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Topic: Anyone here having problems obtaining a PS5

Posts 21 to 40 of 50

lexxel

@Th3solution that is a term - people happy to buy it here - this is not the case

i bought the ps4 collectors edition from ebay because it was completely impossible to buy the pre-order due to the high rates of pre-orders appearing on ebay - i consider the sale of this collectable is a crime committed against myself due to the fact i was not able to buy a pre-order

ebay sends out emails - showing pre-ordered being sold on their platform - so the goods not even out on the market and due to stock availability the same complies with any batch of shipments of supplies - for ebay to inspire people to buy stuff purposely to raise up prices and rip of others - which can be proven by ebays own emails takes away the opportunity away from the buyer to the retail store - consoles and collectable games and gpus are made for those who want to use them, not for people to sell on ebay

Fight for your rights

lexxel

@Th3solution literally ebay and scalpers can be clearly be proven to have purposely intent to do this - its theft and scamming and fraud

Fight for your rights

Chevyguy

@TrueAssassin86x i have yet to put a disk in my launch ps5, I haven't bought physical copies in years I know probably bad in the long run but its just more convenient

Chevyguy

lexxel

@Th3solution if the bakery statement well

ps5 pre order - not on the market being sold on ebay for 3000 dollars when the retailer is selling for 749 selling the pre order
the scalper brought the pre order and inflated the price - ebay made a profit from the 3000 dollars, the genuine buyer who the goods were meant for, had their rights taken away from buying the item from the retailer - answer to bakery

a batch of ps5 now comes in, 100 units - 70 is sold to genuine buyers 30 people solely went in there to place the consoles on ebay or another platform. for 1k over the price - 30 genuine buyers missed out and ebay is making money from it, even advertising it through email, someone else sees the email then decides to do that on the next batch of 100 units and this means 60 bought buy genuine buyers 40 buying it for the sole purpose
causing people to look for it and in my case having heart disease and possibly having a heart attack at any time - (i am not buying anything from ebay scalpers ever again cause spiderman 4 i do consider myself a victim of crime) causes someone with heart disease to buy of them because 5mths now and ebay and scalpers have been doing it - ebay has made millions from this practice and they do want more people doing it

Fight for your rights

lexxel

@Chevyguy glad you got one and using it and enjoying it

Fight for your rights

lexxel

@Th3solution i contacted ebay during spiderman 4 collectors requesting them to stop scalpers due to the pre-orders
I also contacted them last year on the ps5 pre-launch they care nothing - they basically went meh because they make millions from it and they even solicit emails promoting the scalped items and thus in turn inspires others

Fight for your rights

Th3solution

@lexxel I understand and I agree with you in principle — and that’s one reason why I rarely buy from Ebay and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve used it over the years.

Nevertheless, I don’t think a lawsuit could be successful. I’m not an attorney by any stretch, but even though they have pre-orders I still don’t see it as illegal. But I could be wrong. I do see it as unfair, but unfortunately laws aren’t always fair.
I do think letting a publisher like Ubisoft know your concerns is the right thing to do. Until they see the extent of consumer displeasure with the situation then it’s not likely to change.
There was talk of some legislator in the UK proposing some kind of anti-scalping bill, but I never heard what happened with that.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

lexxel

@Th3solution I wanted a ps5 and tried to buy a pre sale - none were available

so suing ebay is not just the money of the item - its everything else
5 months of frustration - though it does not control my life, some depression over it, my entertainment is priceless and ebay refused to stop scalping
I would estimate well over a million for the fact they caused more than monetary loss - they are allowing something that takes other peoples enjoyment away

assassins creed vahala - i have every statue in assassins creed, i missed out on vahala - 1 hobby and interest gone, thanks to ebay and scalping - a hoby and interest is worth more than money

now from my perspective its about things i collect and just willingness to play games - however there are others who for instance Nvidia GPU a lot of scalpers on that and no capability to buy in stores, this has an impact if they are content creators of some kind - if they are a content creator and cannot afford to wait till their lucky to buy stock from a retailer they have to resort to being ripped off on ebay

