To prevent scalpers from walking off with the merchandise, Valve has developed a conditional reservation system for the purchase of its Steam Machine. Unfortunately, some people have no qualms about selling their pre-order vouchers on eBay, and prices are quickly reaching outrageous levels. We’re talking about several thousand euros for consoles equipped with 2 TB of storage. But the one taking the biggest risk in this situation is the buyer, who finds themselves heavily dependent on the seller to acquire their console.
Steam Machine: Pre-order vouchers selling for up to $3,000 on eBay!
Sales heavily restricted by Valve!
Valve did, however, try to do things right to avoid the purchase/resale issues that often arise during the launch of highly anticipated hardware or consoles. In fact, the company set up a lottery system where buyers were placed on a waiting list before being allowed to complete payment. Additionally, buyers had to have a valid Steam account with a purchase made before April 27, and only one console could be purchased per household. With these restrictions, Valve hopes to limit bulk purchases and curb speculation.
Prices are hovering around $3,000!
Unfortunately, some people are reselling their pre-orders on eBay, and the prices are outrageous. Obviously, sellers are banking on high demand and limited quantities of the console at launch. That’s why pre-orders currently for sale on eBay are listed at prices ranging from $1,360 to $2,800 for the 512 GB version of the console and from $2,399 to $2,899 for the 2 TB model. Keep in mind that the official prices for these consoles are $1,049 for the 512 GB model and $1,249 for the 2 TB model. It goes without saying that while sellers can list whatever prices they want, that doesn’t guarantee a sale.
However, if you’re still tempted to buy, keep in mind that, for one thing, you’re heavily reliant on the seller to get your console. For another, this can also pose some issues regarding the warranty and warranty transfer, so be sure to do your research.
Finally, there’s also a small question mark regarding the console’s memory, since the first batches operate with a single 16 GBDDR5 module in single-channel mode. However, Valve has indicated that, depending on memory supply, this single-channel configuration may change, allowing for better performance in the future.
