Playstation 5 – We Talk to the Most Infamous PS5 Reseller in the Philippines
Every time a new wave of PS5 pre-orders opens up, you can count on the same comments popping up: broken site, out of stock in X seconds, GG scalpers, it’s a prank, and it’s pretty likely you’ll see someone sarcastically going “thanks Zeebee” as well.
Zeebee is a local Filipino reseller that shot to online notoriety in December last year when they touted a Christmas day release of very limited PS5 consoles. Never mind the eye-watering P55,000 (or P50,000 for the digital edition) asking price, people wondered how a random online seller could promise to have on-hand units when official retailers sold out in seconds.
Did they really go through unfair methods to win the race for a PS5? We exclusively spoke to Zeebee themselves to find out.
How did Zeebee start off selling video games and related things?
Zeebee started as a small buy and sell online shop. We began with selling secondhand consoles, games, etc. That was until some suppliers offered us to sell brand new video gaming consoles and games – so, as of today, we have brand new items on hand.
And right now you’re well known for having PS5’s to sell. How many units have you sold so far?
We’ve sold more than 200 PS5 units already. Some resellers are also buying their PS5 units from us, that’s why.
That’s interesting, do these resellers come out and say they’re buying just to flip them again?
Yes, some of them. As per resellers, we are no longer concerned about how they’re going to sell the items. It’s not our business anymore as to how they sell them and for how much.
But you give everyone the same price regardless if they’re “kapwa” or fellow resellers.
Yes, regardless. Mina mark-up-pan pa rin kasi nila yun. (they still add their own markup anyway)
Regarding markups, how did Zeebee arrive at P43,000 as your current asking versus the P27,990 SRP for the disk-based PS5?
We are getting the units at way higher than the SRP. In fact, our profit only ranges from P3,000-4,000 for each unit. Dinadaan lang namin sa quantity volume ng items (we make up for it with the quantity of items sold).
So you don’t rely on pre-orders/raffles like the general public?
We don’t. Our units came from Japan.
Does that mean walang sindikato (criminal syndicate) behind your supply? Which is what a lot of people assume on social media
Hehe! How are we going to get units from local (sources) if it’s so impossible to get a slot for a pre-order? Bashers keep on saying those terms: “sindikato” “inside job” etc. Those are not true. Mas marami pa nga kaming stock sa “possible stock” ng mga retail stores dito (we actually have more stock than what local retailers could possibly have).
We are just plain buy and sellers who want to accommodate people who are willing to pay – even at higher than suggested retail price.
The other conspiracy theory is you guys must have a bot army to win at pre-ordering.
Nope! Those are their speculations. We think retail stores also have something in their sites to prevent bots, they can track them. So we don’t have that many people and credit cards or whatsoever to use just to use bots.
And we have bundle offers too. How come we offer some games below SRP if we got them from retailers using bots?
People probably need a villain in this no stock scenario and you guys are a convenient target. Does it bother Zeebee that people go beyond calling you resellers and using the term scalper?
Not at all. To be honest, we are gaining more buyers because of the bashers. Publicity is publicity, you know that. Whether it’s good or bad. Let us share something with you.
We’ve spent only P89.52 (on this ad) then due to non stop bashers – they keep on sharing the post – it has reached 1.3M people. So it’s fine, bad publicity is still good publicity. People know we are legit, overpricing is only their issue. Bashers are not our target market after all.
Actually, this isn’t your first time to be bashed. You also ran into the same issue selling Nintendo Switches when they were hard to find. Was it exactly the same situation?
Just the same. Some people just couldn’t accept the fact that we’re really getting the items at a higher price. Plus they couldn’t buy one at SRP since there was no stock at the malls.
On the other hand, what do actual customers have to say about it? Do people attempt to haggle maybe? Or they know it’s pay to play?
Well, some tried to haggle but still, they’ll just order and pay. You are correct (our prices are firm).
Do you guys have a healthy business outside of PS5’s?
Yes. We have restaurants and buy and sell vehicles and motorcycles. Also cryptocurrency.
How long do you think this demand will keep up?
We think until the end of this year. But of course, the longer time people wait, demand will go down.
Last question: will your asking price for a PS5 go down as the year progresses? Until maybe people stop calling it unfair?
Yes, of course. It already went down actually. From P60,000 to P55,000, now it’s only P43,000. There might come a time that we will sell lower than SRP, but let’s see! It always depends on how much we’re getting them.
By the way, why no reselling Xbox Series X/S?
The boss is a gamer but he’s not a fan of Xbox. We’re not against Xbox and we do get a lot (of inquiries for them). We just answer them straight to the point that we don’t sell them.
Unless, let’s say in the future, why not right? We will just simply post if ever. But for now, no Xbox.
