WTF?! When something is experiencing short supply and high demand, you can almost guarantee it'll appear on eBay at prices way above the MSRP. So, it should come as little surprise to learn that the auction site is awash with Steam Decks, the most expensive of which reaches $3,000, or almost five times the normal selling price.
The Steam Deck was always going to be one of those items at the mercy of scalpers. Its original launch date for pre-orders was pushed back by two months to February, while those who weren't as fast when securing a unit were recently told their 'After Q2' release window would now be 'After Q3.'
All of which adds up to a device that many want but few can get hold of---unless you're willing to pay over the odds on eBay. PCMag reports that there are tons of Steam Decks on the site going for obscene amounts.
Checking the Steam Deck eBay listings, it appears that the most expensive in-hand unit---as in, not still on pre-order---is up for $1,799 (+$70 shipping) for a 256GB variant. That's over three times its regular $529 price. There's also a 64GB model for $1,130. Its usual price? $399.
Most eBay sellers don't even have their Steam Decks; they're just selling the pre-order confirmations. The priciest of these, for a 512GB model that should cost $649, is a comical $3,000. For $100 less, you could buy a gaming PC from Newegg powered by a Ryzen 7 5800X and an RTX 3080.
The worst part of the situation is that people really are paying these prices. A look at eBay's Terapeak tool reveals that 516 Steam Decks have been sold through 448 sellers on the site so far, with the average selling price at $1,591---that figure was at its peak of $1,797 a couple of weeks ago.
In July last year, eBay started removing Steam Decks as they violated its "Presale Policy," which states all pre-sales items must ship within 30 days, so some of the current listings could be removed as they fall into the same category.