Scalpers have been a huge problem this generation, buying up enormous amounts of consoles just to resell them at an inflated value. As both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have been severely understocked, the problem has gotten even worse.
But according to the reseller site StockX (via Forbes), prices have started to fall for PlayStation 5 which are now at 30% lower that peak despite selling the same amount of consoles.
In September, PlayStation 5 units were sold for $715 (the version without disc drive are under $700), compared to $1,000 during Cyber Weekend last year, and they are continuing to drop and lost 10% compared June.
Interestingly enough, Xbox Series X hasn't dropped in price. They were always cheaper to start with costing $750-800. Today you have to pay an average of $725 for them, which is slightly more than a PlayStation 5. According to the StockX senior economist Jesse Einhorn, this is because Series X hasn't been restocked the same way as PlayStation 5 and "as a result of their relative scarcity, prices on StockX increased".
Are you surprised to see Xbox Series X today costing more amongst resellers than PlayStation 5, or is it in line with what you expected?
Thanks, VGC.