Preparing for Week 2 of January 2022
There are retail restocks every week. Walmart is coming due! There will be others, too. Check out this article to prepare!
Quick Review: January, Week 1
As expected, Target had a PlayStation 5 restock online this past week. They restock about every two weeks! In previous articles, I shared tips to help secure a successful checkout. Strategies aren’t guarantees - but articles like this can increase your odds by giving you an idea of what to expect when a retail restock begins!
We also saw Best Buy come through with a PS5 and graphics card restock this past week. Best Buy is one of the most frequent retailers for console restocks. Both Best Buy and Target only sell consoles for pickup - they don’t ship! Retailers considered likely to restock this coming week primarily ship PS5 and Series X.
PlayStation Direct (Sony) sent email invites for two invite-only PS5 sales this past week, too. There’s a link to register for a chance to receive invites - but many people have reported issues with the link. This may indicate a return to public queues in the near future. I’ll write an article for PlayStation Direct public queue restocks - if you’re subscribed to Stock Tracker News, you’ll receive the article the moment I publish it!
Be SURE you’re following me on Twitter for news and INSTANT restock alerts. Have notifications turned on and when there’s a retail restock, I will Tweet with direct links to purchase. Subscribe to this Newsletter for regular, detailed restock news, strategies and information about console retailers!
Likely January Week 2 Restocks
Most restocks happen suddenly! Part of tracking comes down to mapping patterns. The rest of the challenge is being as ready as possible once the Twitter alert comes through. There are multiple console restocks every week! This coming week, we’re watching Walmart, Costco, Antonline and GameStop especially closely for restocks and news.
Walmart: Coming Due for PS5 and Series X
Walmart hasn’t restocked PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X consoles since Mid-December. They sold consoles weekly, leading up to that. So Walmart is coming due for more PS5 and Xbox Series X!
Walmart has also been fulfilling many console orders from December sales. When they start to catch up on orders, that’s a fair indicator they may be ready to sell stock again. I’ll notify on Twitter when there’s news and when a console restock goes live!
A quick, detailed overview of Walmart restocks:
They restock online for shipping! So no in-store/curbside pickup, in this case!
Restock Timeframe: Common times for Walmart have been 12PM ET and 3PM ET. They could choose either! But these are two of the most frequent hours they choose.
The most common restock days: Walmart has often restocked on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday.
Walmart can have a Walmart+ member restock - they can also do a public, non-member restock. I’ll let you know in advance: if it’s a member restock there will be a banner indicating that. A Walmart+ membership is $12.99/month or $98/year. There are other benefits to being a member, so make use of it if you sign up!
Walmart now uses a QUEUE system. I’ll provide the console links before the restock, once the restock times are listed on the console pages. Important tips regarding the queue listed below! Read carefully.
Using the PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X links I provide, I suggest you start to REFRESH your page 30 seconds to one minute BEFORE the restock is scheduled to begin. In one of those refreshes, you will see the QUEUE pop up - with expected wait times provided.
Once you have a wait time, do NOT refresh the page. Just wait. And do NOT have more than one tab in the same browser queued for the exact same console. You can queue for both disc & digital PS5 if available - but NOT two tabs with disc PS5.
There is a common error with the queue that doesn’t have a universal solution: wait times can get stuck. If your queue gets stuck at a specific time, you have a few options available.
The safest suggestion is to simply wait. BUT. A risky, but potentially useful alternative is to open a separate tab to go to the Walmart Homepage. This CAN give you the option to add to cart, if you’ve been stuck at 1 or 10 minutes in the queue (for example).
But, just as many times that I’ve seen this work, I’ve seen it reset a queue that was stuck at 1 minute back to 10 minutes. So you can try this at your own risk! Again, it can work - but if you want the safest option, you can wait and hope the wait time that is stuck eventually starts to decrease.
Retailer systems for managing console and other in-demand item restocks are FAR from perfect. But reading about them and preparing to the best of your ability will always improve your odds of success!
As with any and all restocks, be sure to have an account set up for the major retailers and have your login & payment information SAVED.
And of course, if you want to be notified the moment a console restock begins - be sure you’re following me on Twitter!
Other Possible Restocks: Costco, Antonline, GameStop and More
Here’s a quick breakdown for each of these three retailers. None are confirmed to restock (as usual - most restocks happen suddenly) but this information is provided to ensure you’re prepared.
COSTCO:
-Members only! Restocks during the daytime. If you’re a member, make sure you’re signed in every morning. When I tweet a Costco alert, the link provided will skip the product page for an easy “add to cart” - being signed in early makes for a VERY fast checkout. Their PlayStation 5 restocks are bundles but shipping is fast. They most often restock on Tuesdays / Thursdays.
ANTONLINE:
-Bundles only! They restock often and also ship quickly. When Antonline restocks, there can be “waves” of stock so it’s recommended that you refresh if it goes out of stock when you get there. Waves can happen for up to 5-7 minutes, usually no longer than 10 minutes. Having Apple Pay, PayPal, or autofill for your credit card information makes for a faster checkout! Order confirmation emails will arrive in your email inbox within 1-2 hours.
GAMESTOP:
-There’s rumor of another in-store PS5 event coming soon. When this happens, local stores may confirm before GameStop announces it publicly - so call around if you’re curious! It’s also possible to see an online restock in the same week as an in-person sale. I’ll be monitoring for as usual! GameStop sells PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in bundles, whether online or in-person. For online sales, GameStop’s Twitter account will usually hint one day in advance. For in-person sales, they will likely post an official store list one day early.
I’ll continue to update for EVERY retailer and provide instant restock alerts directly from my Twitter page!
If you enjoy articles like this, bookmark them to review, share with friends & subscribe to Stock Tracker News for regular updates and tips for how to succeed with retail restocks for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and other in-demand items!
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