PS5 Stock: The Most Outrageous Prices Scalpers Are Charging

The PlayStation 5 launched on November 12, 2020, and quickly became one of the most sought-after consoles in recent memory. While part of the system's high demand has been due to its exclusive game potential and the PS5's mostly positive reviews, the other driving factor has been its extremely limited supply. As a result many people have begun scalping PlayStation 5 consoles, which has led to some outrageously expensive prices online.

The PS5 was nearly impossible to find in many places when it released in November, and unfortunately four months later the situation hasn't changed much. Sony recently confirmed that a shortage of semiconductors is the primary reason for their inability to meet PS5 demand. This, combined with the fact that more people than ever are playing video games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has created an unprecedentedly challenging situation for Sony when it comes to production.

Related: PlayStation 5 Stock Set To Increase Month By Month To Combat Shortages

As is typically the case in situations where a high profile shortage is present, scalpers have been quick to take advantage of the PS5's availability issue. While this is certainly something the video game industry has experienced before, a quick search for a PS5 on eBay shows just how out of hand this particular situation has gotten. The top search result for a disc version of the PS5, which retails for $499.99, is being sold for nearly $1400. There are cheaper listings as well, but it is challenging to find anything below the $850 mark. If shoppers want to be more cost-effective and limit their search to the cheaper digital version of PS5 console (which retails for $399.99) they will still need to be prepared to shell out north of $750.

These numbers are concerning enough to scare away most casual shoppers, but a study conducted by data engineer Michael Driscoll shows that the scalping situation is even more widespread than one might think. The study was published on December 1st, so while it only examined the first month of the PS5's launch, it's still an interesting look at just how active the scalping market has been. The study showed that during that three week time period, 25,642 disc versions of the PS5 were sold through the online marketplace, with 7,322 digital-only versions of the consoles also being moved. The disc-based console had a median selling price of $1021, while the digital-only version's was $937. This means that in those three weeks alone, scalpers made $19 million in profits. One can't say for sure if the numbers still look exactly like that in March, but given the fact that Sony is still greatly struggling with production, it's safe to assume they're not too far off.

The PlayStation 5 scalping situation has become a significant problem, and unfortunately it doesn't look like PS5 stock will be increasing anytime soon. Many are hailing the PlayStation 5 as the future of gaming, but with such widespread production struggles and absurdly high resell prices, it looks like the PS4 might be the present for the foreseeable future.

Next: PS4 Firmware Update Will Add Requested Features & Remove Communities