There's a new open-source tool on the block and it's said to be at least "partly" responsible for the current Nintendo Switch shortages in North America at the moment. What it does is automatically notify users when a Switch becomes available online at specific retailers in the US (such as Best Buy and Walmart) and then completes the checkout process.
While tools like it aren't necessarily new, this one was designed to target Nintendo Switch stock online and is a completely free download – meaning anyone can source the consoles.
As Nintendo struggles to restock units within the US, there are groups online that are apparently exploiting the current demand for the systems with this tool, and then selling them for upwards of $500 USD. The Animal Crossing themed bundle in recent times has reportedly sold for more than $750 USD.
According to the source, Motherboard (a VICE outlet), users are sharing tips and "explicitly stating their intention to resell" Nintendo's hybrid systems. Some users have even secured bulk Switch orders and shared images of them in a Discord channel.
While Walmart and Best Buy didn't say how they planned to combat this new tool, the creator of it – simply known as 'Nate' – said it was designed as a joke, and then "quickly realized just how powerful" it was:
I decided to make it as a joke, but I quickly realized just how powerful it could be. Me and my friends were talking about reselling Nintendo Switches, and at one point my friend, nicknamed Bird, told me I should make a bot. And here we are today.
Since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, demand for the Nintendo Switch and games like Ring Fit Adventure have rapidly increased in price around the world. Apart from consumer demand, there have been stock shortages due to factory closures, and there are also resellers located in particular parts of the world buying out stock in other countries.
Nintendo released a statement earlier this week apologising for the global shortages and have promised more stock will be available soon.
[source vice.com, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 74
Someone should smack this guy’s bot-tum really hard! As a joke of course!
No surprise. Notification and auto-buy bots have been a thing for a long time. They are always used on the hottest items and right now, the Switch is no exception.
All the same, scalpers are terrible people for hoarding supply and reselling just to profit off of unsuspecting individuals. Hopefully supply rebounds and they're left with an abundance of stock that they can't profit off of.
Imagine using your talent for, you know, actually benefiting society.
So it's scalpers, I see. I'm not as surprised as I would have thought.
Well... if Nintendo didn't always play their stock shortage game (excluding COVID issues), then there'd be no market for 'scalpers'.
And if anyone is complaining, then just get the program yourself and use it to get a Switch.
Got my Ring Fit here in Switzerland yesterday after two months of wait
"It was a joke" is a perrenial justification. You can almost hear "...Your Honour" at the end of it regardless of how prosecutable the consequences of such jokes become.
@Prizm You act like they haven't kept the system in stock consistently since the initial few months when they underestimated demand. It's not like they're doing it to make it scarce.
Anyone who has tried to buy from Limited Run Games over the years knows all too well the power of the bots. They can't be beaten.
It's a tool that both empowers scalpers, but also lets you combat them if you actually want to buy one for yourself.
@Nintendofan83
Actually, LRG will often put up false unlisted product listings that cost way too much, which are obviously not intended to be bought by humans, but bots will fall for this honeypot.
@Nintendofan83 Legit? Any more about this?
They need to kills those bots sites and banned IP address that will send them a strong message lifetime Internet Banned.....
I'm almost rolling off my toilet seat; what a hilarious joke.
Hey "Nate", allow me to return the favor. Here's my joke, especially for you:
Scalpers should die already. And I don't mean figuratively speaking.
They're the scum of the Earth, and should be treated as such.
And there was me thinking the prerequisite for a joke is humour.
While this is admittedly poor tact, some of the reactions are no better. People saying they should die, hoping the get Coronavirus, harassing etc etc. At the end of the day it's just video games, and not as serious as some are making it out to be. I was tempted to sell one of our extras on ebay but ended up just selling it to my neighbor for regular price, a case of beer, and a bottle of wine lol.
Scalpers only exist because people actually buy their high prices. Stop caving in to scalpers, and there will be no reason for them to do it.
Retailers can combat this by limiting purchases to 2 units/customers max
Although I guess this could be circumvented by creating multiple accounts for this bot
It's like amiibo all over again. I remember I have sleepless night and traveled to store and Q up for hours before store open for the amiibo, just so I get those I want to collect before scalper got them all. ( listening to angry people who came just when the store open and hope their whining will score them some from others who actually Q up in the cold for hours )
Same when Switch first release. I have to stalk site like "now in stock" to know which store has in stock. I paid extra for one on Amazon Prime Now ( the little extra is the tip for the driver to deliver to my house ) So now even if the newer/better one comes out, I will not trade my 1st release Switch for it.