Fight for your rights

lexxel

@Th3solution these products being made are for the consumer, the sole premise of them being made is so people can buy and use and enjoy - pre order to buy and enjoy and play the console

i have been collecting assassins creed for well over a decade now - 2007
right upto origins you could go into the store and buy the exclusive, after that it was either pre-order or nothing because huge volumes of pre orders appearing on ebay
the products were not made for people who had no intent of their own for the purposes they were made for - 14yrs of my life completely ruined

the spiderman ps4 collectors edition - i totally feel like a victim of crime - i have the statue out, but everytime i tried to play that game it just made me angry, sometimes when i look at the statue it makes me angry - i tried buying it from the retail store on pre-order but sold out world wide - it was made for the consumer not for a scalper to apply on ebay so ebay and the scalper can make a profit

i wont buy a ps5 from ebay because if i did there is no way I would be able to enjoy playing it - i do think there is strong grounds for suing ebay but ultimately would have to be a class action that goes international because 1 person is fruitless but 1000 or 16000 people that is a bigger story for ebay and it would literally stop them from doing the same thing in the future

I contacted ebay last yr and spiderman collectors ps4 - the first time they replied with contempt - to bad we gonna make out money - my second time was on the ps5 pre release - i was not nice - I am progressing towards PM's and Gov agencies right now to get ebay receiving severe fines - scalping in my country is illegal as 1980s was first applied and then was re-applied last year over toilet paper because the world went nuts on toilet paper

I do see a class action succeeding if fruition of people joined and every single person being compensated by ebay with ebay forced to pay all legal fees - this would in turn make other platforms stopping scalpers on their platforms as well

Fight for your rights

LieutenantFatman

I haven’t been able to purchase a PS5 yet, I was planning to get one at launch. Still got plenty of games to keep me busy on PS4 for now, especially with all the free games so it's all good. Can't say I feel any urgency, the PS5 has some solid games already that I'm looking forward to playing but nothing incredible that I'm desperate to play asap.

LieutenantFatman

LordSteev

@Th3solution

I hate sleeping. You do it for a few hours, and look at all the stuff you miss. I just wanted to give you a short reply from your post on page one of this thread.

I understand the right to re-sell something you bought and no longer have a use for. Or something you want to upgrade, like a new car. I have a hard time equating that to someone who tries to scoop up as many of a rare item as they can, only to try to make more money off of the item's rarity to the detriment of both the consumer at large and the manufacturer.

The argument about the right to re-sell is a flimsy and shallow one used by the scalpers themselves. I'm just a little surprised to see you lend that argument credence.

LordSteev

redd214

If I chose to sell one of our PS5's for $800, not that I would, who the heck are you to say I can't or should be sued, that's lunacy lol. If I pay my own money for something, it 100% my choice on what I want to do with said product moving forward. I've been able to secure dozens of ps5's without the use of bots or hacks or any of that crap so its hardly impossible to get the things, not for scalping purposes but to assist others in acquiring them, even donated one. Though I think its scummy what scalpers are doing, trying to control what people do with things that they have purchased by legal means is a slipper slope imo.

redd214

Th3solution

@LordSteev I agree on moral grounds (believe me, I’ve been rather upset at losing out in many a PS5 over the last 4-5 months) but I’m just looking at it strictly from a legal standpoint, being the realist. Regulating re-sale of goods would be a logistical nightmare. In general I don’t adhere to full blown laissez-faire economics, but I might lean a little heavier toward free market than some, although with a moderate texture. I also realize the regulatory limitations in the international internet world we live in. In balancing what becomes black market through a fence and what can be obtained through a fairly organized structure I would choose the latter, at least from a societal perspective.

I think to me it makes a difference in how the goods are obtained. Clearly scalpers of PS5 are using unfair means, but I’m not aware of overt law breaking. So long as they aren’t lying about what they are selling and didn’t steal them or mug someone for them, then I have a hard time coming up with legal grounds to slowing them down. But like I say, the companies who make the products should have recourse to stop the practice.

