Second-Hand vs New Console Sales Comparison 2026 [Price Gaps, Unit Drops and Refurbished Demand]
Sony’s certified refurbished PS5 Slim disc console sells for $549.99 on PlayStation Direct, $100 below the $649.99 new model. In the UK, Gumtree recorded a 93% year-on-year rise in used PS5 enquiries after Sony’s April 2026 price increase.
This second-hand vs new console sales comparison lines up refurbished pricing, resale demand, Circana’s US new-hardware data through July 2026 and Sony’s shipment figures.
Second-Hand vs New Console Sales Comparison
Second-Hand vs New Console Prices: Sony’s $100 Refurbished Gap
| PS5 model | New, from Apr 2, 2026 | Refurbished, April 2026 | Refurbished, from May 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS5 Slim (disc) | $649.99 | $449.99 | $549.99 |
| PS5 Slim Digital Edition | $599.99 | $399.99 | $499.99 |
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Blog price notice (March 27, 2026) and PlayStation Direct certified refurbished listings (May 2026)
Sony raised refurbished PS5 Slim prices by $100 on May 1, 2026, four weeks after new PS5 prices rose. The PlayStation Direct listing now shows a $100 saving against a new Slim console.
A refurbished Slim disc console at $549.99 costs more than the PS5’s $499.99 launch price in 2020.
Each refurbished unit carries a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty and ships with one DualSense controller, per the PlayStation Direct listing. The certified refurbished launch-model PS5 stayed at $399 when the Slim prices rose, Notebookcheck reported in May 2026.
Source: PlayStation Direct, certified refurbished PS5 listing, checked September 2026
Xbox certified refurbished pricing
Microsoft lists Xbox certified refurbished consoles at Microsoft Stores for up to US$100 off MSRP. It published that detail on June 25, 2026, in the Xbox Wire post announcing its August price increase.
The cheapest new model, the Series S 512GB, moved to $499.99 on August 1, 2026. Its unit history is covered in these Xbox Series S sales statistics.
Source: Xbox Wire, “Updated XBOX Console Prices,” June 25, 2026
Did Used Console Demand Rise After the April 2026 PS5 Price Hike?
On Gumtree UK, yes. The marketplace reported a 93% year-on-year rise in used PS5 enquiries after the UK price rose from £479.99 to £569.99 on April 2, 2026.
Gumtree CEO Andy Harper said demand for second-hand consoles spiked within days of the increase.
| Gumtree UK metric | Change |
|---|---|
| Used PS5 enquiries, year on year | +93% |
| Demand vs March 2026 weekly average | +30% |
| London demand after April 2 increase | +129% |
| Manchester demand after April 2 increase | +91% |
Source: Gumtree press release, April 2026
These figures count enquiries on one marketplace. They are not completed sales and do not cover other resale channels.
What happened to new PS5 sales over the same weeks?
Circana’s Mat Piscatella reported a PS5 buying rush in late March and the first week of April 2026. Weekly PS5 sales hit their 2026 high before the new prices took effect.
Source: Circana, via TechPowerUp, April 2026
By May 2026, US PS5 unit sales were down 58% year on year and PS5 dollar sales were down 43%. It was the lowest May for PlayStation hardware units since May 2000.
Circana linked the PS5 decline to the price increases, and Gumtree linked its demand rise to the same April change. Neither dataset measures the other.
Source: Circana US video game market report, May 2026
New Console Sales in the US: What Circana Tracked in 2025 and 2026
Circana tracks new hardware sold through US retail. Its July 2026 report put hardware spending at $282 million, down 29%, with units down 39% year on year.
The average price paid for a new unit rose 16% to $542. Circana said higher prices tied to the RAM and component crisis had significantly hit PS5 and Xbox Series selling rates.
| Month | US hardware spending | Unit trend | Average price per new unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | $695 million (down 27%) | 1.6 million units, lowest November since 1995 | $439 |
| May 2026 | $249 million | PS5 down 58%, Xbox Series down 12% | $502 |
| July 2026 | $282 million (down 29%) | All hardware down 39% | $542 |
Source: Circana US video game market reports, November 2025, May 2026 and July 2026
November 2019 offers a longer baseline. That month, 3.9 million hardware units sold in the US at an average of $235.