Why don’t people place an order when the product is out of stock for it to be delivered when the retailer next has stock. Waiting for retailers to have surplus stock seems like a slow and unreliable way to get anything that has limited quantities available. Obviously paying the scalpers is foolish.
I see that Joycons have jumped up to $100. I bet at least SOME of that inflation is due to these types of bots
@NookMiler Typically it's up to the companies selling the product to deal with scalpers, lest their core audience be unable to buy from them and lose interest. Often people forget that while "supply and demand" does apply, scalping and especially price gouging are abuses of the system and generally not allowed. If every product is being scalped, the system is not working as intended.
@Ryall Not sure if its different where you are but in the US at least it doesnt work like that. If something is out of stock you cant place an order at all until stock is replenished. Most retailers dont have any type of "will call" program in place for items like the Switch. Nothing more one can do except wait until it pops back in stock and be one of the first to get it.
One a side note if anyone is having trouble getting one, sign up for nowinstock.net. You can select the item you're looking for, the store you want, and the second it pops back in stock you get an email with a store link to quickly purchase. Ive used it many times in the past and is pretty reliable.
@redd214 In the UK most shops and websites allow you to order things that are out of stock. They will then either send it to you or contact you to let you know when it is in stock. You usually have a couple of days to go and pick it up in which time they won’t sell it to anyone else. The first person to join the queue gets it first.
@Ryall thats a much better system, wish it was like that here but are defintley ways to get hot items without much hassle here if youre patient and resourceful.
Leave jokes to the comedians. If you think something is funny, tell it to ten strangers. If less than half of them find it funny, there's your answer. Jokes are funny. Driving prices up on products isn't. People are dumb.
I've had my Switch since launch day and my family (including our kids aged 7 & 9) have put in many hours since social distancing began. But there are a few families in our neighborhood who have been unable to purchase one during the pandemic. This situation is frustrating as many of these "stuck at home" kids should be able to enjoy Nintendo Switch for its original MSRP. I've sold my share of classic games on ebay (VGA rated & all that) so it's not like I'm against making a profit off of games, but in this environment, intercepting new product and marking it up seems cruel.
I don't claim to know every "re-seller" or "scalper's" situation, but maybe they should back the F--k off for now and let these kids/families enjoy a Switch during lockdown.
@Shepdawg1 "Hopefully supply rebounds and they're left with an abundance of stock that they can't profit off of."
Exactly what I was thinking (and hoping)!
Someone with lots of money should use this to buy all the Switches, sell them at a standard price, screw over the scalpers and become a hero to everyone else.
Scaplers are scumbags, plain and simple.
Nintendo ought to be cracking down on these bot sites as a top priority. The emu sites and fan projects can wait when this crap is actively getting in the way between them and sales. Sure, the consoles are selling, but they're not going to someone with the intention of buying games for them.
There should be a law forbidding resell for a year and with the requisite of the ticket Resell should be never higher than original sale
This should be mandatory in all countries.
Made it as a joke...yeah, sure, ok buddy. 🙄
@Monkeido
It'll happen once this quarantine is over and people are over Animal Crossing. I'm going to enjoy my copy for a long time, but there are lot of people only playing it or wanting to play it due to not being able to do something else.
@tanasten ok Stalin.
Scalpers are aholes, but anyone that actually pays their outrageous prices is an idiot. Hope everyone just shows some patience and waits for eventual restocks.
Scalpers are aholes that take advantage of a system that lets them do it, but they only continue to do this sort of thing because others are dumb enough to pay them the ridiculous prices.
Imagine a world where not only individuals but actual companies hoard commodities and control the stocks.
These companies could make some real money!
Now, what things do people need on a daily basis that can be monopolized...
@Ryall Unfortunately I've never seen this offered by stores here in the US. It's a great idea though. Typically they just say its out of stock and maybe offer a notification you can sign up for but by the time it notifies you about the item being back in stock it's sold out again. I remember the NES classic was terribly difficult to find before the post SNES classic re-release. If a retailer would have let me pay up front for them to send me a unit when it came back in stock I'd have gladly done it instead of using Brickseek and calling the stores to eventually find one.
@BRAINFOX One reason Nintendo should do something is the impact the scalpers are having on software sales. If someone is paying scalper prices for a system, that's less money to spend on games.
These retail stores love scalpers.
Ah “it was a joke”; that old chestnut.
