They are everywhere, more or less professional, but always ready to act and use the next generation consoles for the beards of ordinary consumers. Who has ? The speculators, of course! If the latter’s practices ceaselessly anger gamblers who cannot achieve the machine of their dreams, the financial ramifications are so great that they are sure not to come to an end.
Also read: PS5: Double the best start in history in the US, according to NPD
Since the release of the PS5 and Xbox series X | Much has been said about the behavior and effects of speculators (and the players are highly dissatisfied). And this effect has visibly aroused the curiosity of some. The site PCMag
As you’d expect, reselling next-generation consoles is an extremely profitable business. As of December 3, the resale of PS5 and Xbox Series X | S on eBay a profit of USD 29,127,862 (approx. EUR 24 million). Here is some data from Michael Driscoll on reselling next generation consoles on the online sales platform:
PS5:
PS5 Digital Edition:
- Suggested retail price: $ 399
- Number of Consoles Sold on eBay: 7,322
- Average eBay Selling Price: $ 937
- Speculator Profits on eBay: $ 4,294,061
- Total Revenue: $ 7,215,539
PS5 standard:
- Suggested retail price: $ 499
- Number of Consoles Sold on eBay: 25,642
- Average eBay Selling Price: $ 1,021
- EBay Speculator Profit: $ 14,742,432
- Total Revenue: $ 27,537,790
Xbox Series X | S:
Xbox Series S:
- Suggested retail price: $ 299
- Number of Consoles Sold on eBay: 6,863
- Average eBay Selling Price: $ 469
- EBay Speculator Profit: $ 1,481,654
- Total sales: $ 3,533,691
Xbox Series X:
- Suggested retail price: $ 499
- Number of Consoles Sold on eBay: 22,932
- Average eBay Selling Price: $ 865
- Winnings from specifiers on eBay: $ 8,609,715
- Total Revenue: $ 20,052,783
PS5 sales saw speculators close to $ 20 million in profits, while Xbox Series X | S made a profit of just over $ 10 million. In addition to the currently a priori stronger demand for the PS5, this car can be explained by the lower average sales price of Xboxes and the smaller quantities of consoles sold. As a reminder: According to Phil Spencer himself, the production of the Xbox Series X | S behind that of PS5 back.
What about the future?
EBay, for its part, wants to fight against speculators. However, it turns out that this is not in his best interests. The service receives a commission on every sale. And the more the sums fly, the more important are the commissions touched by eBay. Additionally, it turns out that a significant segment of the public is willing to pay more than double the suggested retail price of a console to get it quickly.
Obviously, the profits made by the speculators are much higher than this $ 30 million, this sum not taking into account sales in other ways (such as via Leboncoin ads in France). Unless the various online sales sites succeed in developing tools that effectively combat industrial speculators, we will have to deal with them in the future as well.
Especially with regards to the PS5 and Xbox series X | Things should calm down if Sony and Microsoft manage to get their consoles in sufficient quantities.
What do you think of these numbers? Did you know that speculation had reached this level? In your opinion, are there any solutions to combat this phenomenon? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.
