Amazon has just set up a device to fight against robot buyers who empty PS5 stocks by creating a black market. A clever solution that should extend to the Xbox Series X, another console in high demand.
You may have noticed this if you’ve tried to get hold of one of the latest generation consoles from Sony or Microsoft: the PS5 and Xbox Series X are often out of stock and therefore hard to find. And when, by chance, we unearth some, it is often at exorbitant prices. This phenomenon of shortage which has lasted since the release of these highly demanded consoles – and which causes great disappointment among players – is quite simply due to specialized robots – purchasing bots – which hide in software and immediately and automatically buy these products in mass as soon as they are available on online stores, preventing human customers.
A device to fight against stock shortages and price increases
Why buy these devices massively? Quite simply to resell them at exorbitant prices, on the second-hand market or on parallel networks, creating a sort of black market. This is what the individuals who hide behind the famous purchasing bots. Thus, the standard edition of the PlayStation 5 costs 500 euros. However, by searching on Amazon, for example, we find that the Sony console is always out of stock and that it can only be purchased “used” from individuals – or pseudo individuals. At the time of this writing, offers range from 700 to 1,200 euros! And this does not only affect Amazon, since the consoles are also resold at a high price on other platforms such as eBay or Rakuten.
To counter this phenomenon, Amazon has worked on a system to bypass robots. As revealed TechCrunchthe e-commerce giant this week added a button labeled “Request invitation” (Request an invitation). Replacing the button to buy the product directly, it is an order option that allows you to secure your purchase. This gives Amazon time to verify that you are not a robot, by checking your purchase history and the date your account was created. However, the page will mention that the desired product is in high demand and is only available in limited quantities, which means that Amazon will not be able to meet all requests.
This action costs absolutely nothing and is accessible to everyone, even those who do not have an Amazon Prime account. If the platform considers that your account is legitimate, you will then receive an e-mail with the instructions to follow to definitively validate your purchase. Be careful, however, because the procedure must be completed within 72 hours of receiving the message. If this security is currently only available on the American Amazon and only for the PS5, the function will also concern the Xbox Series X in the coming days and perhaps other products in limited quantities. And of course, this new option should arrive in France very quickly. And if you really can’t wait, you can always go to Amazon US by logging into your account. But watch out for delivery costs!