At this point, obtaining an Xbox Series X/S has achieved near-mythical levels of difficulty. Along with the PS5, the Xbox Series X/S is basically guaranteed to sell out at any major retailer like Target or Walmart instantaneously. Now, Target has come forward with a solution that may put the console in the hands of eager customers rather than bot-backed resellers.
Throughout the year, Target had specified dates for when it would restock the two major consoles. While this was a seemingly fair way of going about things, what ultimately ended up happening was that resellers would quickly snatch up all available stock and list it on sites like eBay or StockX for a massive mark-up. In the end, fans and would-be customers who genuinely wanted to play on a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S were left wondering if they'd ever get a chance to get their hands on a console.
Target has shown that it is not averse to major changes. Just recently, it suspended the sales of trading cards after a violent incident over Pokemon cards. Now, in order to address the rampant resale problem plaguing the next-gen console market, it has allegedly elected to change the way in which it declares its stock. According to Wario64 on Twitter, each Target will list stock as it arrives, meaning that the drops will be relatively unpredictable.
Theoretically, this sort of system should benefit genuine customers. The sporadic restock should mean that customers who patiently watch their local Target's inventory for one of the next-gen consoles will be rewarded. This is an unusual system for major retailers like Target but is relatively commonplace in the sneaker market where similar resale practices have become ubiquitous.
A system like the one proposed should help combat the problem at least a bit. After all, almost 2% of all PS5s were sold through StockX at marked-up prices, without even accounting for similar sites like eBay.
Unfortunately, according to Wario64, this system will only be implemented with regards to the Xbox Series X/S, meaning that hopeful PS5 customers will have to continue to battle. Despite continued promises of increased PS5 stock, many fans have yet to be able to purchase a system. Though the Twitter leak alleged that Xbox Series X/S would not be available for in-store purchases, many commenters suggested that on a store-by-store basis, in-store purchases were still happening. Regardless, this system offers a bit of relief but ultimately stands as another reminder of the woefully undersupplied next-gen systems.