If you can’t get a PS5, this is why
If you’ve been trying to buy a PlayStation 5, but can never find anywhere with the console in stock, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Well, maybe you should worry, because it looks like the cause of the issue is not going away any time soon.
The reason PS5 stock seems to be selling out instantly everywhere is because bots are buying the games consoles in bulk to then sell for over double the recommended retail price.
As revealed on Twitter by @UKPS5Notify, an account dedicated to alerting people to new stocks of the console dropping in various stores, a bot bought thousands of the console in one go from the latest restock on the GAME website, before selling them eBay for over £1,000.
UKPS5Notify posted screenshots of a private account named @Carnagebot, bragging about acquiring a bulk supply of the PS5 to sell on for a profit, with the caption: “Any chance of stopping this anytime soon?”, tagging GAME’s accounts.
🤮 @GAMEdigital @GAMEHelps @eBay @AskeBay Any chance of stopping this anytime soon? 🤷♂️ #ps5 #ps5stockuk #scalpers pic.twitter.com/SlC99fl3ua
— PS5 UK STOCK ALERTS (@UKPS5Notify) January 19, 2021
The RRP for the PS5 in the UK is £449, but as the Twitter thread shows, consoles have been listed online for prices ranging between £620 and £1,119.
And it’s safe to say, understandably, gamers wanting to buy a console are not happy.
On Twitter user wrote: “This should just be made illegal, same for concert scalpers. F***ing scummy bastards.”
Another tagged GAME, writing: “Enough is enough. It’s time to act on this. Think about your genuine customers for once, not your profits.”
And one person said those buying from ‘scalpers’ were part of the problem: “This is genuinely insane… if you’re buying from scalpers you’re 50% of the problem. GAME, do better.”
There are laws that prohibit scalping when it comes to buying concert tickets, but those laws do not extent to retail products such as games consoles.
Following the console’s launch last year, a group of Scottish MPs tabled a motion to make scalping illegal, saying “new releases of gaming consoles and computer components should be available to all customers at no more than the Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price, and not be bought in bulk by the use of automated bots which often circumvent maximum purchase quantities imposed by the retailer.”
No progress has yet been made.
