According to new data, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X scalpers have made nearly $60 million since the consoles launched in November. It has been notoriously difficult for anyone to get their hands on a new console, and the amount of scalpers out there have made the process even more frustrating for those who wanted a PS5 or Xbox Series X by Christmas. These problems also don't seem like they will be going away anytime soon.
Scalpers started being a major issue almost immediately after the launch of the new consoles, but the PlayStation 5 seemed to be dealing with the majority of it. Scalpers managed to buy up thousands of PS5 units only to turn around and try to sell them right back to consumers at exorbitant prices. The extreme prices that the PS5 has been listed for on places like eBay has continued to rise as the likelihood of acquiring a PS5 has become slimmer. Some of these scalpers are even asking for up to $3,000 per console.
Sadly, it seems as though scalping has worked out very well for some of these groups as Tom's Hardware reports that the new consoles have made scalping groups a ridiculous amount of money over the last couple of months. The Xbox Series X and S were both sold for about 150 percent more than their retail price on average. This means that scalpers have made about $3.5 million on the Series S and $20 million on the Series X. The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition on the other hand has sold on average at about 350 percent its retail price and the standard PS5 has sold for about 200 percent. This means that scalpers have made a profit of about $7 million for the Digital Edition and $27 million for standard PS5. Altogether, that means that scalpers have profited about $60 million in about two months from selling these consoles.
Scalping has just been one of many issues that have caused the PS5 and Xbox Series X to be difficult to acquire this holiday season. Nearly every time the PS5 has gone on sale it has caused retail websites like Walmart to crash almost immediately. Most websites continue to sell out of all available stock within minutes of putting them up for sale, and it seems like it might be awhile before acquiring a new console is an easy process.
Scalping has always been a pretty big nuisance when big video game consoles go on sale, but this has been one of the biggest issues mainstream gaming has faced in awhile. As long as demand for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S continues to stay high and people are willing to waste their money, scalpers will continue to make this kind of money off of people.
Source: Tom's Hardware