@tanasten You obviously don't know how the world works. If I buy something and 40 years from now there's a huge demand, but virtually no stock, I have every right to sell it for a high price. Collectors have been doing this for hundreds to thousands of years. Scalping currently or recently manufactured relevant items OR necessities that have a high demand for a massive profit IS disgusting, but your idea is surprisingly FAR more disgusting.
Everything is always "a joke" when people call you out on your stunt. It doesn't excuse your behavior.
@NookMiler Scalpers only exist because people actually buy their high prices.
Well, scalpers existed before anyone could pay their high prices. What is it with people who think only consumers are to blame when some anti-consumer thing happens.
Think about this, any of us could be a scalper but we choose not to. The scalpers make they choice to do what they do and are therefore partially to blame for their own existence.
No one should be surprised by this. We live in a world where people seriously argue that people should be willing to die for the economy. Of course people would do this.
And saying "It was just a joke" has become nothing more than shameless cover for bad things. I see it all the time.
This is the world of the Golden Lamb of Capitalism. All that matters to so many people is raw profit - and any way they possibly can.
Bro, I made a baby with your wife as a joke.
I have firsthand experience with someone who scammed me. Literally just seemed like a chill college student and we had like a good long convo about college and such. I paid him and then he disappeared. Yeah..... I feel stupid but... Why take the time to have a long convo about it? Like... idk... this just sucks...
@NickStrife23
That's how they get you
Pretending to be your friend
Sorry dude
Comfort yourself knowing all the bad Karma is going to get them right back
Of course, scalpers and people justifying their actions with "just joking" are cut from the same, scummy cloth. They were always meant to be.
@ThanosReXXX
Wise words to live by.
And to die for.
Wait, why is my hand disappearing? I thought you were after sca
There are ways to stop this. Just don't buy a Switch over retail pricing. See how these effers like sitting without money for a few months.
Now that would be a good joke.
... lpers. Thank goodness for the Hulk!
@Pickettfury When they are actually truly intended as a joke, then yes, that's reasonable. But "It's just a joke." has become a shield for people to say whatever horrible things they want to say and get away with it. People think labeling something as "just a joke" let's them say or do almost anything they want.
I'm not buying that nonsense anymore. And here's a newsflash: when you have to explain that it was a joke - it wasn't funny.
@TowaHerschel7 I can understand and accept the example you propose. I even accept that scalpers do their bussiness with out of stock games (Like launch games) not being reprinted.
What I cannot accept is people getting the systems ready to purchase any copy of a Collector's Edition leaving no chance to normal people, who passes the day working for the rest of the community and they have no chance to buy something they like.
I've a friend who is a Nurse saving lives, and these days he is risking his life and the family fighthing the coronavirus. Last time I talked to him he was completely devastated and depresed, and then we had a chance to talk about Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Collector's pack.
He is working 12 hours a day, unable to be all the day pending to get this collector's edition, which he would love to have.
Meanwhile, there are scalpers out there, using automated tools to purchase everything and reselling every copy they may get. These resellers even doesn't bring money to the state (I'm talking about Spain here) while they enjoy the benefits of our society.
For me these are the worse, they are just dedicating their lives to mess other people and benefiting from their work in all ways.
Call me Stallin, but they're cancer and should be punished.
@redd214
I'm with you. Scalping is in poor taste, but if people weren't willing to pay 300% or more inflated prices, then there wouldn't be a market for them. What people aren't understanding is that the people paying these prices understand what they are doing, but are rich enough not to care.
PSA: Don't kid yourself that if Nintendo could sell the Switch for $700 they would choose not to out of kindness. Most people can't afford that, and they also can't increase the price for just rich people, so they find a balance that maximizes profit. Meanwhile, scalpers can take advantage shortages to filter out those who have more patience and/or less money. Let's just pump the brakes on the internet mob BS. At best these people make a few grand. Just like scalpers outside a sporting event, they are a handful of people out of the thousands of tickets sold. They don't deserve to be murdered, or catch diseases, whether you say it literally or figuratively.
Yeah, I'm very familiar with this! My mom wanted to buy a Switch for my brother for his birthday. She told me she found one on Amazon and was surprised by how much it was ($500+) but said that she was willing to pay that much for his 30th birthday. She had no idea what the retail value was!
So I told her I'd check elsewhere. I went on Best Buy's website, saw that they had one, so I added it to my cart. I quickly went to check out, but it said it was already out of stock.
I went back to the product page refreshed it several times watching the buy button go back and forth between "Add to Cart" and "Out of Stock". I would try a few times up buy it, but every time I got to the checkout it would say it was out of stock. It was very frustrating!
