Problems with next generation actions continue
A continuing headache for video game buyers continues to be the scarcity of next generation platforms PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S. The highly sought-after consoles from Sony and Microsoft continue to appear in online retailers, only to sell within minutes , inevitably leaving customers disappointed and frustrated.
To increase the fury, however, there is the addition of “money changers”, individuals or groups that buy several consoles in bulk, before offering them immediately for resale, usually at extremely inflated prices. Although scalping has prevailed in retail for decades, modern technology has made the practice more difficult to combat than ever before, due to the creation of software bot that performs the sales process automatically.
Earlier this week, British retailer GAME took stock of its latest batch of PS5 consoles, all of which – of course – sold out quickly. Soon after, a scalper company accessed Twitter to claim that it had successfully acquired more than 2,000 consoles from the sale, through the use of its bot software. Other Twitter users also claimed to have bagged several PS5 units, most with a flammable antagonistic attitude that makes the claims more difficult to believe.
After a flood of complaints was pressed against GAME for this result, the retailer contacted VGC to assure its customers that GAME’s next-generation order process remains blocked.
“PlayStation 5 continues to be in very high demand and that demand far exceeds the current supply,” said a GAME spokesman. “We have strong measures in place to help ensure that our ‘1 per customer’ statement is maintained to allow as many individual customers as possible to successfully purchase … All pre-orders are subject to automatic checks and order updates – such as cancellations after these checks – occur after a customer has received a valid order confirmation email. At the moment, these orders are still pre-orders and, as such, no payments have been withdrawn from customers. that our order checks have been completed. “
As long as there is demand for anything – from consoles to concert tickets, limited edition clothing and even toys – scalping will remain a frustrating part of the online retail process. In the end, whoever wants to buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X / S go have the opportunity to do so sooner or later. But the breathless race for retailers seems destined to continue for the time being, little different from all major console releases from past decades.
Death, taxes and your connection has expired.
Botper firm Scalper claims to have secured over 2,000 PS5 orders from GAME [VGC]
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