One of the latest consoles, the Playstation 5 (PS5) was released in November 2020, which had lots of people excited over the sleek new look. However, there was an issue when people went to purchase the new piece of tech; it was already sold out everywhere. The console shortage began just a couple weeks after its release.

SEGA junior Crislynn Duncan says, “I honestly think people have been getting so bored in quarantine, so everyone is buying and upselling [PS5’s] to make more money.”

PS5’s that have been bought both online and in-store are resold at an even greater price. This scheme is called “scalping” and though it’s not illegal to sell these consoles at higher prices, it still causes people to either have to pay extra money for the console or not get it at all. 

The average cost of a PS5 at Walmart is between $700 to $800 and can sell for $500 or more on most websites like Offerup and Ebay. With scalpers buying all the consoles in stock, your “average buyer” is almost forced to buy the console at the $700 price if they really want the PS5. It’s terrible since it makes it harder for people to afford or access the PS5.

“If we refrain from giving our business to scalpers, then they’ll stop buying the PS5s and there will be more available from Sony at the retail price,” QUEST senior Laith Moustafa says. 

There should be restrictions set on console scalping just as there is for ticket scalping. It’s appalling how someone can buy something brand new and sell it for $200 more than the market price. This is similar to a problem with new shoes like Air Jordans or Adidas.
“I think it’s too bad that [scalpers] are able to do this,” says Gray Lange, Millikan’s Esports team coach and French teacher. “It’s a purely speculative investment that does not profit from speculation. There’s no real hard work there, it’s not like somebody buying a used car, fixing it up, and selling it where there’s some sort of work going into it.” 

Maybe one day scalpers will come to the realization that they’re doing more harm than good. But it’s not likely because the scary truth is that they’re profiting. Not only that, but that the law looks into console scalping. One can only dream of when this will come to an end. For now, who knows what the next new piece of tech will cost and be resold for?