Steam Machine for 67 thousand? Scalpers are already attacking, and some individuals are actually buying the overpriced computer

The scenario that repeats itself in the gaming world with every sought-after piece of hardware is here again. Valve is just sending out reservation emails for the Steam Machine, it’s going on sale on June 30, and scalpers are already rubbing their hands. Offers for eye-watering amounts have appeared on classified ad portals.

Triple the price, and someone is paying it

The specific numbers are breathtaking. Listings on eBay start around 1,700 dollars (roughly 36,000 CZK), but the most expensive pieces are hitting 3,200 dollars, or around 67,000 CZK. This is for the basic 512GB variant with a controller, which officially costs 1,128 dollars from Valve — so scalpers are asking for almost triple the price. And these aren’t just futile attempts: one listing for 2,800 dollars (about 59,000 CZK) is already marked as sold, meaning someone actually paid the exorbitant price.

A lottery against scalpers that failed

Here’s the irony. Valve was well aware of the scalper problem, so it secured access to the Steam Machine with a randomized reservation lottery — interested parties had to register in advance, and a random draw then determined who could buy the device. The goal was to cut out bots and scalpers. However, as can be seen, some of the drawn units still immediately ended up being resold. Limited availability at launch simply attracts scalpers too much.

The high price of the device itself is due to the same reason we’re seeing across the hardware market this year — the memory and storage price crisis, driven by demand for AI chips. Valve even admitted that the original goal of under a thousand dollars is no longer realistic and that the Steam Machine is being sold practically at manufacturing cost, without the kind of subsidy that Sony or Microsoft can afford for consoles. This same pressure recently raised prices elsewhere, for example, for Xbox.

Is it even worth it?

The short answer is: definitely not at the scalper price. The Steam Machine is a compact gaming PC with SteamOS, featuring a six-core AMD Zen 4 processor and RDNA 3 graphics roughly on par with a Radeon RX 7600. In terms of performance, it’s no miracle — it only manages 4K at 60 fps thanks to FSR upscaling from a lower resolution, so it’s not native 4K. For the amount scalpers are asking, you could get a more powerful build or a PS5 Pro console plus a ton of games.

For Czech interested parties, the good news is that the Steam Machine is sold directly through Steam — the basic 512GB model starts at 1,039 euros (around 25,500 CZK). If you didn’t get into the first wave, the most sensible thing to do is wait. While Valve hasn’t yet announced the date for the next batch of reservations, it promises that more units will appear soon. Feeding scalpers is never worth it.

Would you pay a premium to a scalper for a sought-after new release, or would you strictly wait for the official sale?

Source: Notebookcheck