PS5 resale prices are lower than ever, but scalpers are still profiting

Despite ongoing supply constraints, Sony has managed to sell over 10 million PlayStation 5 consoles to date. That is a staggering number, and as the industry recovers from the pandemic, those figures should continue to grow. In fact, though countless customers are still desperately searching for the console, there are signs of an improving market. Forbes reports that scalpers are struggling to turn huge profits on PS5 consoles, as resale prices have dropped by nearly 30%.

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PS5 resale prices have dropped in recent months

StockX — a secondary market for sneakers, trading cards, gaming consoles, and more — tells Forbes that resale prices for the PS5 have fallen significantly in recent months. During Cyber Weekend 2020, scalpers were selling disc versions of the PS5 for as much as $1,000. As of this month, the console is selling for around $715 on average. Prices are also 10% lower than they were in June.

As for the PS5 Digital Edition (no disc drive), prices also peaked at $1,000 last December. Resellers are now making less than $700 for each PS5 Digital Edition, which Forbes says is a 6% decrease from three months ago. Of course, resale prices are still far higher than the retail prices for either version of the console. Sony charges $399 for the Digital Edition and $499 for the standard PS5.

“To put it into perspective, at the beginning of July I would have auctions ending at around $760 + $40 for shipping easily,” one eBay vendor named Matt told Forbes. “Now, I had an auction have no bids at $729 + $40 shipping and I just had one end at $709 + $40 shipping.”

Xbox Series X resale prices are actually going up

In an interesting turn of events, Xbox Series X prices have gone in the opposite direction. Data from StockX reveals that resale prices for the next-generation Xbox peaked over Cyber Weekend at around $750-800. By July 2021, those prices had dropped by around 25% to $600. But in September, the prices have jumped back up again. The Xbox Series X consoles are now selling for an average of $725. StockX senior economist Jesse Einhorn says that Microsoft hasn’t been restocking the Xbox Series X as often, and “as a result of their relative scarcity, prices on StockX increased.”

Demand for the new consoles will not be met any time soon — that remains clear. Nevertheless, with the holiday season approaching, Sony and Microsoft are certainly feeling the pressure to produce as many consoles as possible. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how the secondary market reacts. As customers hunt for consoles before Christmas, will prices shoot back up?