I’ve been trying to buy a PS5 on and off for months. I’ve learned a lot, but I’m making some critical errors.
I’ve helped thousands of people get the PS5 and they’ve sent me ‘console-hand-photos’ with ear-to-ear grins to prove it. That’s powered me to continue to help. But the truth is I haven’t gotten the PlayStation 5 myself – yet. I’m not following my own advice. And I’ve hit every speed bump since launch, which you can learn from. It’ll look like: I turned my Twitter account into a PS5 restock tracker one month ago. I didn’t really plan on it. I only meant to complain about how hard it was to buy a PlayStation 5 after so many failed attempts. I posted a link to the next drop the next day and people began to thank me profusely. It snowballed from there. It turns out, I’m not alone. More than 150,000 new followers later, I’m helping actors, US senators, TV news anchors, Olympians, college sports figures and execs at top tech companies. I’ve enjoyed seeing the reach of my help. But more than celebrity, I love seeing the console-in-hand photos of smiling everyday gamers the most. My focus has shifted from buying as PS5 to ensuring others get one. That’s been far more rewarding. But you’d think I’d still be able to buy one by now, right? From my many failed attempts come lessons I should pass on – if you’re still looking for the new Sony console four months after launch. On PS5 launch day – November 12,2020 – I had a doctor’s appointment and foolishly thought, ‘I’ll just buy PS5 while I’m in the waiting room’. When I didn’t get it then, I thought, ‘I’ll just get it before Black Friday and Cyber Monday. No? Before Christmas. Nothing? Surely sometime in January? Wait, I still don’t have it in March?!’ Getting notifications as soon as there’s a PS5 restock has become critical. You’re not only trying to ‘secure the bag’ before other people. An army of scalper bots that are designed to purchase the system without hesitation, letting scalper resell the PS5 for 2x and, at the height of scarcity,3x what it’s worth. Follow a Twitter account, join a Discord group, and turn on notifications. Not all retailers are first come first serve (Sony Direct is a lottery system) and most consoles sold are within a 30-minute window (people give up to easily when, really, inventory is released in waves). But being there minute one helps. My biggest mistake early on was to spurn the PS5 bundle. Bundles, by nature, more pricey; they come with PS5 games, controllers, and some other PS5 accessories.
