Bots buy up Britain's air con: Over-heating customers complain as cooling units for sale online disappear as soon as they try to buy them - and reappear at six times the price on eBay

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL) Published: 13:08, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 13:15, 10 July 2026 Brits desperate for an air conditioning unit during the latest heatwave are furious after bots ensured a hotly-anticipated restock from manufacturer Meaco sold out instantly. Consumers trying to get hold of a device to cool their home in the sweltering weather had been waiting on the maker's website after it confirmed a restock was on the way. But many were left hugely frustrated after the units sold out online in less than 30 seconds - before quickly appearing on eBay for up to six times the original cost. Some blamed 'scalpers', who share tips with each other on making money out of buying high-demand items before quickly reselling them at a huge mark-up. They use 'scalper bots' which scan websites to find hidden product pages or restocks, then auto-fill payment and shipping details and check out in milliseconds. One post appeared to show scalpers sharing details on the 'add to cart link' which can put a product straight into their basket before the general public can see it. Refreshing the 'add to cart' link means the product will go into their basket as soon as it goes live, seconds faster than refreshing the product link and then clicking 'buy'. This overall process is made significantly quicker by the scalper bots, which can also use rotating IP addresses and fake accounts to avoid getting banned by retailers. Companies can try to stop scalper bots with anti-bot software which uses machine learning to spot the difference between humans and robots. Other preventative measures include limiting purchases to one per customer and hiding buying links.  Some scalpers shared details of the 'Cirro 12000 BTU Super Quiet Smart Portable Air Conditioner - Cooling Only', saying it was listed at £520 and could be resold for £1,000. But it appears many resellers are trying to make an even bigger profit. One example is the 'Cirro 12000 BTU Super Quiet Smart Portable Air Conditioner' which has an RRP from Meaco of £540 but was being resold for £3,051 today. Another is the 'Cirro+ 14000 BTU Super Quiet Inverter Smart Portable Air Conditioner & Heater' which has an RRP of £630 but was being resold for £2,047 on eBay. Meanwhile the 'Cirro+ 16000 BTU Super Quiet Inverter Smart Portable Air Conditioner & Heater' has an RRP of £660 but was on eBay for £2,000. One disappointed customer tweeted: 'So the Meaco air con units went in under 30 seconds. I'd been refreshing the page for an hour.  'The second they went live I added to the basket and it went out of stock while I waited. Meanwhile scalpers had a pre-loaded basket and could order while we're in the queue.' Explaining the links being shared between the scalpers, the man added: 'They even work out how to get it in the basket before the checks. 'They just click the link and pay while we're in a queue. It's dreadful. Then some idiot pays them £1,000 for a £600 unit.' Another customer called Mark wrote on X: 'I've been trying to buy a Meaco air conditioner since 9am this morning - the second day they went live for sale. I had one in my basket, went through checkout, and was denied at the final step. 'It's now obvious that bots have snapped up the entire stock. They're clearly being allowed to jump the queue and place orders first, while real customers like me are left empty-handed. He added that the units 'will almost certainly end up on the resale sites for double the price', also saying: 'This is incredibly frustrating and unfair to genuine buyers. Very disappointed.' A third wrote on Reddit: 'They all got bought up by scalpers and their bots. Selling on eBay for double price. Don't buy them as you're supporting their unfair trade.' Shops across the UK are sold out of AC units after homeowners bought them to keep cool during the May and June heatwaves which brought the hottest days on record for both months. Those searching for one during the July heatwave – which could be the longest on record - have also been left disappointed, with a popular £150 Lidl device that led to huge queues last month remaining unavailable. Gary Woodward, managing director of The Air Conditioning Company in London, revealed email enquiries to his firm have jumped by 1,748 per cent since the June heatwave, while phone call enquiries have surged by 736 per cent. He added: 'The phones haven't stopped ringing since temperatures started climbing. 'We're seeing homeowners actively looking for ways to make their homes more comfortable during hot weather, and almost every enquiry is for an air-to-air heat pump.' DeLonghi is out of stock on all nine units ranging from £460 to £1,000, while Currys chief executive Alex Baldock warned last week that AC unit supplies were 'pretty tight' after 'flying off the shelves'. He claimed that Currys was 'working incredibly hard to make sure we have got a healthy level of stock', adding: 'We are benefiting from being number one in the market and if anyone is going to have it, we are going to have it.' In France, people fought at Lidl after the chain promised to put 200,000 fans and AC units on shelves - with shoppers resorting to violence to ensure they got one. Enquiries to companies installing AC have been soaring, with Aervue Air Conditioning in Birmingham saying sales had doubled since March and business was 'manic'. The Daily Mail has contacted Meaco and eBay for comment today.