When Sony announced it $ 400 starting price for its PlayStation 5 video game console on Wednesday it said Pre-orders would start the next day. Many major retailers decided to start selling early and surprised fans, who quickly browsed websites to find out that the device was already sold out.
But not on eBay. The popular auction site was filled with listings for PlayStation 5 consoles, which were ready for sale on Thursday, promising that the seller had received a pre-order and would ship the device immediately upon arrival.
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"This is ** CONFIRMED PRE-ORDER **," wrote one eBay seller. "Updates are made available all the way!" wrote another.
The ordeal was an unusual hiccup for Sony, whose PlayStation 5 launch is based on carefully planned slow revelations of various features like 3D audio. faster game loading times and the design of the device.
Sony took part in Twitter on Saturday apologize to the fans about the ordeal, although apparently it was caused by retailers who jumped on pre-orders with the gun a day earlier and promised to add more supplies.
Let's face it: PS5 pre-orders could have been a lot smoother. We really apologize for that.
We'll be releasing more PS5 consoles for pre-order in the next few days - retailers will provide more details.
More PS5s will be available by the end of the year. pic.twitter.com/h1TaGsGBun
- PlayStation (@PlayStation) 19th September 2020
Still, sellers on Sunday attempted to outsource pre-orders on eBay for $ 750 to $ 1,000, which is roughly double the starting price of the console without a Blu-ray drive of $ 400 or double the starting price of $ 500 for the PS5 .
However, one seller's auction had risen to $ 25,100 on Thursday afternoon after 11 bids and a starting price of $ 800.
However, the eBay listings are unlikely to last. As per the pre-sale auction site listing guidelines, the item must be delivered within 30 days of purchase on eBay. "Our trust teams are aware of this problem and we are taking the appropriate action," said an eBay spokeswoman.
The buying and selling frenzy is one of the first public signs of how popular Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's $ 500 Xbox Series X and $ 300 Xbox Series S will be when they hit the US in November Landing sales shelves.
