Update: There's no nationwide PS5 restock at Target today, though at least console was randomly available in the US. That's happened for certain zip codes in the United States for the PS5 Digital console every morning. But we expect a massive Target PS5 restock either this week or next, along with a GameStop PS5 restock of bundles this week. We've seen a weekly Best Buy PS5 restock for the last four weeks with the $499 PS5 Disc and $399 PS5 Digital for sale most times.
► Don't buy from other Twitter users – ever. They're all scams. Only buy from the US stores Matt alerts you about. No one will sell a PS5 for just $550.
Target PS5 restock time and date
- Next Target PS5 restock: Likely this week – Wednesday or Thursday
- Next Target PS5 restock time: Always between 7am EDT to 8am EDT in 2021
- Last Target PS5 restock: July 9 at 3pm EDT
- Pattern: Between 7am and 8am EDT, usually on Wednesdays or Thursdays
The Target PS5 restock date could be this week – as early as Wednesday, July 28 – as we can confirm through our sources that Target stores in the US have as many as 22 PS5 Disc consoles on hand in the backroom (no, they can't sell them yet and you have to buy it online, not in stores). Our exclusive reporting shows that another store we recently checked in with currently has 11 PS5 consoles (also all PS5 Disc).
That's good news because our reporting one week ago uncovered the fact that most Target stores had just three consoles on hand. Is between 11 and 22 enough? Our sources know the inventory count and, from that, we can figure out how many consoles are consistent with a PS5 restock at Target. The answer? We're right on the cusp of that add-to-cart button going live this week. But we've also seen Target wait until it has 40 consoles on hand in most of its large stores.
There have been PS5 Digital Edition consoles available at certain Target stores that you could purchase online every morning. But having searched through all of the zip codes in the United States where there are Target stores, it's a few PS5 consoles at a handful of locations. This isn't the restock you're looking for.
What's the Target PS5 restock time? The time is between 7am and 8am EDT – that's always been the restock time window in 2021. The most popular time is 7:40am EDT, but you don't want to miss it by a couple of minutes in case it's at 7:06am EDT like it was for the last PS5 restock time three weeks ago.
Target typically settles on a restock date that falls on a Wednesday or Thursday. It has only once chosen a Friday (likely due to it being a holiday a few days prior).
Without knowing for sure the PS5 restock date, it's tough to tell people on the West Coast of the United States to wake up at 4am PDT, but it's always easier to buy the PS5 at Target due to the fact that you're buying online but selecting a local store, thus you're competing with fewer people as your neighbors are asleep.
Best Buy PS5 restock: once a week recently
- Last Best Buy PS5 restock date: Friday, July 23 at 11:38am EDT
- Pattern: Random. It does weekly restocks but then during daylight hours, but after a couple of back-to-back cycles, takes off several weeks a time
A Best Buy PS5 restock date has happened once a week for four weeks in a row, and that's typical for America's largest electronics-focused retailer. However, it does take off for several weeks in a row after a few consistent restock events.
Basically, when to buy a PS5 at Best Buy has become unpredictable, unlike Walmart which does the same day of the week and time consistently, and it's why our PS5 restock alerts have been important to people.
Why don't PS5 restock dates get announced by Best Buy? It's likely an effort to thwart bots, but the truth is bots are able to automatically check out more easily than everyone else. This is why, in your area, buying a PS5 may feel impossible and the reason Best Buy PS5 restocks cause so many people to lose out.
GameStop PS5 restock: every 7 to 15 days (it's been 10)
- Next GameStop PS5 restock date: Likely this week
- Last GameStop PS5 restock date: Thursday, July 16 at 11am EDT
- Pattern: week to week-and-a-half with GameStop-exclusive PS5 bundles
The GameStop PS5 restock date is likely this week, with the US retailer having been on a consistent pattern: restocking the Sony console every week to week-and-a-half. Today, July 26, it's been 10 days, so we're likely to see GameStop offer PS5 bundles this week. There are several reasons to pay attention to the PS5 consoles for sale at GameStop if you really want to buy it immediately.
- Bundles: GameStop limits its PS5 stock to bundles, which seems annoying on its face until you realize how many resellers scoop up standalone PS5 consoles at Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon to turn a big profit. It's much harder to turn a profit on a game, accessory and GameStop gift card-filled bundle.
- PowerUp Pro required: The store has created another barrier to entry by requiring a membership to its PowerUp Pro rewards program that costs $15 a year (and comes with discounts and a free magazine subscription). It's a small price to pay for true gamers who actually want the console for gaming purposes.
- Shipping the PS5: GameStop often delivers the PS5 console in 3-5 days, which is much faster than eBay or StockX (those auction websites can take two weeks and you're paying a premium for just the console).
Walmart PS5 restock: almost always a Thursday
- Walmart PS5 restock date: Thursday, July 22 at 3pm EDT for PS5 Disc
- Pattern: Almost always a Thursday – but not every Thursday
Our reporting got this one right days in advance. Walmart was due to have the PS5 Disc console in stock and sure enough that happened last Thursday at 3pm EDT. It had been over a month and we started to receive intel from sources that Walmart had enough inventory to do a restock this past week for everything but PS5 Digital, especially after its PS5 restock disaster a month prior.
Walmart does take a long time to ship PS5 consoles to some people, and that's why we don't expect a Walmart PS5 restock every Thursday at 3pm EDT. It usually waits until enough customers have the Sony console from the last batch before opening up new orders again. Still, we are tracking the PS5 at Walmart regardless.
Amazon PS5 restock: hasn't dropped PS5 Digital yet
- Next Amazon PS5 restock date: August
- Pattern: Once a month, cycling between daytime and nighttime drops
The Amazon PS5 restock for July 2021 has already happened, though when it happened last week it was limited to PS5 Disc. There was no PS5 Digital for sale at Amazon. It has done this before and pivoted back to offering both PS5 Disc and PS5 Digital the next month.
And really, according to our analysis, we probably won't see an Amazon PS5 restock until late August. There's a consistent monthly pattern to Amazon in 2021: it's always a random weekday once a month and shifts between daytime and nighttime. Since this last restock happened during the day, we could see another midnight or 3am EDT PS5 restock from Amazon next month.
Sony Direct PS5 restock happened twice in July
- Sony Direct PS5 restock date and time for everyone: July 19 at 5:05pm EDT
- Sony Direct PS5 restock – if you had the email invite: July 19 at 3pm EDT
- Pattern: Twice a month at 5pm EDT, but fairly unpredictable
Sony Direct PS5 restock news has changed over the last few months, with the official store for the PlayStation brand going from a reliable four-times-a-week heavyweight to a twice-a-month afterthought. The process to buy it has changed, too.
Sony Direct email invites get sent – randomly – to registered PSN users so that they can buy the console in a special virtual queue. That wasn't really part of the process early on. More recently, it has only opened up a second virtual queue to other PSN users (who aren't on the email invite list) to press their luck for the console.
This is all Sony's way of randomizes who will get through the waiting process, though our expert advice always suggests using multiple devices to increase your chances. The Sony Direct restock time usually ends the day for us, often happening at 5pm EDT, or just a few minutes later. The special email invite goes out ahead of time (about 40 hours in advance).
