PS5 restock: it’s now harder to buy Xbox than PS5 – get either with these secrets

It’s become easier to find PS5 restock recently, believe it or not, than it has been to buy the suddenly elusive Xbox Series X, with major US retail stores confirming to TechRadar that they have had more PS5 Disc consoles on hand behind the scenes.

We saw this play out with online orders publicly, too. Last Thursday, Target had the PS5 Disc and Digital Editions on sale – but not the Xbox. Best Buy two weeks ago skipped the Xbox lineup entirely during its usual Friday next-gen console drop. The Microsoft Xbox store also punts out what seems like a few consoles randomly for less than a minute, while Sony Direct has a more orderly and consistent PS5 drop a few weekdays in a row.

Here are the three secrets to buy either console:

1. Get PS5 restock alerts – and Xbox too

Our PS5 restock tracker has helped thousands of people buy the Sony console, and we quickly added the Xbox restock to the mix, along with an Nvidia RTX 3080 stock tracker. In total, 10,000 people have reported to us that we helped them find their gaming console of choice.

Minute one matters: here’s an example of our restock alert from March 18

2. Watch PS5 and Xbox Series X buying tips

Purchasing the PS5 at each store works differently – because of course it does. There are different techniques that will increase your chances of buying the console ahead of everyone else – like using PayPal at Target online checkout, or not refreshing at Best Buy when almost every other retailer page calls for refreshing and tapping the ‘Add to Cart’ button as many times as possible.

Here, YouTuber Jake Randall, who has been offering console restock tips since the November launch of these consoles, has a video for each major retailer in the US.

3. Learn who will have PS5 – and their restock dates

The only exception to the PS5 restock advantage in recent weeks has been Amazon which, as far as we can tell, is holding onto its Amazon PS5 stock and did have the Xbox Series X in stock last week. That sold out in two minutes, though.

Although Walmart did have two weeks of the Xbox orders, last week was exclusive to Microsoft’s All Access financing plan, which many people don’t want or don’t qualify for. On top of that, when the PS5 was available two weeks ago, there were restock waves that lasted two hours vs the Xbox’s 30 minutes.

Here’s a breakdown of when we can expect new console restock for PS5. You can find out Xbox Series X restock when and where analysis on a different page.

Walmart PS5 restock date and time

The next Walmart PS5 restock date may be Thursday, April 1, according to the recent pattern that the retailer has followed with its consoles drops. We didn’t see a restock this week for the PS5 (only Xbox Series X restock via Microsoft’s All Access bundle). While we think Walmart may stick to its pattern, we also know takes the longest of any retailer to ship the console to consumers, so this date is far from confirmed. We’ll about three hours in advance on Thursday at 12pm EDT, with a usual drop time of Thursday April 1 at 3pm EDT.

What our instant Walmart PS5 restock tracker alert looked like on March 18:

Best Buy PS5 restock date and time

The rumored Best Buy restock date is Friday, April 2, and that’s the time frame being suggested simply because the retailer is 6-for-6 with a Friday restock of the console. We can’t confirm Best Buy has enough PS5 inventory to go 7-for-7, and we know that last week and the week before saw only the PS5 Disc on sale. We had an exclusive story giving the PS5 Digital Edition a 0% chance of happening. Unwavering is the PS5 drop time as Best Buy – it’s usually between 12pm EDT and 3pm EDT.

Here’s our Best Buy PS5 restock alert from March 26 as an example:

GameStop PS5 restock date and time

GameStop likes to offer PS5 restock in the middle of the week in the afternoons, so look out for a drop starting on Tuesday, March 30 through Thursday, April 1. That said, on average we’ve seen a GameStop PS5 restock between every week and every other week, so it could fall into next week. Our theory (and it’s just a theory)? Because the last GameDrop PS5 drop was on Tuesday, March 23, we may see it later – like Thursday, April 1.

Here’s our last GameStop PS5 restock alert from March 23:

Amazon PS5 restock date

The overdue Amazon PS5 restock has become the white whale of eager gamers looking to buy the PlayStation 5. We were sent information that the retailer had a PS5 restock date for Thursday, March 18 with 46,000 consoles up for grabs But that scheduled date got shifted, clearly – and we’re not sure why. Maybe it’ll offload those 46,000 console in inventory this week. But really, who knows?

Target PS5 restock date

Target may be pushing more PS5 inventory than we previously though. It usually has a PS5 restock once every two weeks, but Jake Randell is hearing that the US retailer will have a new batch of consoles for sale this week. Given its pattern of Thursday, we might see orders open up on Thursday, April 1, although given the surprise of this new, the date could change. The restock time usually falls between 7am EDT and 8am EDT – again given the change of pace, anything may be possible this week.

Our Target PS5 restock alert will look like (March 11 date shown):

Antonline PS5 restock

Antonline has publicly stated that it has “drops every week” and that could mean we see a PS5 restock date sometime this week. Nothing is certain, though, as it just had a restock on Thursday, March 25, and its promise of consistent next-gen restocks doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be Sony’s system on sale. Note: Antonline tends to sell out in three minutes, but when it goes on sale, there are no waves or in stock/out of stock funny business with the add to cart button. 

If you get our PS5 restock alerts – like the one below – you have a shot… as long as you appreciate loaded-up bundles. It’s better than paying resellers.

Sony Direct date and time

The Sony Direct PS5 restock date may be this week, and multiple times this week. It’s Sony’s official store for the PlayStation brand and one of the more fair ways to buy the console: it uses a lottery system to keep bots at bay. You need a PSN account and it’s one PS5 console per address. Its virtual queue is randomized, so we’re always “in line” attempting to reach checkout. 

Our success rate on getting through? About once every other week when there are 3-4 drops per week. Note: we never buy the PS5 in the end, giving up our spot to the next person and just testing it out for reporting purposes to see if it gets any easier or learn new tricks. One trick we’ve learned: while having new tabs open won’t help your chances, using different browsers and different devices is the best way to get the console from Sony Direct.

Here’s what our Sony Direct PS5 restock alert looked like last time (March 22 example shown):

Sam’s Club and Costco PS5 restock

We’ve seen Sam’s Club and Costco PS5 restock activity each week, but inventory at these US wholesale retailers is always unannounced and extremely limited. Costco requires to be a member to buy a PS5, while Sam’s Club tries to lure you into buying a membership – or allows you to sign up as a guest. At both stores, the PS5 restock lasts about five minutes or less, especially after we tweet about it via our Twitter tracker. But five minutes is a lifetime in this game.