PS5 restocking is an elusive beast, and it's a case of fair fight. However, new reports suggest that things are worse than we thought.

An anonymous source told IGN that some PS5 restock inventory at U.K.-based retailer Argos was sold before the scheduled release date. And that there was a duffer behind this strange early sale.

A group called Express Notify, which sells the PS5 through Discord, which you can join for a fee, claims to be one of the early buyers of the PS5.

The incident in question occurred earlier today (January 26), and a familiar pattern unfolded: the Argos site was buggy and slow, and inventory ran out much sooner than expected. This is because some people managed to buy up some of the inventory a day earlier than the on-sale was supposed to start on January 25.

According to IGN's sources, the sale was made through a "loophole," and the idea of insider shenanigans seems to have been dispelled.

Argos quickly closed the loophole, but not in time for many sales to take place and for some units to actually be picked up. According to Birmingham Live, "We identified a technical problem that allowed a small percentage of customers to place their orders early."

This is a great reminder of how frustrating it can be to try to catch the PS5 restock before it is finished. Personally, I gave up on PS5 restocking because it seemed like too much trouble to justify it.