I mean hey, if someone starts a class-action lawsuit against Ebay, maybe I’d sign up, but I wouldn’t expect anything to come of it; certainly not millions of dollars of compensation for pain and suffering. Now it might put pressure on EBay to police their sellers more, which would be a step in the right direction. Like put a limit of 2 units per seller per month. I’m just pulling numbers out of the air, but maybe something like that would keep the average seller’s ability to offload something he/she doesn’t want, yet de-incentivize large scale scalping.

And I’m not totally opposed to government involvement, but it would depend. I’m generally a little wary of government regulating private affairs, but am open to the idea.

I have a similar disdain for many things in life that I feel are unfair, unjust, or immoral, but sometimes I have to admit that from a pragmatic standpoint it simply just exists. Hopefully, whether through pressure from Sony and game publishers, or through EBay’s internal monitoring, that it becomes less problematic. Not crossing my fingers though.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

LordSteev

@Th3solution

I freely admit knowing next to nothing about EBay, having never used it myself. For most things, I take a caveman approach when purchasing. I want to see, touch, smell, etc. a product before parting with my cash. I'm old, what can I say? Therefore, I feel fully unqualified to argue for or against anything ebay related.

My only real argument is the gulf between common re-sale practice, like an individual selling things he or she no longer needs/wants, versus the (to me, at least) borderline organized crime activity of purposefully emptying an already depleted scarce supply in order to hold that availability over the heads of general consumers in order to gouge them for profits with ridiculous mark-ups. The two just aren't the same thing, I don't think.

I agree with you that there's a huge divide between what's right and what's realistically enforceable. I agree with you even more on the idea that Government should stay out of people's private lives. But I feel like when someone aggressively attacks a limited availability item with the intent of gouging people who want it, they've strayed into the public domain based on the number of people their actions are effecting. I feel I should have the right to own, say, as many guns as I want. If I make my gun ownership an issue of public concern, say by shooting many members of said public because I woke up feeling butthurt about something, then I've broken with the public trust and am no longer afforded the privilege of privacy.

It's an interesting topic, and I as always respect and appreciate your thoughts.

LordSteev

Th3solution

@LordSteev The difference now with PS5’s and with other similar scarce commodities is that the scalping community can more easily buy in bulk than in years past. And the pandemic’s online-only sale of them just exacerbated the problem. In the past, you’d see people line up and drive all over town to different stores to grab up whatever hot item there was but realistically someone would only be able to purchase a handful of said item with expenditure of much effort and it simply wasn’t worth it. Not to mention “limit 1 per customer” rules were easier to enforce when the sale occurs face to face. Now, with the technological assistance of bots, coupled with a boatload of free time, they can gobble up large caches without even getting in their car.

I have a friend who uses Ebay to sell collector items like rare sports cards, collectible toys, coins, etc. He puts a fair amount of time and effort and makes a few dollars for extra spending. Honestly I think he finds joy in the hunt as well. I don’t have a huge problem with these tactics. He’s basically doing the legwork and charging a finder’s fee. It’s mostly a win-win with customer and seller in those situations. In the case of PS5 scalpers (as well as concert ticket scalpers, athletic shoe scalpers, etc.) they are exploiting a wrinkle in the system to get ahead of others in line. I do disagree with that sort of re-sale. So I think it depends on the situation. Like you say, the “organized crime” approach is the problem.

But in the end, nobody ‘needs’ a PS5 (or the latest Air Jordans, or the tickets to see Paul McCartney), so I’m looking for a potential quantifiable harm and just not seeing it. Now if the situation degrades to the Prohibition Era point of murders and mob bosses running an underground crime ring that threatens the public welfare, then I think we have grounds to get the law involved. But like I say, I’m not a lawyer so there might be “unfair commerce” laws out there that we could get these guys shut down with, but I think it would have been tried by now.

Anyways, it is interesting and I think I’m in agreement with you in principle; I’m just advocating that the parties that do a little Ebay arm twisting be the manufacturers and publishers, rather than the Joe Schmoe consumers like us. I don’t think a judge would say that we have any particular rights that have been violated.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

LordSteev

@Th3solution

True, the only right I see being violated (and maybe it's not even a right but a privilege), is the ability to more easily buy a product at msrp. It IS a little worrying that Sony is showing so little initiative in this regard.

