As holiday shopping jumps into full swing, Oculus Quest is sold out at many retailers, driving the resale price of the headset up to 157% of the retail price.
Major US retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart are fresh out of the 64GB Oculus Quest after one of the most active periods of holiday shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which hit over the weekend. Even attempting to buy the headset direct from Oculus in the US shows that the 64GB model isn’t expected to ship for another two weeks, with the 128GB model not expected to ship until December 23rd.
This stock scarcity comes despite Quest not even getting an actual holiday discount below its $400 MSRP; instead Oculus has chosen to bundle the headset with the Vader Immortal trilogy (a $30 value).
Resale Value as an Indicator of Demand
With major retailers in short supply, resellers are able to increase prices to sell to those willing to pay more than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) in order to secure a scarce item. In competitive marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay, seeing how much resellers are charging for the headset gives us an idea of Quest’s ‘true value’—or at least how much shoppers are willing to shell out to get their hands on the headset in time for the holidays. An economist might say that the price being charged by resellers is a more accurate reflection of Quest’s equilibrium price (the point where supply meets demand) than the MSRP, at least under these particular conditions.
Oculus Quest (64GB) – $400 MSRP
Looking at the 64GB Oculus Quest on Amazon US, we can see that the best reseller offer for a headset with ‘New’ condition is currently $537 which is 134% of the usual $400 MSRP; but there’s a catch—this reseller doesn’t expect delivery until after December 31st.
Other resellers who are promising to have the headset delivered before Christmas are asking even higher prices—the best price currently offered on Amazon for a 64GB Quest delivered before Christmas is $626, a whopping 157% of the usual MSRP. The highest asking price, presently, is $680, or 170% of the MSRP.
Oculus Quest (128GB) – $500 MSRP
The 128GB Quest is in a similar boat. An Amazon reseller promising delivery sometime after Christmas is asking $671, or 134% of the $500 MSRP. The best offer for a 128GB Quest with delivery before Christmas is $725, or 145% of the MSRP. The highest asking price at present, a seller offering Prime shipping, is asking for $1,000, a whopping 200% of the MSRP.
This is both good and bad news for Oculus. For one, the significant premiums being charged by resellers suggest that Quest is seeing significant demand and is a hot item for this holiday season. On the other hand, every additional dollar paid for the headset adds to the expectation of the product, and Oculus could end up with some customers who weren’t aware of the actual MSRP and ultimately feel that the headset wasn’t worth what they paid for. And of course the lack of stock means that Oculus wasn’t able to meet demand head-on, which means fewer customers will end up with the headset compared to how many customers would have bought the headset if it were available at the MSRP.
Where Can You Still Buy Oculus Quest at the MSRP?
Scrupulous shoppers may still be able to find Oculus Quest headsets sold at the MSRP and deliverable before Christmas. At least at the time of writing, we’re seeing the following US stores reporting stock availability:
- Oculus Quest (64GB)
- Oculus Quest (128GB)
Also be sure to check in-store stock through retailer’s websites and you might be able to find stock available for local pickup that’s otherwise not available for shipping.