Scalpers Archives - Gizmochina

The End of the PlayStation 5 Scalping Era: Prices Are Cheaper than Ever

Oğuz Çakır — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 19:02:39 +0000

The day that console gamers have been waiting for a long time has finally arrived. PlayStation 5 scalpers are now finding it difficult to sell consoles at inflated prices, as supply levels are returning to normal. These “opportunists”, who have been responsible for rapidly depleting stock and driving up prices for years, are finally facing the consequences of their actions. Here are the details…

What Happened During the Pandemic – Why PlayStation 5 Was So Expensive

The year 2020 marked a challenging time for many people worldwide. As the Covid-19 outbreak spread from China, our lives were transformed. Remote work and online education became the norm, social events were canceled, and curfews were implemented in various countries to control the virus’s spread. This led to billions of people staying at home with ample free time, causing a surge in consumption. However, people found solutions to this as well.

Digital content production and consumption skyrocketed, and sales of technological products like computers, gaming consoles, and projectors, which could either make time at home more enjoyable or aid in remote education and work, increased dramatically. Many companies experienced a golden age in sales. However, while the pandemic boosted sales on one hand, it also slowed down and increased the cost of production on the other. It was during this time of challenges that the PlayStation 5 entered our lives.

Sony had been working on the PlayStation 5 for a while, and with the pandemic ongoing, and they didn’t want to waste any more time during the pandemic. So, they introduced their new console on December 12, 2020. The technical specifications and innovations of the PS5 attracted attention, making it a highly desirable product for millions of people. As summer ended and more people gathered indoors, the pandemic’s second wave started. Remote learning and working from home continued, and the demand for technological products remained high.

However, production challenges impacted companies worldwide. The supply chain was on the verge of breaking, and even though some were less affected than others, no company could produce enough to meet customer demand. At this point, humanity’s biggest flaw came into play. While making money in a free market economy is normal, some took the situation a step further. Scalpers, who bought almost every product the moment it was released, artificially raised prices with their own hands.

Scalpers hoarded in-demand items like graphics cards, processors, and PlayStation consoles, buying them from wholesalers and retailers. They even employed software to assist them. This led to a terrible black market and significant profits for scalpers. For instance, Sony’s consoles, sold at $399 and $499, were resold for up to $1500. However, the situation has improved, with Sony’s PS5 supplies now significantly better.

PS5 Scalping Fades as Gamers Enjoy Greater Console Availability and Lower Prices

Almost three years have passed, and supplies of the Sony PlayStation 5 have improved significantly. Forced to cut prices, some scalpers are now listing the consoles at or even below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. This development is not exactly new. Towards the end of 2021, the PS5 scalping situation began to change. Many of us witnessed this change in physical stores and online stock availability. This situation not only reduced scalpers’ sales but also led to their stockpile being left unsold.

A quick glance at eBay reveals that the days of $1500 PlayStation 5 consoles are gone. New models now range between $450 and $499, with some auctions starting as low as $380. Second-hand units are available for even lower prices. Users are quite pleased with the situation, as reported by various reputable publications such as Gizmochina. Comments like “Don’t even feel a little bit bad for them” and “I hope he has to go down like $230 for people to buy. Would be hilarious.” show how much users are enjoying the situation.

As console supplies continue to normalize, the situation could worsen for PS5 scalpers in the coming months. To make matters worse for scalpers, rumors of a PlayStation 5 Pro model are gaining strength day by day. The new “pro” console is expected to be introduced next year, featuring improved ray tracing capabilities, enhanced visual fidelity, and better overall performance. This potential release could further dampen scalpers’ prospects in the PlayStation market. As someone who experienced stock and price gouging issues during the pandemic, I must say that these developments certainly make me happy.

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Nvidia re-releases RTX 2060 with 12GB VRAM to help ease GPU shortage

Sean — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 12:18:22 +0000

Earlier this year, Nvidia had announced that it will be relaunching some of its older graphics cards to help offer more low cost options in the market. And staying true to its word, the company has just rereleased the GeForce RTX 2060, which now features 12GB of VRAM.

For those unaware, the world is suffering from a global shortage of chipsets/semiconductors. During this time, Team Green had launched its highly anticipated RTX 3000 series. However, lack of supply paired with scalpers and crypto miners buying these GPUs in bulk meant that regular gamers and other customers couldn’t get their hands on the new cards. This even drove up the market prices for older cards and the second hand market as well. But now, these older cards could help ease this issue since scalpers and crypto miners are likely steer clear away from these low cost graphics card.

The new RTX 2060 will be available starting from 7th December 2021 and features slightly bumped up specs as well. This includes a higher base clock speed and a slight higher count of CUDA cores, with the newer model featuring 2,176 over the original’s 1,920. In certain ways, the specs are more in line with the refreshed RTX 2060 SUPER rather than the base 2060 from the last generation. Another notable difference is the VRAM that is now a sizeable 12GB, which is even higher than the high end RTX 3070 and RTX 3080.

Meaning, this could be a “premium” refresh of the RTX 2060. But unfortunately, Nvidia has yet to official reveal the pricing details for this GPU. Although, the RTX 2060 that launched back in 2019 retailed for 349 US Dollars. So, we can expect a price tag that is similar to this. While the effort to help ease the GPU shortage and scalping issue is a welcomed one, a single GPU in front of an overall chip shortage might not be quite effective as of right now.

Scalpers are selling the Huawei Mate X2 at a premium of up to $1,500 to $3,000

Sean — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 07:34:13 +0000

The Huawei Mate X2, the company’s second generation of foldable smartphone, went on sale earlier today (25th February 2021). However, it seems that scalpers have targeted to the new device as well, selling these smartphone at a high premium.

The Mate X2 foldable smartphone is officially priced at 17,999 Yuan (roughly 2,790 US Dollars) for the 256GB storage variant and 18,999 Yuan (roughly 2,944 US Dollars) for the 512GB storage variant. In other words, the new handset is an ultra high end device with a premium price tag. But, despite its high price, many people have already found that the placing an order for the foldable smartphone is not possible at the moment. Apparently, the option to place an order is not working, despite the device being in stock.

Furthermore, scalpers have also started reselling the device on other e commerce platforms at a higher price. These listings have been found in major websites like JD.com, with a premium ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 Yuan (roughly 1,500 to 3,000 US Dollars). Meaning, the 256GB Mate X2 variant that is priced at 17,999 Yuan is being sold for a price of around 28,888 Yuan, while a few other sellers are even pricing the device up to 38,366 Yuan.

For those unaware, scalpers are basically people who acquire new products early on in large numbers to create an artificial scarcity, and resell these products on third party websites at a cost much higher than its actual price. This issue has recently been affecting various markets, like the newly launched console generations and even the GPU market as well. It remains to be seen how the Chinese tech giant deals with the situation.