Valve has begun notifying customers of their status on the reservation or waitlist for its new Steam Frame VR headset, a rollout that predictably drew out an immediate wave of scalpers listing reservations on eBay. The confirmation emails went out Monday following the company’s initial sign-up campaign, and within hours resellers were attempting to profit from the scarcity by advertising access to units that do not yet exist.
The listings appear shortly after Valve opened its reservation system for anyone holding a Steam account, allowing buyers to select which version of the headset they wanted before entries were randomized into reservations and a waitlist. Rather than waiting for their confirmed order, some individuals are now attempting to flip those reserved slots at steep markups on the secondary market.
The Markups Are Steep Even Before Scarcity
Valve lists the 256GB Steam Frame kit at $1,059 and the 1TB model at $1,299, but eBay listings are starting well above those prices. Resellers have posted reservations for the lower storage tier beginning around $1,700, while the 1TB version is being offered at roughly $2,000 despite Valve’s $1,299 asking price.
The markups draw particular criticism because the headset is already priced high relative to what it offers, a situation worsened by the ongoing RAM crisis driving up component costs. While the Steam Frame benefits from Valve’s open platform and wireless PCVR performance, critics argue those features do not justify paying well over asking price for a reservation rather than a physical unit.
“If you want to hurt these scum more, contact them and ask for the Steam ID tied to the reservation to check their VAC/Ban status to ensure its legitimate. If they provide it, report them to Valve, if they refuse, report to eBay for failing to provide suitable evidence. Either way, this hits their account, not just their listing.”
User /u/noonyIRL
The Lottery Was Designed To Curb Scalping
Valve has attempted to limit scalper activity on both its earlier Steam Machine and the current Steam Frame by tying preorders to a random lottery system. When the headset was announced Monday, the company opened a sign-up window rather than a first-come, first-serve purchase flow, then randomized entries into two buckets: confirmed reservations and a waitlist.
This approach reduces how many resellers could otherwise acquire stock in bulk, but it has not stopped individuals from attempting to profit off the resulting scarcity. Community members have already identified some of the scalpers’ Steam usernames appearing in the eBay listings and reported them to Valve.
The Road Ahead
Some of the eBay listings appear to have already sold, though it remains unclear whether any transactions will be fulfilled once reservations are actually processed. Community members continue to flag suspicious accounts while urging buyers to exercise caution when dealing with secondary-market sellers offering something that has not yet shipped.
Whether eBay, Valve, or both move to rein in the listings remains uncertain, but the hope within the community is that the situation can be brought under control so more people are able to acquire the Frame at a reasonable cost rather than paying inflated resale prices for a promise of future hardware.
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