The demand for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is so high compared to limited supply that many gamers have turned to reseller websites. One such popular site reported the success it was having with these sales and announced that Sony's console was outselling its Microsoft counterpart 2-to-1. Both systems have only been on the market for nearly a month.
The immense level of interest for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X has been well documented since both new consoles hit the shelves - and even before when, with massive pre-order numbers. Retailers are seemingly sold out everywhere and many who ordered through traditional retailers will not be getting their consoles until the new year. This includes buyers who pre-ordered consoles as well. Those who are desperate to get their hands on the current-gen as soon as possible have turned to other outlets in the hopes of snagging a new system. After navigating through scammers, many of these would-be buyers end up on reseller websites and end up spending far more than if they had purchased the console through traditional retailers.
VGC has reported that the popular reseller sight StockX has to date resold over 60,000 current-gen consoles in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union since both systems launched. A senior economist for StockX claimed that the PS5 is accounting for 62 percent of those consoles resold while the Xbox Series X is only at 38 percent. As far as price is concerned in the United States, Sony's system is being up-charged to around $900 from the original retail price of $500. Microsoft's console, meanwhile, is going on average for around $730 from an original price similar to the PS5's. These inflations are happening in European markets as well and are all mostly contributed to scalper groups.
The ratio at which PlayStation is outselling Xbox is not surprising considering that Sony's console is the preferred console of choice worldwide. It also makes sense that scalper groups have seized on the opportunity to make a profit from these systems even though gaming consoles are not traditionally scalped items. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive spike in gaming this year and when that was combined with the release of two new consoles, a prime opportunity was created for these groups to make large amounts of money fast.
Though console scalping was foreseen and the practice makes logical sense, it does not necessarily make it right. The fact that some of theses groups have purchased literally thousands of units only to resell them at nearly twice the price may seem like a sleazy practice to many. However, they may see it as a legitimate way for people to make money as it is little different from the average person buying and selling on eBay. The issue comes with the large quantity of items these groups gain possession of and whether or not that is ethically right. Either way, the practice will continue for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as long as the backorder issues through traditional retailers continue.
Source: VGC
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