eBay clamps down on Steam Deck scalpers

eBay has clamped down on Steam Deck scalpers.

Last week we reported on how scalpers had taken to eBay with their £4 Steam Deck reservations, marking up the PC handheld by hundreds of pounds.

There were multiple listings of the Steam Deck on eBay, all charging more than Valve's asking price. Some listings had the hardware up for sale for over £1000.

But eBay has now scrubbed these listings, telling Eurogamer they were in breach of its presale policy.

On eBay, all presale listings must guarantee the item will be posted within 30 days of purchase. Obviously, with the Steam Deck not due out until December at the earliest, this wasn't possible.

"We understand how frustrating it can be for gamers to see overpriced listings for presale hardware," an eBay spokesperson told Eurogamer.

"To comply with eBay's presale policy, listings must clearly indicate that they are 'presale' items and must guarantee postage within 30 days of purchase.

"As the Steam Deck is not expected to ship until next year, these listings are in violation of our presale policy, we are working to remove all listings of the product."

It looks like eBay has performed a sweep of its website and removed all Steam Deck listings. eBay also uses block filter algorithms to prevent items like this from being listed in the first place, but sometimes scalpers find ways to circumvent these filters.

eBay said that if something does make it onto the site that breaches its policies, it may ban the seller.

Valve's current expected order availability for Steam Deck is now Q2 2022 for all three models. It's worth pointing out that the expected order availability windows relate to when Valve is "aiming" to start sending order invitations. That is, this is when Valve reckons it will convert reservations to orders and let you buy the thing.

Some of the Steam Deck listings on eBay claimed their reservation would ship this December, but that was potentially misleading. Valve is aiming to start sending order invitations by December 2021.

This week, Digital Foundry discussed Steam Deck's updated specs, calling them "promising for gaming performance and storage options".

Will you support Eurogamer?

We want to make Eurogamer better, and that means better for our readers - not for algorithms. You can help! Become a supporter of Eurogamer and you can view the site completely ad-free, as well as gaining exclusive access to articles, podcasts and conversations that will bring you closer to the team, the stories, and the games we all love. Subscriptions start at £3.99 / $4.99 per month.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7psHRqJ6apZWne6%2Bx02icm5mpYrCtrcypqmacn6y7brvNZqqtnZGieqWxwqRkrJuRob2mvtI%3D