Scalpers in Singapore have begun capitalizing on gamers’ anticipation of Sony’s upcoming console, with many marking up the price in their listings online.
Hype and craze: The Japanese tech giant announced the pre-order schedule for Playstation 5 via a Twitter post on Tuesday, sending both fans and some opportunists on a frenzy to secure a slot for order the next day.
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- Excitement has been building up for the next-generation video game console after additional details and the prices for variants were announced last week.
- According to Sony’s event, the PS5 will be available on November 12 for the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korean markets and November 19 for the rest of the world.
- PS5 Digital Edition is priced at $399 while the PS5 with the disc drive costs $499.
- The PS5 sold out as soon as pre-orders went live on the PlayStation Store and authorized retailers.
Absurd price listings: Taking advantage of the hype for the PS5, scalpers have now posted listings of overpriced PS5s on eBay and other eCommerce sites.
- In Singapore, where a PS5 costs 599 Singaporean dollars ($440) for the digital edition and 729 Singaporean dollars ($536) for the standard version, scalpers are selling their pre-orders for over 1,000 Singaporean dollars ($735), reports Geek Culture.
- In the U.S., listings emerged online with scalpers pricing the PS5 between $750 and $1,000.
- Several posts are also asking for hundreds of dollars on top of the retail price in other parts of the world with one eBay listing in the U.K. even trying to go for £1600/$2000 and a post in Australia reaching $7,000 after 12 bids.
- One eBay seller started an auction for the console at $800 and has climbed up to $25,100, following 11 bids as of Thursday afternoon.
- Some of the listings show proof by including the receipt from the authorized stores while others don’t.
- Fans who are desperate to get their hands on the new console may fall prey to these scalpers, but it is important to note that Sony has assured the public that there will be enough PS5 units at launch.
