The PlayStation 5 is one of the world's hottest products at the moment, which means many gamers will have been struggling to make a purchase due to the undesirable actions of scalpers and bots. However, a simple Chrome extension called OctoShop has recently been updated to help in the quest for securing a brand-new PS5 console.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/PlayStation-5-hunters-can-tackle-scalpers-and-bots-with-the-help-of-the-updated-OctoShop-PS5-stock-tracker-Chrome-extension.504152.0.html
I have used these notification apps for 3080 launch and they are absolutely useless
Yes you do get alerts but the Bots go through the checkout process faster than any human can
The bots also check stock and automate the entire checkout process .. they are mostly doing web crawling while working with the api to send requests
In theory it should be easy to spot but companies don't invest to protect against this since they make money regardless
And even retailers such as neweggg or Walmart crash and give errors when a drop happens.. making literally impossible to buy one normally
Just don't buy from scalpers and they will be stuck with their $10K+ stock. The stores will get more systems and the scalpers will stop if nobody is buying from them.
They need to stop allowing this to happen and put these ppl out of business. It wouldn't be hard for them to put a stop to most of it. Retailers will still make there money but they need to make it fair for the ppl who actually want the ps5 for themselves. And not the ones buying 50 or whatever at a time. Exactly Garret dont buy from those ppl. Wait if you cant get one. There will be more soon enough
This is Sonys and Microsofts fault. They won't sell them in stores as all things have been since commerce began. Then they tell us they don't any more units yet they sell them to other countries,,,and I like most of you have had one in my cart only to have it removed when trying to pay for it. If we have made it to the stage where a product is in your cart to be paid for, that product gets removed from available product so how can it then vanish into someone else's...launch? There was never a launch. Only more marketing for Sony and Microsoft!
They should add a captcha and or thing so ppl can stop botting these items and make it available for one per costumer per account. Even this chat room has a robot checker. Fucking frustrating that just cuz they got good computer with scripts they can auto buy things and making it unavailable for everyone else.
You see this is why I'm upset they say one per customer but yet they can't even keep track of the selling. And im tired of these guys on eBay being sharks and selling them at those ridiculous prices, EVERYBODY do not buy from eBay let them get stuck with all thise shits..
I wanted to buy my husband a PS5 for Christmas. He's served two tours in the Army. He is so selfless taking care of myself and my 80 year old mother but because of people like you there won't be one under our tree. Shame on you!
I pray God makes you think about what you took from others.
Sincerely,
Praying Mother-Grandma
Ebay should be held somewhat accountable. This is bullshit.
Sony and microsoft should track those serial numbers, find how they were purchased (like on ebay) and go after the extra profit . After all it's sort of like stealing from the manufacturer.
The problem isn't with Sony or the scalpers, it's the people that are willing to pay $1500+ for the system. I personally don't see what the big rush is, it's not like there are awesome next Gen exclusives out.
Yeah, I decided to skip this generation of playstation because of all this bullshit Sony allowed to happen. Not going to play these games with scalpers. Will just get a nice PC instead.
I was going to say how is this any different from using now in stock or a page refresher. Even those were useless since by the time the alerts came in and even if you instantly went to the site it was already to late.
Quote from: Josj on November 15, 2020, 06:57:00
I have used these notification apps for 3080 launch and they are absolutely useless
Yes you do get alerts but the Bots go through the checkout process faster than any human can
The bots also check stock and automate the entire checkout process .. they are mostly doing web crawling while working with the api to send requests
In theory it should be easy to spot but companies don't invest to protect against this since they make money regardless
And even retailers such as neweggg or Walmart crash and give errors when a drop happens.. making literally impossible to buy one normally
They let's all the rich get it my grandson so down been since the virus I really been trying to get him one but since I don't have the money like the rich people I'm out luck wad going paid the 599 .00 for it but I'm not on the vIp list
I would say this is a Sony problem. To bad it's pretty obvious they care very little to actually do anything about it despite how easily it could have been done to handle this.this entire stock of 2 million units should have just became one giant lottery where the oldest psn accounts got first dibs to secure 1 unit of their choice and it should have been done months ago. Wait a week and anyone who didnt claim them move on to the next year of psn accounts offering one until all are sold out and they tell us we have no more until 2021. At least it prevented this chaos and the crazy amount of scalpers. I'm fine with not getting one, I'm not fine with the false hope of possibly getting one if I sit at my computer all day tracking down who is releasing when, and still not get one. Oh well, if Sony believes this was the best they can do then guess I'm waiting months till I get one.
