PS5 Pro orders canceled over 7,000 yuan listing as GTA 6 secondhand market heats up

Seller Cancels 7000-Yuan Used PS5 Pro Deal Over "Overheating," and Players Aren't Buying It

A used PS5 Pro order on second-hand marketplace Xianyu lasted right up until the seller hit the refund button. The buyer had paid 7000 yuan; the seller then unilaterally cancelled the order, claiming the console had thrown an overheating shutdown while he was filming a video. Per GamerSky, the discussion quickly widened from one seller to the whole market: GTA6 launch expectations plus a supply squeeze have pushed used PS5 Pro prices to irrational highs, and the second-hand market keeps getting messier.

The seller's message was almost too convenient: he had "just spotted the machine showing an overheating shutdown while filming," refunded the order, and said he'd test the machine again. As a bargaining move, it cost him nothing and kept every door open. The sale came undone, the console stayed in his hands, and the blame fell on hardware that can't take the stand. It's chess with no referee: take back your move, keep the pieces you've captured.

The system, not the seller

Frame it as a design problem and the loophole jumps out. The cost of breaking a deal on the platform is effectively zero, so once prices are expected to climb, tearing up the sale becomes the rational play. Civilization gets this right: break one agreement and every leader resents you for dozens of turns, so the payoff of betrayal has to be weighed against long-term reputation — genuinely elegant design. The comment section reached the same verdict: "Totally normal on Xianyu — plenty of sellers back out after realizing they sold ten yuan too cheap; this is just an excuse not to sell." Plenty of players also suspect the seller simply wants to keep the console for himself. When betrayal becomes the dominant strategy, blaming one seller misses the point. The rules were always the real problem.

The market behind the move

What's driving the price surge isn't complicated. GTA6 launch expectations piled onto a supply squeeze have pushed used PS5 Pro prices into irrational territory. The community does have a rough consensus on fair value: 6500 to 6800 yuan is the range most players accept, and the 7000-yuan deal here already sat above that ceiling. This buyer paid top-of-market prices while knowing less than the seller, then took the hit when the deal fell through — disadvantaged twice in the same trade.

The practical read

For anyone else eyeing a PS5 Pro right now: GTA6 has not officially launched, so every yuan of today's premium is expectation pricing — and nothing depreciates faster than expectation. Paying peak prices during a supply squeeze burns your budget and still leaves you waiting. The smarter play is to wait for supply to recover and re-evaluate as launch day approaches. The oldest rule of turn-based play is to let the other side commit first — here, that means letting the bubble finish its turn. As for that "overheating" console, it will most likely never see a repair bench. It was just a pawn in this particular game.