With Black Friday and Cyber Monday over, consumers are still wondering if they will be able to grab a PlayStation 5 before the holidays are over. A multitude of factors have gotten in their way, from scalpers to scams, but what else is preventing customers from buying their consoles?
Well, for one, the demand. The demand for the PS5 is through the roof, and the absence of the console on retail shelves only fuels that demand more. Sony has promised a restock before the end of the year, but there aren’t many details to give us an idea of how many consoles could be coming to retailers.
Many resellers are offering some PlayStation 5 units on eBay, some at insane prices like $32,000. Even the more reasonable listings are usually double retail value. On top of that, many of these scalpers are the reason you can’t find a copy for yourself. This can pose a threat to any restock that Sony, or retailers can promise.
The problem here has been battling bots. Bots are used to grab online PlayStation 5 stock quicker than a human user could hope to do. So, when Walmart announces they have a restock, bots are usually the first to snag those copies. Unfortunately, these bots are used by scalpers that will soon have those consoles on eBay like the others. CBS News posted an article about this on November 30th.
Most customers have been going to social media to complain about their online experiences, which has also generated its own form of demand for the console. There’s nothing quite like wanting what you can’t have, especially when you thought you found a PlayStation 5 unit , but received an error message after. However, this has left honest Sony customers, searching for any way to get their hands on the console.
Another inevitable issue has been the pandemic. Sure, every console release sees its fair share of demand, but 2020 has been a year where people have been encouraged to stay home. Those individuals are looking for things to do inside. It’s the same reason a Nintendo Switch was impossible to find in the first half of the year. According to NPD.com, customers spent a total of $11.2 billion on video gaming, between July and September. That’s a 24% increase compared to that time last year.
Ironically, the pandemic is also a factor in the console shortage. Major country lockdowns have been happening again, preventing shipping and manufacturing. The United States has suffered shipping and mailing issues since the pandemic hit as well. It’s tough to say how long that will continue.
So, will we see a restock in the console? The short answer is yes, but there are too many factors to tell if those consoles will reach real and honest customers. Keep in mind though, that it may be hard to wait but it could also be beneficial. It will give Sony time to fix any issues the first batch of consoles has. It will also give games time to release, and expand the PlayStation 5 library.
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