings on ebay warning shoppers against buying from scalpers
- The 30th anniversary bundle isn’t available until November 21
The pre-sale for Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro 30th anniversary edition was, predictably, absolutely insane. Console bundles disappeared within seconds, selling out stock almost immediately after it became available online.
And now scalpers are trying to make those who missed out pay the price. By several thousand dollars above asking price.
The pre-sale bundles went live across the UK and Europe earlier today, priced at £959.99/€1099,99, ($1,287) with US pricing and pre-orders going live later today.
However, with scalpers getting in before many shoppers, the price some people may end up paying could be eye-wateringly steeper than the already significant outlay they would have been making at regular retail price.
The special anniversary edition console harks back to the original PlayStation design from when the gaming system was first launched, 30 years ago. The Sony PlayStation was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, before being rolled out across the world the following year. It would go onto become the first games console to sell 100m units, doing so in under a decade. Its successor, the PS2, was released in 2000 and is still the highest selling console of all time, selling over 155m units by the end of 2012.
And, proving Sony’s enduring popularity in the gaming market after three decades, scalpers are now charging up to £10,000 ($13,400) for a PS5 Pro bundle. However, counter listings on ebay are warning potential buyers away from the over-inflated pre-order purchases.
Thousands of shoppers were left massively frustrated by the situation, which was reminiscent of when the PS5 initially launched four years ago and immediately sold out, leaving scalpers to once again make an opportunistic fortune.
This time round, however, the scalpers don’t even have the products they are re-selling. They are selling successful pre-orders. Despite the understandable outrage surrounding the situation, neither ebay or Sony have currently announced steps they will take to combat the scalpers from ripping off other consumers.
(h/t IGN)
