To Stop Bots, Amazon Creates 'Invite-Only' System for PlayStation 5 Sales

pcmag.com:

To stop bots from snatching up all the supplies, Amazon is adopting an invite system for future sales of Sony’s PlayStation 5.

On Thursday, the company launched the invite-only program(Opens in a new window) for the disc-edition PS5, which continues to sell out in seconds at major retailers. "The goal of this program is to help prevent inventory shortages and price gouging caused by robot traffic,” an Amazon spokesperson told us.

The company’s product listing for the PS5 disc edition now shows a “Request invitation” button in lieu of the normal “Add to Cart” option. Amazon plans on examining all users who've requested an invitation, and weeding out the ones suspected to be bots. This will include examining the account’s prior purchase history and when the account was created, according(Opens in a new window) to TechCrunch.

Approved buyers will receive an email with a link that's valid for 72 hours. Amazon's product listing for the PS5 will also show a countdown timer on your window to buy the console.

The new system will hopefully make it easier to buy a PS5 from Amazon. Like other retailers, the company has been regularly restocking the console. However, it’s still incredibly hard to buy one from Amazon.com due to ongoing high demand from both consumers and scalpers, who've been buying up PS5 supplies with the help of computer-assisted bot programs. 

Amazon’s website says it created the invite system “to ensure that as many genuine customers as possible can buy this high-demand item.” Only one invitation can be requested per item. 

If you don’t receive an invite immediately, Amazon says(Opens in a new window) “your request will be considered for selection when additional inventory becomes available.”

“The number of