Agree with you completely about rare/collectables, a whole different story. Indeed, part of the attraction is in the finding and reselling. Same whether it's fine art, baseball cards, autographs, etc.

Most of my ire springs from the fact that I'm still a PS4 user, due to no financial failings on my part but rather a retail choke-point which is not being helped by some dirty scalping practices. I realize the dent in the marketplace they are making as a whole is probably very small, but it sure doesn't help.

LordSteev

Chevyguy

The digital age really puts a hurting on the average consumer trying to get a ps5. Vpns, digital credit cards, check out bots all different ways to mask your identity and purchase multiple consoles at a time. In the end sony only cares about money but you'd think they would want it in the hands of gamers to spend money on games or services

Chevyguy

lexxel

@OrigamiCrane precisely

but the question - should ebay be held accountable for listing scalpers

to put another questions too you, who are the products designed for? -
are they made for people to play and enjoy or use them with the purpose of streaming their gaming (consoles and games) or content creations (nvidia gpu's)
or are they made for people who has the sole purpose to take them off the shelf, who has no intent on gaming etc but solely to list the product on ebay for anywhere upto thousands of dollars above the retail price, that ebay promotes, condones and even inspires others to do the same as both the scalper and ebay make a profit?

to myself - the bottom line of a product is that they were designed for the consumer to use and enjoy or work with etc - not so someone can violate that right of the consumer for the essence of greed.

I totally agree with you m8y, I have seen previous consoles taken off the market by those who has only the desire to rip off others - this is really stealing from someone who genuinely has and interest on using it for its purpose of existing. This question here does represent why a class action law suit would win especially an international one. To myself its a no brainer to jump on a bandwagon for that intent, because in the future, this type of practice of scalping would greatly diminish. Ebay refuses to do the right thing when they were contacted so the only real way to enforce ebay to never allow it again is by suing them and also applying government against them. Its not about greed as it was ebay and scalping greed and greatly ebay that caused the outcomes

I am glad you really have a game you relate too - with myself, I was a big fan of the assassins creed games, majorly for storyline and was the first collectable game I ever bought - 14yrs of collecting them gone out the window thanks to ebay and scalpers due to pre-orders and new releases taking the product of the shelf - thats 14yrs of investment into the game gone, solely due to not having vahalla collectors edition.

Ebay sole business model upon this issue - of ps5/xbox/gpu's and collectable games is equal to that of being a scammer. I do think its criminal and I do think ebay has a duty of care not to breach consumer rights and commercial laws. People have the legitimate right to buy retail products at retail prices, a scalper is literally stripping that right away from someone placing it for a profit alongside ebay that is also manipulation of another persons psychology - doesn't matter why a person would buy a scalped item that someone had their legal right violated to purchase the item to begin with.

Now I said assassins creed - well the enzio statue came out 10yrs ago - i bought it then, its no longer made and its sought out item, if i listed it on ebay. its not scalping, its value would be what ever the market perception of value it would be - ps5 xbox series nvidia/amd gpu - anything set to be released and anything that is arriving on the shelves right now, does not contain a perception as it contains a factual retail price set by the manufacturers and publishers only allowing min price differences

Fight for your rights

lexxel

@redd214 why should you have the right to intentfully deprive another persons right from using it if you were buying it for the sole purpose to resell the item above the retail price. you would be literally stealing someone elses right to buy it from the store you bought it from - also if you classed it as new, you committed fraud because once you bought it off the retailer it is second hand

if you bought a ps5 for instance and played it and said ah not liking it, then you decided to make your money back - fair enough then you would make your money back and not try to rip people off - but what your selling the perceptive market is lower than the cost of the ps5 retail cost - unless fraud is happening right now by companies like ebay and scalpers

Fight for your rights

redd214

@lexxel Wow, that's quite a take we can just agree to disagree. Best of luck getting one champ

redd214

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