ChipFlip
Consoles move fast on the secondhand market, but not all of them move the same way. Here's what ChipFlip's tracking data shows about which ones are worth your time right now, and which ones will sit.
Where the demand actually is
PS5 leads every console ChipFlip tracks in active listing volume, 49 mentions in the latest sweep. Xbox Series X follows close behind at 45, and Steam Deck isn't far off at 37. Switch Lite trails well behind at 8.
That gap matters more than sticker price. A console with high demand and lots of active listings sells fast even at thin margins, because buyers are already looking for it. A console with low demand can sit for weeks even priced fairly, simply because fewer people are searching.
Standalone consoles versus bundles
Bundled consoles, the kind shipped with a game or an extra controller baked into the price, are a different animal from a plain console listing. A Marvel's Spider-Man 2 PS5 bundle currently lists around $400, and an NBA 2K25 Slim bundle runs $650. Compare that to $149.99 for the same-tier console with nothing attached, and the bundle premium is obvious once you see it side by side.
That premium cuts both ways. It's real money if you can source a bundle cheap and the included game or accessory has resale value on its own. It's also risk: a buyer who only wants the console won't pay bundle price, and splitting a bundle into separate listings takes time you don't get paid for.
Condition and completeness matter here
A console missing its controller, power cable, or HDMI cable isn't a full listing. It's parts. Buyers expect a working setup out of the box, and a stripped-down console gets priced like the accessory-hunting problem it creates for them. Check every cable is present before you list, not after a buyer asks where the controller went.
Digital-only editions need their own callout too. No disc drive means no reselling a physical game library alongside it, which narrows who wants it. Say so in the listing title. Buyers searching for a disc version will skip past a mismatched listing, but they'll also leave a bad review if they buy one by mistake and can't return it.
Steam Deck plays by different rules
Handhelds aren't consoles in the traditional sense, and the Steam Deck's $350 used price with 37 demand mentions puts it in a different lane. It's PC hardware in a console shell, so battery health and screen condition matter here in a way they don't for a PS5 or Xbox. A Deck with a degraded battery is worth meaningfully less than the listing price suggests, even if everything else works.
Bottom line
Chase demand first, not just price. A $150 console with real search volume behind it beats a $50 console nobody's looking for. Check completeness before you buy to flip, and confirm whether you're looking at a digital or disc edition before the listing title tricks you into the wrong one.