PS5 scalping is bad enough, and it’s certainly not helped by Australian retail stores jumping on the bandwagon.
The latest rip-off attempt comes courtesy of a reader, who sent in these images on the proviso that they remain anonymous. The store responsible was CeX in Westfield Garden City in Queensland.
CeX is a chain based out of the United Kingdom. Their stock in trade is usually second hand consumer electronics, repairs and video games. So in a way, they’re not too dissimilar from Cash Converters as far as video games and consoles are concerned.
So it’s natural that there might be some degree of markup. And the Brisbane CeX store certainly isn’t being as heinous as the South Australian Cash Converter stores that were charging a whopping $1500 or $1899.
But still, for an Australia retailer to be charging $1250 — $501 more than the PS5’s $749 RRP — leaves a poor taste in the mouth.
The same price is still listed on the Australian portal for CeX, too. 8 consoles are available in Queensland at the time of writing, all selling for $1250.
Sadly, until the global supply chain recovers and stops relying on one global foundry for all of the high-end gear that everyone wants, retailers and scalpers are going to have an absolute field day marking up next-gen consoles. That’s why you’ve got situations like Japan (and Australia), where users can barely buy a PS5. And it’s why this situation is probably going to carry on for at least another six months, if not potentially the whole year.
Also, as pointed out by our anonymous tipster, paying $1250 for a second-hand PS5 — because it’s been removed from the box, as you can see above — is just gross. If you’re marking the console up by almost as much as it’s worth, at least leave it untarnished.
Update 16/02, 3:45PM AEDT: Other users have got in touch with other instances of PS5 scalping. Here’s one shot taken by a reader in Sydney’s Parramatta next to an Xbox Series X — which is also being resold well above RRP, but nowhere near the PS5:
$990 for the Xbox Series X, and $1250 for the PS5. Ouch.
Have you spotted any other instances of outright PS5 or Xbox Series X scalping? Let us know!
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