Finding a PS4 in stock is like finding gold according to some gamers, and the only thing Sony has said about the limited PlayStation 4 availability is to “be patient.”
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , finding a PS4 in stock at all only became possible after Christmas , and even a week later the PlayStation 4 availability was mostly limited to PS4 bundle deals and eBay .
In order to find a PS4 in stock, tracker tools are pretty much the only way to be quick enough to snag a deal. For example, we previously wrote about the GameStop PS4 bundle deals , but most of them, except for one, are sold out now as of this writing. Their PlayStation 4 Refurbished Remote Play Bundle includes a refurbished PlayStation 4 console, a refurbished PlayStation Vita, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Killzone: Mercenary for Vita , and a one Year PlayStation Plus membership. That’s not too bad considering a refurbished PlayStation 4 will likely have any previously existing PS4 error issues and glitches fixed , and the warranty would still be good. Plus, if you don’t like the Killzone games you can always return them unopened to a local GameStop, or try getting a gift card as a return at Walmart.
Unfortunately, if you stray away from the PS4 bundle deals the prices for a standalone console tend to be marked up. For example, on eBay you can typically find a PlayStation 4 for sale for around $475, including shipping. There are literally thousands of PlayStation 4 auctions on eBay every day, which is probably not helping PS4 availability at all. Worse, many of those sellers probably don’t realize that at the $475 price point they’re barely making any money. eBay charges a Final Value Fee of 10 percent so, once you include the price of free shipping, they’re only making about $10 for their effort, assuming they bought the console for the MSRP of $399.99 So, in the end, resellers are not making much money for their time and it’s just making it hard to find the PlayStation 4 in stock.
Speaking of out of control prices, Amazon almost always has a PS4 in stock through third parties, but the current best price is $499.99 plus shipping, which is a $100 markup and makes the Xbox One sound like a steal. Still, if you’re willing to pay the extra money for your impatience, this price point is actually lower than it used to be. Right after Christmas the starting price on Amazon.com was around $600, and the last time The Inquisitr wrote on this topic it was $530 plus $3.99 shipping. So, as you can see, PS4 deals are slowly dropping in price down to the MSRP.
Sony is said to be manufacturing about one million units a month in order to keep up demand. But people are becoming impatient and have pointed out you can find a Xbox One in stock very easily and at the normal price of $499.99. What does PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida have to say to this? He says gamers should just “be patient” when looking for the PS4 in stock.
Another gamer asked about PS4 sales numbers. While we know the PlayStation 4 sales numbers surpassed two million in 2013, Yoshida claims he doesn’t know what the latest news is, which seems surprising. It’s possible that’s bad news for Sony. They thought they’d sell five million units by March of 2014, but while Xbox One sales numbers were lower than the PS4, the numbers also revealed the Xbox One was selling faster.
Sony has also shot down rumors that they are limiting the number of PS4 in stock in order to artificially raise demand and thus prices. They are claiming the manufacturers are doing their best when it comes to maintaining good PlayStation 4 availability. What do you think?