Xbox Series X sale for €380 on Amazon appears to be fake
Many German gamers are expressing frustration after discovering that their long-awaited and reasonably-priced Xbox Series X console won’t be arriving anytime soon. The advertised sale for €380 euros on Amazon.de was fake, the company confirmed.
When searching for the Xbox Series X, Microsoft’s latest and most powerful gaming console, the first listing on Amazon.de boasts an enticing price of €380. The listing has an impressive number of 14,500 ratings, averaging 4.8 out of 5 stars.
However, excited shoppers may overlook a critical detail – the seller is now set to an unknown third party called Maria's Retail Shop SRL, not Amazon.
Dozens of complaints are now piling up in this seller's feedback section with one-star ratings, claiming that they didn’t receive the product, the tracking numbers are invalid, and there’s no communication from the seller.
On December 1st, the first warning was posted on X by the user PS5 Bot DE, which tracks deals on Amazon and other marketplaces.
“Here again, the warning: The €425 offer from "Maria's Retail Shop SRL" on Amazon appears to be fake. Please do not order there. You can select the Amazon offer on the product page as usual for €449.99! Pay attention to “Shipping & Selling by Amazon,” the post reads translated from German.
Since then, the same seller has offered further discounts.
The bargain €Є380 for an Xbox Series X is 31% below the recommended retail price in Europe, which was €549.99. This would be the lowest price for this console to be sold in Europe. Other sellers on Amazon.de offer the same product for €443,88 or higher.
The seller Maria's Retail Shop SRL, until recently, maintained a very high rating. However, since the start of December, 1-star ratings started piling up in the dozens. Now, 19% of the total 617 feedback reviews during 12 months for this seller are 1-star rated.
Many recent user reviews read like this: “Same problem as the others. The cancellation was made immediately after the order was placed, but the package was still ‘shipped.’ The tracking number is incorrect. The seller does not respond to inquiries. Just don't order here! I think the order will never arrive. Why Amazon doesn't take action against the seller with so many of the same negative reviews is a mystery to me.”
“FRAUD! I've been waiting for the goods for over a week. Like the others, I got the wrong GLS number. Called GLS, and they said there was no shipment,” the other buyer said.
Maria's Retail Shop SRL still has an average 12-month rating of 4.1 out of 5, while the monthly average is just 2.6 stars. According to Amazon, this privately owned business is from Bucharest, Romania.
On Amazon, more than 6,000 Xbox Series X consoles were bought in the past month in Germany, more than 200 every day.
After Cybernews' initial report, Amazon investigated and later deactivated the seller who attempted to abuse the platform’s policies.
“We work hard to create a trustworthy shopping experience by protecting customers, selling partners, and Amazon from fraud and abuse, and we have systems in place to detect suspicious behavior. We will continue to pursue all measures to protect our store and hold bad actors accountable,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
