PS5 Restock Tracker: Where to Find a Console This Weekend

Why is PS5 so hard to find?

There are three main reasons why you’re still struggling to get a PS5. The first is the most obvious: The system is really universal. Sony says the PS5 is its best-selling console and has sold more than 13 million units since its launch.

The second cause is the current chip shortage that affects most of the electronic devices in the world. Sony says it has secured enough chips to meet its target of 14.8 million consoles for the fiscal year.

For the last reason, it’s bots. Resellers are using software to buy a large number of PS5s at once, leaving only a few for the actual buyer. Retailers have added various bot protections during PS5 rollbacks, but these restrictions only hinder resellers so much.

Where has PS5 been available recently?

We track every PS5 restore and maintain this list here of where you’re most likely to find them and when the PS5 was last available there.

Which early access service should I pay for?

Many companies currently limit access to the PS5 to the subscription level, but each is a little different. Here’s a full breakdown of how each one works.

• Amazon Prime: This one is pretty straightforward. In many cases, the only way to buy a PS5 from Amazon is by subscribing to Prime or subscribing to the Treasure Truck messaging service. There’s no extra fee outside of the standard Prime subscription, but you may not have access to the PS5 recovery unless you’re already signed up.
• GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro: Many PS5 restores from GameStop start an hour earlier for you if you’re signed up for this rewards program. This works best when GameStop is announcing a replenishment ahead of time or emailing their subscribers to let them know an addition is coming. This subscription service costs $15 per year and includes a ton of extra perks.
• Walmart Plus: This service was built by Walmart solely to provide early access during sales events and includes PS5 re-supply. The rules for this early access vary; In some cases, PS5 rollbacks may be limited to subscribers entirely, or there may be an early access window of 1 to 4 hours before the general population gains access. Walmart charges $13 per month or $98 per year for this service. A 15-day free trial is available now if you’re not sure it’s for you, but you only get early access if you pay for that first month.
• Best Buy Totaltech: If you want exclusive access to Geek Squad for installation and technical support, as well as extensions when buying a warranty, this is the service for you. If you just want this to get early access to the PS5 add-on, Best Buy asks you to pay $200 per year, and that’s a lot. Best Buy sometimes limits access to PS5 add-ons to Totaltech subscribers only, but most of the time those add-ons are made available to the public after that.

Right now, the service that seems to be most useful to most people is Walmart Plus. There’s more restocking at Walmart right now than most anywhere else, and that subscription can increase your console purchase rate dramatically. You will still have to be quick and accept that you may not get the console on the first try.

How do I increase my chances of getting a PS5?

Major retailers like Walmart, GameStop, Amazon, Target, and Best Buy often don’t give much advance notice of a replenishment. Sometimes they will be replenished in the morning, other times in the afternoon and in some cases, even in the middle of the night. Here are some tips to help you get the jump in the competition.

First tip: Don’t wait until you see a warning about PS5 inventory reduction. Check the links at major retailers for updates daily or even several times a day. (We’ve got all the links sorted below.) If you happen to have some PS5 availability, use as many browsers and devices as possible. For example, on a desktop, open the retailer’s page in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Then do the same on your phone and tablet. The more devices and browsers, the better. It’s like with lottery tickets: The more you have, the better your chances of winning.

Second tip: Create accounts at different retailers and make sure you’re signed in if you’re going to buy a PS5. Make sure all of your shipping, billing, and payment information is up to date on any device you may purchase, whether it’s a laptop, desktop, or phone. This makes checkout a lot faster, which is important because retailer websites quickly get bogged down, resulting in people losing their chance to buy a PS5.

Third tip: Keep checking back this post and follow along Cnet and Oscar Gonzalez on Twitter for updates.

Where is it safe to buy PS5 if I agree to pay extra?

If you’re starting to jailbreak and are considering buying a PS5 right now (and we know that with the large number of PS5 games dropping over the next few months, the pressure is on), you can do so, but at the cost of huge markup on sites like eBay or StockX. On eBay, for example, we’ve seen PS5 units cost over $1,000, although the price has slowly dropped to around $700.

Recovery is quick at GameStop, and if you’re a PowerUp Rewards Pro subscriber, you can sometimes get access to the dashboard an hour before others.

Currently one of the best places to buy a PS5, but be aware that the company usually makes the console available to Walmart Plus subscribers first.

You usually have to have a Prime membership to get access to the PS5 recovery from Amazon, but that’s not always the case. And if you sign up for the Treasure Truck program, you’ll get a text message when your PS5 is available for delivery.

You can find the PS5 add-on at Best Buy more often than most, although it sometimes requires a Totaltech subscription if you want to sign up early.

You’ll usually see the standard version available more often than the digital version at Target, but it’s a solid place to check availability.

If you want to buy the console directly from Sony, click this link and sign up to get queued. When you get an email inviting you to buy a console, it’s a pretty smooth checkout process followed by a day or two of waiting for delivery.

PS5 rollbacks don’t happen in Newegg very often, but they do and you should check it out here because a lot of other people don’t think so.

You won’t have to pay standard price for your PS5 if you buy it from here (which means you’ll pay more), but you’ll definitely get it without much struggle to test it out.

When all else fails, if you absolutely must have a dashboard now regardless of the price, the folks at StockX will at least protect you from being scammed by someone who never intends to give you a dashboard.