Full-year 2025 US hardware spending rose 9% to $5.4 billion, up from $4.9 billion in 2024. Switch 2 was Circana’s best-selling hardware of 2025, and its launch-year numbers sit in these Nintendo Switch 2 sales figures.
Source: Entertainment Software Association and Circana, 2025 annual data (February 2026, restated March 2026)
July 2026 unit change by platform
Every console platform sold fewer units than in July 2025. Switch 2 fell 51% against its launch-period comparison, Xbox Series fell 18% and PS5 fell 6%.
PS5 led July in dollar sales while Switch 2 led in units. The longer-running split between Sony and Microsoft appears in these PS5 vs Xbox Series X sales numbers.
Source: Circana US video game market report, July 2026
What Do New Consoles Cost After the 2026 Price Increases?
Sony moved first. On April 2, 2026, the US PS5 disc model rose from $549.99 to $649.99, the Digital Edition from $499.99 to $599.99 and the PS5 Pro from $749.99 to $899.99.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Blog, March 27, 2026
How the Pro sold before its jump to $899.99 is tracked in this PS5 Pro sales breakdown.
Microsoft’s increase took effect August 1, 2026. Series X disc went from $649.99 to $799.99, Series X digital from $599.99 to $749.99, Series S 1TB from $449.99 to $599.99 and Series S 512GB from $399.99 to $499.99.
Console storage and memory prices had risen more than 2.5 times, Microsoft said, and it expects another doubling by fall 2027.
Source: Xbox Wire, June 25, 2026; model prices as reported by Variety, June 2026
Nintendo of America raised the Switch 2 MSRP from $449.99 to $499.99 on September 1, 2026, citing changes in market conditions.
Source: Nintendo of America, price revision notice, May 8, 2026
The Xbox Series S 512GB and Switch 2 now share a $499.99 US list price.
Second-Hand vs New Console Sales in Sony’s Shipment Data
Sony shipped 1.6 million PS5 units worldwide in April to June 2026, against 2.5 million in the same quarter of 2025. Lifetime PS5 sell-in passed 95 million as of June 30, 2026.
Sony’s business data page states that its PS5 hardware sell-in figures include returned and refurbished products. The official counts do not separate refurbished units from new ones.
At 1.6 million, April to June 2026 is the lowest April to June figure Sony has published for the PS5. Full fiscal 2025, which ended March 31, 2026, totalled 16.0 million units.
Platform-by-platform totals are set side by side in this Switch vs PS5 vs Xbox Series lifetime sales comparison.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Business Data & Sales, as of June 30, 2026
FAQs
Is a second-hand console cheaper than a new one in 2026?
Yes, by a fixed margin at platform stores. Sony’s certified refurbished PS5 Slim models cost $100 less than new ones, and Microsoft lists certified refurbished Xbox consoles at up to US$100 off MSRP.
Do refurbished PS5 consoles come with a warranty?
Certified refurbished PS5 consoles on PlayStation Direct include a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty. Sony notes they may show minor cosmetic imperfections and ship with one DualSense controller.
Are new console sales going down?
In the US, yes. Circana reported July 2026 hardware units down 39% year on year and spending down 29% to $282 million, while the average new unit price rose 16% to $542.
Did used PS5 demand increase after the price hike?
On Gumtree UK it did. Enquiries for used PS5s rose 93% year on year after Sony’s April 2, 2026 increase, with London demand up 129% and Manchester up 91%.
How did Reddit spot Sony’s refurbished PS5 price increase?
A user posted it to the r/PS5 subreddit in early May 2026, Tom’s Hardware reported. The refurbished PS5 Slim disc model rose from $449.99 to $549.99 and the Digital Edition from $399.99 to $499.99.
