Scalpers Are At It Again, Selling Switch OLEDs for $800

by Pavo Jurkic in General | Jul, 12th 2021

Scalpers are something that’s been plaguing the new console market, as well as the PC parts market for a while now, with the release of new graphics cards for PC, or most recently, with the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. One person, usually using some kind of bot to purchase a console or card right as the preorders go live. Then, after securing more than one card or console, they’ll continue by reselling the cards at a high price, rendering the original price of the card or console obsolete. This makes finding new consoles and PC parts extremely difficult to find when it comes down to it. However, it seems that not even the newly announced Nintendo Switch OLED is safe from the scalpers. As the console is popping up on eBay months before it hits store shelves. 

A quick search on eBay will show that some people are attempting to sell their Switch OLED Preorders, with the caveat that they’ll be shipping the console to you once the console makes its way to the scalper’s house. While buying something from someone on eBay isn’t necessarily a bad thing, with a lot of the retro game market running their sales on eBay and other sites, the fact that the Switch OLED is being sold with an over %200 price increase is the main issue, with the prices of Switch OLEDS being sold on the site for anywhere from 600-800 dollars a piece, as well as including more payment for shipping. The same racket is being said about the PS5 and Xbox Series X, with consoles on eBay going for 1,000-3,000 dollars per console, without shipping. However, Xbox is starting to do something about it with their Xbox Series X pilot Program. 

While this isn’t something that can be combated, as companies like Sony refuse to do anything about it, the main issue of the Switch OLED is that the components of the new console aren’t worth the %200 increase, meaning these consoles will most likely rot on the shelves of the scalpers who purchased them. The Switch OLED is not an upgrade to the original switch, as the internals for the console remains unchanged, the only differences between the Switch OLED and the original console is a few subtle changes, the biggest one being the OLED Screen, which is for better color from the screen on the console, as well as the screen being 7 inches. The Kickstand also is wider, making playing the console on a tabletop easier. On top of all of this, the dock is going to be sold separately and comes with a built-in LAN adapter, however, this is something that can be bought for an extra 10 dollars, rather than having to spend the extra $50 for the new console. Hence, the price increase from 300 dollars for the original switch, to 350 dollars for the OLED. 

It should go without saying that players who are wanting to purchase a new console like the Switch OLED shouldn’t be purchasing from scalpers, as the price of the console is nowhere near the asking price on eBay. Regardless, until Xbox, Sony, and Nintendo start making enough supply to meet the demand for their consoles, scalpers will be scooping up the pre-orders and selling them for ridiculous prices.