While notorious scalper group CrepChiefNotify have been making headlines through their exploits, an unrelated lone seller has also managed to earn himself $40,000 in a single week from the sale of PlayStation 5 consoles. As reported by Business Insider, the man known only as “Mark F” managed to bag himself a haul of 221 PS5 consoles to resell to desperate customers.
The US-based seller acquired his stockpile through a combination of bots and genuine online sales. Between 110 digital-only consoles and 111 disc consoles, his enterprise cost a grand total of $99,500. He’s then been reselling the consoles for $1,000 each, more than double their original price. With at least $500 profit on each machine, he’s making a fairly significant sum of money — just last week alone, he managed to make $40,000 from PS5 sales.
With many people clamoring to get their hands on the latest console, he seems to have no shortage of potential buyers despite his extortionate prices. Even though Sony has promised more inventory to be released by the end of the year, despairing families have taken to the secondary market to make sure they can get their hands on the latest PlayStation console in time for Christmas. At the rate he’s going, he’s highly likely to sell all of those consoles without a problem.
Retailers have struggled to combat the use of bots stealing consoles from genuine customers. The result is those trying to avoid the secondary market have found themselves increasingly frustrated. Limited inventory has been selling out in a matter of seconds at all retailers, with many people waiting in queues for hours before being told there’s nothing left. As someone who is personally struggling to find a PS5 console and who isn’t willing to pay a stupid price for it, the whole situation has been incredibly disappointing.
[Source: Business Insider]