Valve has finally opened Steam Machine reservations, and like clockwork, scalpers have already taken to eBay to sell the new tech for more than double its retail price.
The Half-Life and Steam company began allowing eager buyers to sign up for a random chance to buy one of its four Steam Machine reservation options earlier this week. Emails notifying users whether they successfully ended up in the “reservation queue” or the “waitlist” started going out over the last few days.
Stock for the already expensive gaming device, which is priced at $1,049 for its controller-less 512GB model, was always expected to be quite limited, which is why Valve opted for what it called a “less frustrating and more fair” randomized reservation system. Although requirements for the system aimed to get Steam Machines into actual players’ hands with less “friction” than a standard purchase rollout, it looks like plenty of scalpers managed to gain access to the launch, too.
Steam Machine reservation listings on eBay have popped up in the hours since Valve started sending those emails, with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars more than the retail listing to more than double the price. One successful listing for the 512GB option with a controller, which is priced by Valve at $1,128, sold for $1,500 – a nearly $400 mark-up.
An eBay listing for the 2TB Steam Machine with a controller (retail $1,428) sold at a $670 mark-up for a total of $2,100. A pricier example of a sold eBay listing saw the 2TB model sell for $2,899 without a controller – more than double Valve’s asking price of $1,349. Don’t forget to calculate potential shipping costs, too.
It’s far from unexpected, especially when it comes to a Valve release. Just last month, similar scalper listings showed up online in the wake of the pre-order battle for the new Steam controller. Originally priced at $99, some listings sold for more than $250.
Meanwhile, those willing to wait are unsure when Valve will notify them that it’s their turn to purchase a Steam Machine for its standard price. As the company works to make more of its pricey PC-and-console hybrid into players’ hands, you can check out IGN’s 8/10 review of the device.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
