eBay clamps down on Steam Deck scalpers Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. eBay clamps down on Steam Deck scalpers Turning the wheel. News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 23 Jul 2021 23 comments eBay has clamped down on Steam Deck scalpers. Last week we reported on how scalpers had taken to eBay with their £4 Steam Deck reservations, marking up the PC handheld by hundreds of pounds. There were multiple listings of the Steam Deck on eBay, all charging more than Valve's asking price. Some listings had the hardware up for sale for over £1000. But eBay has now scrubbed these listings, telling Eurogamer they were in breach of its presale policy. Watch on YouTube Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia convene to share their thoughts on Steam Deck. Watch on YouTube for chapter points for each discussion topic. On eBay, all presale listings must guarantee the item will be posted within 30 days of purchase. Obviously, with the Steam Deck not due out until December at the earliest, this wasn't possible. "We understand how frustrating it can be for gamers to see overpriced listings for presale hardware," an eBay spokesperson told Eurogamer. Steam Deck listings on eBay before they were scrubbed from the site. "To comply with eBay's presale policy, listings must clearly indicate that they are 'presale' items and must guarantee postage within 30 days of purchase. "As the Steam Deck is not expected to ship until next year, these listings are in violation of our presale policy, we are working to remove all listings of the product." It looks like eBay has performed a sweep of its website and removed all Steam Deck listings. eBay also uses block filter algorithms to prevent items like this from being listed in the first place, but sometimes scalpers find ways to circumvent these filters. eBay said that if something does make it onto the site that breaches its policies, it may ban the seller. Valve's current expected order availability for Steam Deck is now Q2 2022 for all three models. It's worth pointing out that the expected order availability windows relate to when Valve is "aiming" to start sending order invitations. That is, this is when Valve reckons it will convert reservations to orders and let you buy the thing. Some of the Steam Deck listings on eBay claimed their reservation would ship this December, but that was potentially misleading. Valve is aiming to start sending order invitations by December 2021. This week, Digital Foundry discussed Steam Deck's updated specs, calling them "promising for gaming performance and storage options". Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store