Wal-Mart PS5 Replenishment Disaster - Why it offers a discount Console

Wal-Mart PS5 Replenishment Disaster - Why it offers a discount Console

Buying a PS5 at MSRP is tough, but buying one at a discount is unheard of. However, Walmart is offering up to $100 off Sony's popular gaming console.

The discount is not because the giant retailer is being generous, but because it is trying to appease customers who are frustrated after the last PS5 restocking was a disaster. Several customers have had their console orders essentially put in limbo, and Wal-Mart is trying to apologize for this. Matt Swider of TechRadar was the first to discover this situation.

During Walmart's last restocking of Sony game consoles on March 18, the retailer apparently oversold its allocation. They sold more units than they actually had in stock. As a result, it turned out that many customers who thought they had ordered a PS5 were actually just pre-ordering future consoles.

When the promised delivery date of April 9 passed, understandably, these customers were quite miffed and Wal-Mart was forced to issue an apology email explaining the delay. Reportedly, gamers who requested some sort of compensation were offered a discount of $50 to $100 off their order.

Curiously, some orders were cancelled as is, and there appears to be no significant reason behind Wal-Mart's choice of which orders to delay and which to cancel entirely. Of course, customers who thought they had finally secured a PS5 are even more frustrated.

It's a troubling situation for Walmart, and another example of a PS5 restocking turned into a complete fiasco. This is not the first time the retailer has been forced to issue an apology after a blotchy restock.

The next Wal-Mart restock will likely be a bit smaller because of the need to fulfill these unfulfilled orders. Assuming Wal-Mart follows its recent pattern of restocking every other Thursday during the month, the next restocking is expected to be in stock on Thursday, April 15.

There may come a day when buying a PS5 will be an easy job, but that glorious day seems a long way off. If anything, the frequency of restocking seems to have decreased in recent weeks. Nevertheless, restocking of PS5s is tracked in a dedicated guide to buying a PS5, which may make the difficult task of finding a PS5 to buy a little easier.

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