On Friday, December 3, the Los Angeles Lakers made a surprise announcement. The Lakers are currently selling a limited editionHalo Infinitemerch bundle, which includes a personalized Lakers jersey with the number 117 and the nameMaster Chiefon the back, a custom Xbox Series X controller stylized after the Lakers, and a Master Chief figurine. Unfortunately, for fans of the Lakers across the country, there’s a bit of a catch.
This limited edition bundle is only available at the Team LA store at the Staples Center, so those who are too far from it aren’t really able to get hands on it. WithHalo Infinite’s campaignjust a few days out, there’s plenty of hype and reason to buy in with this for fans of both, and the fact that it’s priced at $139.99 for a set is pretty fair. For those unable to make it to the Staples Center and would prefer to purchase it online, though, they are being met with scalpers at resellers like eBay.
RELATED:Halo Infinite Confirms SWAT and Free-For-All Playlists
Despite the bundle being revealed less than 24 hours ago as of this writing, scalpers and bidders are driving the prices sky-high. As pointed out by VGC, several eBay ads of the item are allowing would-be purchasers to pick the bundle up at anything between $1000-$2599, which represents a mark-up of about 600 to 1800%. It should be noted that the $2600 eBay listing does include anothercontroller and an Xbox Series Xitself, but even with that factored in, it’s an outrageous pricing given the console itself is $500.
The bids on eBay are trending lower than that price point, with those being auctioned hitting prices between 500-700 bucks roughly. This represents a mark-up (of sorts) of about 250 to 375%. On the one hand, it should come as no surprise given the sheer popularity of the Lakers andHalo Infinite, but on the other hand, it represents an ongoing issue in gaming and adjacent industries with scalpers and resellers.
UnlikePS5 and Xbox Series X stocks, sure, there’s no bot buying up all the merch and reselling it, but that still has the effect of scalping and reselling really hitting new highs online. This is especially true given that, even for those in LA and/or near the Center, they may still not feel safe venturing into the public to purchase this physically.
Halo Infinitereleases December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
