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GameStop hikes refurbished PS5 Pro price to $1399.99, above MSRP

GameStop hikes refurbished PS5 Pro price to $1399.99, above MSRP

Amidst the shortages, possibly fueled by the upcoming release of GTA VI, GameStop is reportedly raising the price of refurbished PS5 Pro consoles from $800 to $1399.99 USD, so now they cost more than a brand-new one at ticket price.

Supposedly, a Redditor who works at the retailer leaked a memo telling employees that used consoles priced above new ones is intentional.

Due to the ongoing chip shortages and with Tom's Hardware citing a 500% rise in RAM prices over the past 12 months; new PS5 Pro's are hard to come by so this just appears to be GameStop cashing in. It also suggests demand is being pushed up by Grand Theft Auto VI, which launches this November.

If you just want a PlayStation, the standard PS5 Digital and Disc editions are said to still be selling at or close to MSRP.

Would you ever pay above asking price for a used console, or is this just a poor look for GameStop?

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eriols said:
Madness. I bought my rtx 4090 laptop for 2000 last year
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Legit, my Dell 7740 with the dedicated RTX 5000 Quadro was like $1400. Enterprise grade workstation.

I think these companies forgot that consoles were the cheap, and easy, alternative to desktop computers.

Now they're locked down ecosystems requiring a subscription for everything short of turning it on, cost more than an entry level PC, and have less performance.
 
SapphireLabs said:
Legit, my Dell 7740 with the dedicated RTX 5000 Quadro was like $1400. Enterprise grade workstation.

I think these companies forgot that consoles were the cheap, and easy, alternative to desktop computers.

Now they're locked down ecosystems requiring a subscription for everything short of turning it on, cost more than an entry level PC, and have less performance.
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Well, if not for the situation with RAM and SSD being too expensive because AI, these would be cheap and easy alternatives to desktop computers. You are right about subscriptions. When you factor in what it costs for a couple of years of Xbox Live or Sony's offering versus $0.00 on PC, consoles are a mistake right now, and maybe going forward. It's funny how many people howled at the price of the Switch 2 at launch. It's by far the best bargain in the industry now even after the September price increase. If only the eventual GTA VI Switch 2 port was ready for it right now...

It seems like next month will be prime time to sell your "old" PS5 and Xbox Series S consoles at a steep profit to all the people wanting to play GTA 6 who don't own one, which has to be tens of millions. This may or may not be the peak of the AI-fueled price increases. But if it is, it comes at a time of great demand (because GTA VI) when people absolutely do not want to pay these prices and yet absolutely will pay them. The companies that caused the AI and datacentre fiasco, which include AMD, Microslop, and Nvidia, have to just be laughing at this windfall (PC video card and discrete GPU shipments went up significantly in the most recently reported quarter, reaching a four-year high despite rising prices).
 
HaloEliteLegend said:
So the PS5 Pro I bought at $700 two years ago has now doubled in value. Nice. That's patently insane.
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True, but you are happy about it, right? Because you might be able to get TRIPLE what you paid for it in late November/early December. You could then take that money and buy a PC that will blow the doors off your PS5 Pro and be able to runs tens of thousands more games than any PlayStation ever could, without paying a monthly fee to Sony for PlayStation Plus.
 
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ChibiMofo said:
True, but you are happy about it, right? Because you might be able to get TRIPLE what you paid for it in late November/early December. You could then take that money and buy a PC that will blow the doors off your PS5 Pro and be able to runs tens of thousands more games than any PlayStation ever could, without paying a monthly fee to Sony for PlayStation Plus.
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One of the few times I completely agree with you. For around 2k, you shooooooooooould be able to get 9070 XT, 7800x3D or 9800x3D type of PC, which would run laps around PS5 Pro.
 
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ChibiMofo said:
True, but you are happy about it, right? Because you might be able to get TRIPLE what you paid for it in late November/early December. You could then take that money and buy a PC that will blow the doors off your PS5 Pro and be able to runs tens of thousands more games than any PlayStation ever could, without paying a monthly fee to Sony for PlayStation Plus.
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I do have a nicely spec'd PC. Upgraded to a 4090 some years ago at MSRP ($1600), feel like I caught the last chopper outta 'Nam. I remember when I was building that thing scouring the internet to beat bots and buy a GPU at MSRP. That was during the Bitcoin rush where 3080s and the like were 2-3x MSRP. PC components have only gotten worse price-wise but I'm inclined to agree, at $1400 I'd steer anyone over to PC instead of buying a PS5 Pro. I expect games to be far more expensive too with no physical releases to compete with the PlayStation store.
 
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NostalgicMillennial said:
Apparently now best buy is following the leader.


...at this point those looking to get GTA VI would be better off on Xbox Series X.
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The game runs at 30 on current gen consoles so... Eh. Plus, the story doesn't look as interesting or intriguing as the one from 4 and 5, it's more relaxed which isn't a bad thing, just less expectation.
 
I gave this situation some thought using my business brain and I think GameStop might be playing the long game with this one, and not necessarily in a malicious way, rather in a way that ensures they can continue to conduct business. It is entirely possible that the company is buying up consoles with *no actual intention* of selling them right now, and with good reason. I’ll explain.

The current chip shortage, both on the RAM and the GPU side of things (the PS5 Pro does run on an APU after all) will inevitably cause shortages when GTA VI drops - it’s going to be a behemoth, we all know this. They may have set this ridiculous price point specifically to disincentivise customers from buying it, effectively creating a stockpile. After all, customers can buy a *new* PS5 Pro at MSRP - they’re available, even if you have to shop around a bit. There’s no particular reason for anyone to choose the pre-owned option… right now. Once the game drops and the supply chain is strained? That’s a different story.

If GameStop is the only store that has both GTA VI and a stockpile of consoles ready to be cracked open, they’ve got the market cornered, and with excellent margins as well. They can then adjust the price point accordingly, and getting the customer through the door is the first step towards selling add-ons like peripherals, digital credit, toys, merch, you name it.

Naturally it’s also possible that they’ll keep the high price point if they’re the only ones with hardware ready to go, or that they’ll keep it elevated above MSRP, but to a lesser extent, but at that point it won’t matter. If Sony won’t be able to keep up with demand which is actually likely (GTA VI has reached the 4.86 million pre-orders mark with 77% of them being on PlayStation), GameStop will be in a very comfortable position.

An interesting gambit, and admittedly just a theory, but I’ve seen such trickery in the past. Ever seen an item priced at as many 9’s as the price field will accept? That right there is an item the retailer has no intention of selling, but *if you insist*, go on ahead.
 

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