Like clockwork, the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary preorders are ruined by scalpers

This week, PlayStation launched the eagerly awaited preorders for the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundles. Fans worldwide had the chance to preorder the PS5 Pro, with a design inspired by the original PlayStation console. The bundle includes a similarly designed DualSense Edge controller, a DualSense charging station, and a console cover to use over the removable disc drive. All of this is included under a $999 price tag.

While the pricing model of the PS5 Pro has been contentious, many have been hoping to extract as much performance and fidelity from their games, thus leading them to want to preorder the PS5 Pro and the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary, the latter of which was positioned as a rarity, with only 12,300 being manufactured. However, much like any other hardware launch, scalpers quickly swooped in and it wasn’t long before customers with confirmed purchases turned around to sites like eBay, asking for upwards of $3,500 or more for their unit. Thus, stock on the PS5 Pro 30th anniversary sold out immediately.

PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary preorders are the latest victims to scalpers

Scalpers routinely take the place of eager fans and players, only to turn a profit on their purchases

I’ll never forget being in high school when the Nintendo Wii launched. This was the first time in my life that I was on the preorder hustle for a new console. I woke up early, and began searching online for preorders across GameStop, Walmart, Best Buy, and even Sears, which sold electronics at the time. With wide eyes, I hoped that I’d be able to snag a preorder of the highly anticipated console. Unfortunately for my naive younger self, scalpers came in like vultures, packing into every virtual queue, and taking all the preorders for themselves. Much to my dismay, within moments, the listing went up on eBay, Kijiji, and other online forums with increased markups on the pricing.

Flashforward to 2024 and sadly not much has changed. Given how limited the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary was, one could only begin to imagine how much of a bloodbath it became across virtual queues. In the US, PlayStation was offering the chance to preorder the bundle via PlayStation Direct. Other retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon were offering the PlayStation 5 Slim 30th Anniversary as well as other separate accessories and devices. Fans were encouraged to join the virtual queue on PlayStation Direct where they could purchase one of the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundles directly through the company. PlayStation Direct even ensured that purchases would be limited to one per customer. In a perfect world, this would be a great system to allow for a substantial amount of authentic fans to get their hands on this neat piece of kit.

Unfortunately, as soon as the floodgates opened, scalpers nabbed the already limited amount of consoles via PlayStation Direct. Soon after, listings went up on eBay. What was already a hefty purchase of $999 rose to $3,500 and in many cases $4,500. Some downright devious scalpers even dared to list their PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundle for $10,000. While I’m sure the more egregious scalpers will be humbled by the response to their listings, the ones who marked their preorders up to $3,500 may likely get a few nibbles, much to the frustration of hopeful purchasers.

Scalpers making PlayStation’s $999 price tag seem quaint

By comparison, the original price tag of the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary is meagre

PlayStation

Those who were unable to get a PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary of their own are left with very few options now. Due to PlayStation being very forthright on the limited number of consoles being manufactured, it’s unlikely that the company will make more of the 30th-anniversary consoles in the future. Thus, those who are actively hoping to add one to their collection only have scalpers to turn to. While I wouldn’t give scalpers the satisfaction, if owning one means a lot to you, you’ll have to shell out a few thousand dollars to purchase a PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary.

PlayStation’s pricing model for the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary seemed costly. But once you factor in how the base PS5 Pro runs for $699 as well as the price of the DualSense Edge, vertical stand, and charging station, the $999 price point is more understandable. What’s far less easy to digest is how scalpers can justify charging $3,500 for the console. This is especially true in the current economic climate. Scalpers effectively took a product that’s moderately scaled for a higher-end experience and attached an exuberant sticker price to it.

Rather than allow these scalpers to profit from such a tactless money-making scheme, I encourage everyone to ignore these listings, and make fun of them online instead. Only then will scalpers be less incentivized to take space within virtual queues and steal away the opportunity to purchase newly launched consoles and hardware down the road.