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Miss out on PS5 preorders? There was one for sale on eBay for $25,000

Limited supply means a potential payday for arbitrage resellers.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
Ian Sherr
2 min read
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Preorders for the PlayStation 5 appeared to sell out shortly after they began on Wednesday.

Sony

Update, Nov. 6: Read our PS5 review.


When Sony announced the $400 entry price for its PlayStation 5 video game console Wednesday, it said preorders would start the next day. Many large retailers decided to start sales early, surprising fans who quickly surfed to websites only to learn the device had already sold out.

But not at eBay . The popular auction site was filled with listings for PlayStation 5 consoles ready to sell  on Thursday promising the seller had secured a preorder and would ship the device immediately after it arrived.

Watch this: PlayStation 5 launch details

"This is ** CONFIRMED PREORDER**," one eBay seller wrote. "Updates will be provided all the way!" wrote another.

The ordeal was an unusual hiccup for Sony, whose PlayStation 5 launch has been built on carefully planned slow reveals of various features like 3D audio, faster game loading times and the design of the device.

Sony took to Twitter on Saturday to apologize to fans over the ordeal, though it appeared to be caused by retailers jumping the gun on preorders a day early, and promised more supplies would be made available.

Still, sellers on Sunday were attempting to offload preorders on eBay for between $750 and $1,000, about double the $400 starting price of the console without a Blu-ray drive, or double the $500 starting price for the PS5 that has it. 

PlayStation 5 ebay listing

This eBay listing may set a record for the most expensive PS5. But that's only if the buyer pays.

eBay

One seller's auction though had risen to $25,100, after 11 bids and a starting price of $800 on Thursday afternoon.

The eBay listings aren't likely to last though. The auction site's listing policies on pre-sale items require that the item must be delivered within 30 days of purchase on eBay. "Our Trust teams are aware of this issue and we are taking the appropriate action," an eBay spokeswoman said.

The buying and selling frenzy is one of the first public signs of how in-demand Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's $500 Xbox Series X and $300 Xbox Series S will be when they land on store shelves this November.