It is unfortunate. There should be measures against this. Sony or Microsoft should do something concrete about this. I had saved up but someone I knew they have bought a bunch of units but selling it 1k so I decided against buying it. Say No hard to scalpers and they will learn the lesson... These people are so selfish and without a shame.
Sony and Microsoft is actually siding with the scalpers otherwise they would have used countermeasures to stop this from happening. Hell with them I will wait a year and still game on my Nintendo switch and pc.
The best way to deal with scalpers would be to flood the market with product so there isn't an incentive to buy from a reseller or they'll risk losing out from frustrated customers switching to PC
Quote from: Vince on November 16, 2020, 03:23:41
I would say this is a Sony problem. To bad it's pretty obvious they care very little to actually do anything about it despite how easily it could have been done to handle this.this entire stock of 2 million units should have just became one giant lottery where the oldest psn accounts got first dibs to secure 1 unit of their choice and it should have been done months ago. Wait a week and anyone who didnt claim them move on to the next year of psn accounts offering one until all are sold out and they tell us we have no more until 2021. At least it prevented this chaos and the crazy amount of scalpers. I'm fine with not getting one, I'm not fine with the false hope of possibly getting one if I sit at my computer all day tracking down who is releasing when, and still not get one. Oh well, if Sony believes this was the best they can do then guess I'm waiting months till I get one.
My thoughts exactly
How about they try something like how the drugstores to pick up their medicine. For example I'm allowed to get 1 Sudafed with my valid photo I.D. so how the heck can drugstores such as Rite Aide, CVS, Walgreens etc... can put a stop on how much we can get but SONY can't get their ish together!!! Man I lost an entire day on the 12th trying to surprise my son with one for his birthday and then when they were released shortly the month before my husband went to get one at Game Stop he was 12th in line and told they only got 10 units??!! That's outrageous cmon SONY MAKE 2020 better again!!!!!
Don't buy. Let it rot. They get their lesson.
Why anyone would want any of the first batch is beyond me... There's ALWAYS problems with three first batch of units that go out... Been like that since the N64.
I'll never get in line for a first release console.
I've always gotten mine around February March.
Wanna get it for your kids for Christmas, get them a visa gift card with the amount needed so they say least know they can get it as soon as they find it... Never buy scalped units.
Why would Sony or Xbox care if the average shopper bought their product? After all profit is profit, a scalpers money is just as good as the average consumer. If someone is willing to pay the extra money, that's their choice. However I refuse to pay extra money because frankly at the the end of the day it's just a game console. It's not life or death. Did I want to surprise my kids and be super mom by providing the impossible , hell yeah. But not at the cost of a peaceful and wonderful holiday season." 'Tis the season to be jolly"
The real fail is retailers all agreeing to sell online only instead of in stores. If consoles where available in stores this would not be an issue.
@April
Sony and Microsoft should care, because scalpers don't buy games, which is where they actually make money from their console ecosystems.
So it's that many sales and profits lost for months until non-scalper supply finally overtakes demand.
Don't buy from scalpers let 'em go broke lol
Simple, do not buy from Ebay or pay above the retail price. Sony and these other game developers will notice why the games are not being purchased when all the consoles have been sold. Remember, these scalpers cannot buy all the games!! ;D
Hey does anyone know if any such app / chrome extension is available for Canadians?
People who think that Sony and retailers are siding with the scalpers are fools. Sony doesn't make money from selling consoles, the HDMI cable the thing comes with alone is worth nearly $200, let alone the high speed computer we call the ps5. They make they're money from selling software, video games. Do people think these scalpers are buying video games? Hell no! Not unless they intend to "bundle" the ps5 with the game. It's not some big conspiracy, people were just too stupid to have the foresight to see this coming and too incompetent to stop it if they did.
there's no REAL way of stopping "scalpers". They ordered & paid for the console units. And now with more widely available store credit card accounts, a single consumer can buy as many consoles as they can put on a store credit card. The failure is with consumers thinking they "can't wait" & buying the new consoles or bundles for far more than retail prices.
if a scalper can't sell his units fast enough, they just sell at retail prices eventually or risk losing money - having to compete with Sony or a retailer sale/deal in the future.