Valve's Steam Machine hasn't even shipped yet, and scalpers are already cashing in. With purchase invitations set to go out the week of June 29, we have spotted resellers listing confirmed reservation spots on eBay at jaw-dropping markups. They are turning what was already an expensive piece of hardware into something far more painful for regular gamers.
We have independently spotted a listing on eBay asking $3,200 for the 512GB Steam Machine with Steam Controller bundle. Then, we ran across some more listings for the same bundle, one at $2,800, another at $2,999, and one as high as $3,500 for the 2TB model. All of these listings are for confirmed reservation spots, meaning the sellers received one of Valve's lottery invitation emails and are now flipping their place in line rather than purchasing the hardware for themselves.
Perhaps most concerning is a listing that has already sold at $2,800. That means someone out there paid real money for a scalper's reservation. Whether that transaction delivers an actual Steam Machine or nothing at all remains to be seen.
It is worth stating clearly that we cannot verify whether any of these listings are legitimate or if the sellers will follow through. The nature of eBay scalping, especially at this stage before any units have shipped, carries a real risk of being outright scams. But someone paid $2,800 regardless, and that is a fact.
This is all happening on hardware that already costs a significant amount at retail. The base Steam Machine with 512GB storage starts at $1,049, while the bundle that includes the new Steam Controller sits at $1,128. Valve itself has acknowledged that its original pricing target is no longer viable, with the final numbers reflecting what the company paid for components over the past six months due to a global memory shortage driven by AI demand.
To prevent exactly this kind of situation, Valve put in place a randomized reservation system designed to avoid giving any advantage to bots, people with faster internet connections, or those who can "schedule their life around that moment." Eligible buyers needed a Steam account in good standing with at least one purchase made before April 27, 2026, and only one reservation per household was permitted, with Valve cross-referencing payment methods and shipping addresses to catch duplicates.
It clearly was not enough. This is the same playbook scalpers ran on the Steam Controller, which launched at $99 on May 4 and sold out in under 30 minutes before flooding eBay at $300 and beyond. The Steam Machine is a far bigger target. Gamers who do not get a spot in the first wave could be waiting until the end of 2026 or later, which gives scalpers plenty of leverage.
At $2,800 to $3,500 on the secondary market for a box that starts at $1,049 retail, the scalping tax here is enormous. Of course, we cannot verify whether these listings will result in a product being shipped to the buyer. We advise gamers to stay far away from any such listings, as it is a harmful practice in more ways than one.
