PS5 and Xbox Series X scalpers made bank last month by reselling the highly sought after consoles, according to Tom's Hardware.
The frustrating and quite frankly dickish practice of scalping has remained a lucrative business, and the onset of the next generation of gaming has only put more money in scalpers' pockets. That's due in large part to the limited stock of PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles as well as the dominance of online sales which help scalpers and their bots thrive.
According to this scalper report, the prices of both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have consistently gone up on eBay since the console launched on November 10. Both consoles are now averaging 170% of their MSRP on eBay, and this markup has reportedly helped scalpers earn over $23 million in sales. Here's where to buy Xbox Series X that isn't eBay.
The digital edition of the PS5 "has seen the most inflated prices by far of all the products" looked at by Tom's Hardware (which includes AMD Ryzen 5000 processors and more PC products). The PS5 digital edition sold on eBay for 255% over the MSRP around its November 12 launch date, and it now sells for 350% over MSRP just a month later.
The pricier PS5 standard edition didn't see quite that ridiculous a price hike (although scalper price gouging is in essence ridiculous), but the console is still selling around 200% over MSRP. The median price was around $1,021, a full $522 more than you'd pay at any legit retail location. Here's where you can buy a PS5 that won't cost you double the tag price.
In total, scalpers have made well over $30m reselling both versions of the PS5, with the PS5 digital edition earning them $7,215,359 and the standard edition netting $27,537,720. These are just estimations, but in this case, it's clear that cheaters are certainly prospering.
These best gifts for gamers won't cost you as much as a scalped PS5.
