Valve is now selling second-hand 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Steam Decks at a discounted price with a one-year warranty. Essentially, you c🐼an buy the handheld console cheaper through official channels with the same support as buying a brand-new one. The only catch is the possibility of minor cosmetic damage. But when you’re saving over $100, what’s a couple of scratches?
As reported by , you can now get the 64GB model for $320 down from $400, the 256GB model for $420 down from $520, and the 512GB model for $520 down from $650. That means you can get the best version of the Steam Deck at the same price as the mid-tier one. It’s a steal, but also strangely archaic, like a scheme out ofജ the ‘00s that’s crept its way into a much more cynical and commercia🥃lized era.
Second-hand gaming is a dying relic, mostly left to collectors with too much money and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:scalpers wanting too much money. When the PS5 launched, official second-hand high street stores in the UK like CEX bought the new and low-stock next-gen console for more than the asking price so they could 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:pawn them off for well over the RRP. Scalping i🎀sn’t just an eBay phenomenon anymore, it’s the status quo. Demand for PS5s was skyrocketing and anyone who had their hands on one could set the price, so CEX sold them for over £600 - that’s around $765.
By nature, second-hand stores should be cheaper. You go to CEX to grab a used console for less than a brand-new one because it saves you money, even if it's in worse condition. Most of my consoles have been bought second-hand for just that reason, but now it takes years for the price to die down, anꦓd it's usually more affordable to go through official channels. It&rsquo✤;s backwards.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S set a new precedent for the market—new generations🎃 of consoles will not be affordable for many gamers at launch. Brand-new versions will be expensive, and second-hand ones even more so. But Valve has offered a solution by cutting out the middleman, that middleman being a scalper greedily eyeing up a nice juicy profit from unsuspecting parents who stumble into their stores wanting to get their kids a Christmas present.
Sony and Microsoft should buy second-hand consoles directly through their website and refurbish them, ensuring that they are in complete working order with no blatant issues like drift or a faulty fan. You aren’t likely to get that attention to detail via second-hand stores or online marketplaces. Trust me, the number of controllers I’ve bought with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:terrible drift is absurd. But Valve is selling refurbished Steam Decks, meaning that they’re brought bac🔯k up to the best 🌱possible condition.
Once refurbished, Sony and Microsoft should then sell them directly through the𓄧ir own websites at a discount just like Valve. Those who were selling their PS5 or Xbox Series X/S to CEX for less than retail price would have another option, one that doesn’t end in scalping. It would allow Sony and Microsoft to set the second-hand market price. Why go to eBay and spend a fortune on a PS6 when Sony has refurbished ones for much less? Suddenly, there’s a new precedent. It won’t end scalping overnight or stop extortionate high street robbery, but it will dictate the market and offer an alternative.
The XSX and PS5 launch showed 🀅there needs to be a change, and Valve has offered one up on a silver platter. Microsoft and Sony can either take note or leave the market to the whims of scalpers, bleeding people dry🌟 as stock dwindles.