If you’re hoping to give a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One as a present for the gift-giving holidays, time running out. You’re likely looking at a Jingle All The Way scenario, and that’s not good for anyone.
To avoid that Sinbad and Schwarzenegger-filled nightmare, many people have turned to eBay to pick up one of the next-gen consoles. In fact, eBay sellers have auctioned off nearly 100,000 Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s combined, according to Baird market analyst Colin Sebastian. As of this report, Sony’s machine is outselling Xbox One on eBay nearly 2-to-1.
Looks like around 65k PS4s and 33k Xbox One’s have sold on http://t.co/xK90kt0DKL to-date $EBAY #PS4 #XboxOne
— Colin Sebastian (@Colin_Sebastian) December 23, 2013
That’s 65,000 PlayStation 4s and 33,000 Xbox Ones resold (almost always at a higher price) to people on eBay. In a note to investors, Sebastian estimated that eBay sold $50-million-worth of the new Microsoft and Sony systems.
The disparity in sales between Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on eBay could represent a wider demand for PlayStation 4. That’s possibly because gamers find Sony’s offering more desirable or potentially because the PlayStation 4’s supply is more constrained than Xbox One’s.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, shoppers were much more likely to find an Xbox One on store shelves or online than PlayStation 4, according to shopping site BuyVia. Last week, the PS4 was only available to purchase for one day out of seven. The box One, meanwhile, appeared in stock at least once a day.
Currently, Xbox One is generally available and PlayStation 4 is not.
Of course, the eBay PS4s and Xbox Ones (and the $50 million in sales they represent) won’t have any impact on Sony’s or Microsoft’s bottom lines. Consumers likely purchased almost all of those units from a traditional retailer for the purpose of turning a profit on eBay.