Almost two years after the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 5, the gaming console remains extremely difficult to find in stock at any retailer. A global chip shortage impacting electronic manufacturers since 2020 and very high demand for the PS5 have again made the gaming console one of the holiday season’s toughest items to find.

Thankfully, a new way to obtain a PS5 has emerged. This summer, Amazon started a PS5 invitation system that could make it easier to get your hands on the new console. It won’t necessarily guarantee you a PS5, but it’s worth signing up for.

There’s always the tried-and-true method of keeping your eyes on stock at your favorite retailers, too, if you prefer buying from somewhere else or aren’t selected as part of Amazon’s new queue system. With awesome games like God of War: Ragnarök and the upcoming PSVR 2, it’s a great time to snag the PS5.

CNET’s Scott Stein recently went hands-on with the PSVR 2 and came away impressed. Wowed by the PSVR 2 headset’s weight and its controllers’ haptic feedback, Scott was enamored with his experience. Having tried out games like Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Resident Evil Village, he believes that the PSVR 2 could be a «destination for a whole new wave of more impressive VR games.»

If you’re one of the many hopeful PS5 buyers and would rather not wait for a surprise restock, your best option is to accept a higher price tag through StockX or eBay. Here are some of our tips, tricks and advice to help you snag your PS5:

• If you see someone offering to sell you a console on Twitter, it’s almost certainly a scam. Avoid these people.
• Where applicable, use an app to complete a purchase instead of a browser. Not only are apps frequently faster than mobile browsers, but also it’s easy to use an app and a browser at the same time if you’re trying to buy on multiple computers.
• PS5 restocks are a lot more common in the afternoon and evening than in the morning. Chances of an unplanned restock tend to go up dramatically after 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET), so if you’re wondering when to check, that’s usually the best time to start.
• PS5 restocks almost never happen on weekends, unless they’re announced ahead of time.
• If a restock starts and you immediately see «Out of Stock» on the screen, do not give up. Refresh the screen a few times and keep trying. Some retailers release the consoles in waves to keep bots from getting all of them.
• Have an account set up and logged in for any retailers you’ll be shopping at. Speaking from personal experience, it’s devastating to get a console in your cart and then miss out because you had to waste precious seconds entering payment and shipping info.

Since the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched, the biggest retailers have made changes to the checkout process to offer peace of mind and to keep bots from buying all the consoles and selling them for more elsewhere. As we mentioned earlier, one of those changes in the PS5 restock game has been paid access — that means once you buy a subscription, you’ll hear about the next PS5 restock either earlier than anyone else or exclusively for your club.

Our best tips to get a console

With this new subscription system rolling out across GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart and even Amazon in some cases, it’s important to point out that getting a console through these services is still not guaranteed. The queue fills up fast, and consoles stay in stock for only a few minutes in most cases. Every time a PS5 restock happens, social media fills with people describing how they experienced glitches in the process and how the consoles ended up being gone entirely.

It’s unreasonable to sign up and pay for every service, but that’s where we can help. We’re constantly tracking the best way for you to get your hands on a PS5. And we’ll explain below what you can do to increase your odds before the buy button lights up.

Where to buy a PS5

More PlayStation 5 coverage

• Why You Should Save $100 and Get the All-Digital Version of the PS5
• 5 Fixes the PS5 Still Needs
• PS5 Games are $10 More Expensive. Is That Fair?
• How to Boost Your PS5 Storage Quickly and Easily With an M.2 Drive
• Best PlayStation Gaming Headset for 2022
• Best PSVR Games to Try On a PS5
• Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 is Official: All the Specs Revealed