eBay in PS3 Pre-Sales Rush

eBay could be the top retailer of video consoles for the coming holidays, says a Lazard Capital Markets analyst.

by Helen Leggatt

In a note to investors, analyst Colin Sebastian said that limited supplies of the PS3 will drive consumers to online marketplaces such as eBay.

Japan was recently allocated just 100,000 PS3 consoles after production problems with the DVD player. All the units were sold on the first day. Disappointed gamers immediately turned to the internet to source PS3s, some paying up to four times the retail price on Japanese auction sites.

Sebastian wrote, “Already, our survey of completed auctions on eBay.com indicates that nearly 2,000 pre-ordered PS3 and Wii consoles have been resold on the marketplace to-date.”

Ahead of their launch in the United States on 17 November, 2006, PS3s are fetching up to three times their retail price on eBay as people try to auction off their pre-ordered consoles in advance.

However, eBay angered traders when they pulled many PS3 auctions in line with their pre-sales rules which state that you must be in physical possession of the item in order to list it and provide photographic evidence if necessary.