EB Games has begun selling preowned PS5 consoles for collection in December. Given that PS5s are becoming a more common sight on store shelves as we head into Christmas, that people have been trading them in should not come as all that great of a surprise.
What is surprising is the price point at which EB Games has decided to sell these preowned PS5s.
Preowned PlayStation®5 Disc and Digital consoles will be available to preorder for Click & Collect at 11AM AEST today, due Mid-December!
Extremely limited stock. https://t.co/sI1JQ66smx pic.twitter.com/thfVBKO1fe
— EB Games Australia (@EBGamesAus) November 25, 2022
A preowned model with a disc drive will set you back $749, while a preowned digital-only version will set you back $599. You might recognise these prices as the same ones new PS5’s were selling at before Sony hiked the price.
EB Games has long been derided for its … let’s call them ‘strategic’ decisions around preowned goods. Specifically, they charge like a wounded bull because once they’ve been traded, preowned games and consoles become almost pure profit. One might expect, given that they are second-hand, EB might charge slightly less for them. But no, they’re charging the same amount as the old RRP. Given that it’s only another $50 to secure a brand-new model of either console, I can’t imagine that EB expects to move all that many of them.
Until closer to Christmas, that is, when the stock of new consoles has run dry. And who will the desperate parents seeking a PS5 turn to then? That’s right, their old pals EB Games and their slightly cheaper preowned models.
This feels like a move by an older version of the company I haven’t seen in a long time. A move by a version of the company from 2010, when it held far more power in the marketplace than does now. Old habits die hard, I guess.
Anyway, consider this piece a public service announcement. Happy Friday.
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