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Steam Controller sells out within 30 minutes in some regions as scalpers start listing them for up to three times the price
(www.videogameschronicle.com)
this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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I keep repeating this every time scalping comes up: The best way to turn a scalper into a bag holder is to not buy what they're peddling.
The problem is that there are way too many people to whom $300 is pocket change and perpetuating exploitation does not bother them.
Simple. eat the rich
See also: scalp the rich
You are asking gamers, the least scrupulous set of consumers on the face of the earth, to demonstrate patience.
I'd say drug addicts are one place higher on that list...but only one...
Somewhere above the average weed addict but below the average opiate or meth addict. People who like weed (me) can get to be pretty picky about that stuff.
Scalpers put the items multiple times to ebay, with the intention to make the general price high, and also giving a "cheaper" option that looks like a deal. Even if its still higher than the original price. Getting the controller for 220 sounds like you got a good deal if most other sell it for 400. And there will always be people with more money in their pocket than the rest, who do not care what effects it has when purchasing it from the scalpers.
Second best would be manufacturers auctioning off their early delivery themselves and selling units for the regular price to confirmed loyal customers.
Steam in particular has some interesting options. They could make it so that, during the first couple of weeks, you need an active Steam account that's at least a year old to buy a controller, and you get a maximum of two per Steam account.
There's lots they could do to make sure they are sold to as many legitimate customers as possible.
The question is, how do you manage it without pissing some people off? I dont think the scalpers are that big of a deal, there's never thousands of them, I bet the percentage of sold controllers going to scalpers is pretty low.
~~(That would encourage scalpers doing it more often. I don't think a company should pay scalpers "ransom" like that and reward them. The better option would be try to avoid them.)~~ Edit: Never mind, I misunderstood you.
How does it encourage scalpers? Buyers will outbid scalpers because scalpers need to make a profit.
Oh wait, I totally misunderstood you. Actually that's not a bad idea to auction it themselves too. I guess the ebay middleman would complicate things further for Valve and even more costly. Maybe for the first 2 weeks or so until enough stock is there.