Don’t pay scalper prices for a Steam Controller

Happy May 4th, the day Valve’s Steam Controller goes on sale and nothing else of note at all. It doesn’t take space wizard powers to predict that the redesigned Steam controller is a hot item, both because it’s an elusive piece of Valve hardware and because it’s the first (hopefully not the last) available among the trio revealed last year. In the United States, the product is out of stock within an hour of store opening.

Don’t buy from a scalper. Look at me. Don’t do it. Put your credit card back in your pocket and walk away from the eBay search bar. Do not buy a Steam controller from a scalper.

The Steam Deck has been out of stock for months, as Valve faces the same problem as the entire industry: disappearing RAM and storage supplies, and the insane prices that result. This is the same issue that delayed the Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR headsets. Valve has said it’s working hard on these products for a delayed release in 2026… but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them disappear at the end of the schedule.

Valve

The Steam Controller does not have these problems. It doesn’t have RAM or storage, or at least not enough to impact production to nearly the same degree. It’s almost certain that Valve will be able to replenish its supply much faster than the months-long drought of new Steam Deck achievements. I’ll be shocked if the Steam controller doesn’t return to the store in a few weeks, although exactly how many valves are available and how many will be ordered is up in the air.

I realize this is obvious, but I need to point it out here. If you wait a little longer, you can get a Steam Controller – and you won’t have to pay (wait, let me check…) two hundred and eighty dollarsthat’s what some scamming asshole on eBay asks for. (The retail price was already a bit steep at $99, mind you.) Expect similar listings to appear on Facebook Marketplace et al. in the coming days.

eBay

Some of these people took over Steam Controllers with the intention of scalping them, a clear and present case of rent-seeking behavior in the classic economic sense of the term. Maybe some are unlucky people who ordered their Steam controllers for good and realized they could use a hundred or two more, more than they could use an interesting new gaming entry. (There may or may not be an unopened, unassembled LEGO Enterprise in my closet, an indicator of an economy that seems on the verge of collapse.)

In any case, do not buy a Steam Controller from a scalper at an inflated price. Just wait a few weeks. If you’re looking for a product, chances are you already have it a few sort of functional controller in your home to use at the moment. You can do it.