eBay Warns Scammers Selling Photos Of PS5s For Hundreds Of Dollars

eBay is one of the best places to go if you're trying to track down a previously-owned console, particularly for those that aren't produced anymore. However, when it comes to the PS5 and Xbox Series X / Series S, scammers continue to use the site to profit off the demand for next-gen consoles, which has prompted eBay to issue a statement.

"We condemn these opportunistic sellers who are attempting to mislead other users," eBay said via Eurogamer. "We are in the process of removing all listings for photos of PS5s from our marketplace and will be taking appropriate action against the sellers...Buyers who receive an item which is not as described are entitled to a refund via our eBay Money Back Guarantee, provided they completed the transaction on the eBay platform."

As Eurogamer reports, many of these fake listings advertise a "brand new Sony PlayStation 5," only to clarify that the buyer will receive only a photo of a PS5 in the finer description. Other scams include selling an empty box, raffle tickets, and even parents purporting to raise money to buy their child a next-gen console themselves. Such claims are dubious, to say the least.

These outright scams are the latest development in the strange grey market economy that crops up every time a new generation of consoles is released. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the expected console shortages, meaning that scalpers are free to charge double or triple the retail price of a console in hope of finding a buyer desperate or resourceful enough to fork over their cash. Though the consoles released weeks ago, would-be buyers are still lining up at their local GameStop for a chance to snag a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S after the Black Friday restock.