Early SNES Classic Edition scalpers face pushback from eBay

By Will Fulton July 6, 2017

SNES Classic hands on review top detail — Mike Epstein/Digital Trends

Shady dealers looking to cash in on the limited supply of SNES Classic Edition mini consoles will have to work a little harder than just going to eBay, apparently. Eurogamer reports that the auction website has been pulling down the listings of SNES Classic Editions that went up shortly after pre-orders were live.

Anticipating short supply, the scalpers were asking for nearly triple the cost of an SNES Classic bought above board. The retro console cost $80 when bought new directly from Nintendo, but the scalped listings averaged around 200 British pounds (roughly $260), and went as high as 300 pounds ($390). An eBay representative told Eurogamer that site policy dictates that people cannot sell items more than 30 days prior to when the item is able to be sold. This limits the predatory ability of people to re-sell items before they are even available to buy in the first place.

Fans, retailers, and ethically dubious middlemen have been on high alert about the SNES Classic Edition ever since it was announced because of how notoriously difficult its predecessor, the NES Classic Edition, was to purchase. Nintendo has reassured fans that the company learned from the launch of the NES Classic and will produce a larger supply of the SNES Classic. Retailers are also taking steps to curb shortages, such as by limiting purchases to one console per customer. Realistically, we expect that, given how popular and influential a console the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was, its plug-and-play mini edition will be even bigger than the last one, outstripping preparations and making it hard for fans that aren’t diligent or lucky to find one.

The SNES Classic Edition launches on September 29, plugging into any HDMI-compatible TV for a ready-to-go retro gaming experience. It includes 21 classic titles ranging from EarthBound to Super Mario World. It also notably contains the debut official release of Star Fox 2, the never-released sequel to the SNES original which was canned in the mid ’90s in favor of developing Star Fox 64. It’s similar in function to the NES Classic Edition in all ways except that it will include two controllers with five-foot cables as opposed to the too-short three-foot cable of the NES Classic’s controller. You can learn where to pre-order the SNES Classic Edition here.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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