Sunday, September 13th 2026
Scalpers List Nintendo's $520 Zelda Switch 2 for Up to $1,700 Before It Even Ships
Nintendo's Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 sold out within minutes of preorders going live, and scalpers wasted no time flipping it for two to three times retail on eBay. The console launched at $519.99 through Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and Amazon, $20 above the recently hiked $499.99 base Switch 2 price. All four retailers ran out almost immediately, and Nintendo's own store now shows it sold out too. eBay listings currently stretch from $700 up to $1,700 for the console alone, with some sellers bundling in the matching Pro Controller, carrying case, and even the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake, despite Nintendo never offering that combo at retail.
Buying all four items from Nintendo directly costs about $720, so most bundles are charging well over double that. A few have gone further, asking $2,000 for the full set. Nintendo tried to keep scalpers off the original Switch 2 by requiring 50 hours of logged Switch playtime before allowing a preorder. There's no word yet on whether similar rules apply to the next restock, but given how fast this batch vanished, some kind of gating system looks likely. Anyone who missed out is stuck waiting for another round of orders to open if they don't want to pay ridiculous scalping prices. The console ships October 29, a week ahead of the remake on November 5.
Sources:
eBay, via TweakTown
Buying all four items from Nintendo directly costs about $720, so most bundles are charging well over double that. A few have gone further, asking $2,000 for the full set. Nintendo tried to keep scalpers off the original Switch 2 by requiring 50 hours of logged Switch playtime before allowing a preorder. There's no word yet on whether similar rules apply to the next restock, but given how fast this batch vanished, some kind of gating system looks likely. Anyone who missed out is stuck waiting for another round of orders to open if they don't want to pay ridiculous scalping prices. The console ships October 29, a week ahead of the remake on November 5.
30 Comments on Scalpers List Nintendo's $520 Zelda Switch 2 for Up to $1,700 Before It Even Ships
The special edition models are worth way more on the collectible market than the ordinary off-the-shelf retail units. A vanilla Switch 2 with a dbrand vinyl wrap is worth nothing extra as a collectible.
But some people want something that has limited availability and not just consumer electronics gear. It could be a garment, shoes, jewelry, sports memorabilia, a souvenir from an event (World Cup, Olympics, art exhibition, whatever) even if they don't plan to resell it on the collectible market.
Did you know that Taylor Swift makes money selling merchandise during her concert tours? Or that she sells merch from an online store, some of which may be limited edition production runs? Probably not.
And you'll likely be surprised to hear that other artists have been doing this thing for decades.
Lastly the genuine Nintendo console is going to feel different than one with an applied vinyl wrap. Nintendo is very cautious about the printing quality on its products. They started out making playing cards 150+ years ago and have continued to maintain a really high level of quality throughout the decades; if you ever held a Pokemon card in your hands (or even looked at an unopened packet), it's pretty obvious.
As long as there are enough people out there willing to pay the price, it's going to continue.
It's also, to an extent the fault of vendors too selling them the way they do. Many don't care as long as they can sell them period because their mentality is "They'll make more" after current stocks are sold out - Not to mention selling them is what they are in business for in the first place.
If you get one at retail price that's great but if not, that's your problem and that's just how they see it because any care or concern after the sale really isn't their issue to deal with, regardless of who gets them.... Or not.
Until things change that's how it is and sadly, I'm not seeing the trend changing anytime soon.
Lets say the leave it open and every week they can only get so much, never really fulfilling all. until persons start cancelling..