@redd214 My comment may have been harsh, but I still stand by it, literally. At the very least, scalpers should be socially neutered, so they can't ever scalp again. And to be clear: I don't consider people that buy one or two copies of an item, to sell it to a friend or relative, as scalper. But people like for example that idiot SOB who bought and proudly displayed his massive stock of SNES Minis should most definitely be punished harshly.
It's just not okay for companies to allow this to happen, and it's definitely not okay for people to exercise such practices, and deprive good and less fortunate people from getting their hands on an item that they would really like to buy, at the actual price that it's sold for.
Some of these people are of mid-income, or maybe even below that, so they may very well have been saving up for months, to finally be able to get one of these Minis, only to see them going out of stock in mere hours and then seeing some first class a*hole proudly display his "wall of SNES Minis" on the internet:
Accompanying article:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/6juhwr/with_the_snes_mini_rolling_out_just_a_reminder/
No one in their right mind can tell me that this is anything other than just utterly disgusting, and I honestly wouldn't know what I'd do, if I would happen to come across such an individual in real life, because I'd definitely like to give him a piece of my mind in one way or another.
@AlexSora89 I wouldn't snap any Italians out of existence. I think that the good people of Italy have already suffered enough as is, of late.
@LittleZ They should not be able to make any money off of the backs of other people at all, that's just despicable. If they "need" more money, they either need to get a better job, or a real job, or two jobs for all I care, but taking advantage of others is just disgusting, whether they're willing participants or not.
So, seriously, let's not start defending these "wonderful" individuals, or pretend like they're actually a benefit to society or the market that they're working their schemes in, because they're not, period.
They should be charged, jailed, and fined. For someone to think this would be 'funny' already shows they aren't healthy mentally, but to then think about reselling, scalping, and otherwise willingly be one of the lowest forms of life, they deserve a harsh punishment starting with a lifetime without any sort of electronics that can connect to the internet. Anyone who defends them or argues this deserves the same. Scalpers are not to be given an inch of leeway under any circumstances whatsoever. Be a decent human being or jump in a volcano.
@redd214 While I absolutely 100% agree with you on that, it's just that in general, I can't stand people making a living out of profiting off of the backs of other, perhaps (or probably) far more modest and deserving people. We already pay profit percentages to a company, so why should we have to pay another percentage on top of that to someone who took away our rightful chance to get something at retail price?
Just think of all those people who were more than satisfied with getting their hands on just one SNES Mini, only to find out that some individual beat them to it by practically buying up the store's entire stock. Honestly, how is that not a bad thing?
I was lucky to have had a fully paid preorder, and besides that, I had the money, and then some, but I never bought more than what I wanted or needed, even though I could have.
I really don't think it's all that strange to have a little consideration for your fellow human being, or in this case: fellow gamer, who's also dying to get his or her hands on whatever it is that these scalpers are taking away from their reach. Sorry, but I just don't feel like that's normal behavior or common decency.
On a side note: and sure, in this case it's just video games, but there's scalpers to be found in just about any kind of product category, so unfortunately, this nefarious practice doesn't just limit itself to this hobby of ours. (edit: and now by my own comment, I'm sadly reminded of toilet paper and face mask scalpers, which is an example of a far worse category)
@ThanosReXXX you're absolutely right, well said
@redd214 I know...
All kidding, sarcasm and disagreements aside, though, I generally do wish you a good day. Just because we're on opposite sides of a discussion, doesn't mean I have to abandon my good manners...
Scalping is capitalism. It how capitalism works, people make money by using other people. Don’t hate the players hate the game.
@ThanosReXXX
Honestly I don't think anyone is making a living doing this. It's a hustle at best. I get your anger, I really do, but let's keep things in perspective. Limited release items like Pokemon consoles etc are one step above scalping. They're not necessary, and only serve to create artificial shortages to sell to people hoping they'll be worth something someday (be it monetary or simply intrinsic value from being rare). Also what you're not seeing is the fruits of their labor. Scalping like this is risky, and chances of being stuck with leftovers is a very real possibility. This would be much more common if it was easy to pull off. Stores tend to limit to one item per person when supplies are short, or work off of preorders or backorders. I worked retail in college and these tactics are well known and mitigated using a variety of techniques. But that doesn't get people reading nintendolife articles.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not defending this behavior; simply calling for the internet mob to temper it's anger. Try to imagine for a moment that these might be otherwise decent people. If this is the worse thing they do, then they're not exactly demons to crusade against. All one has to do is wait a few weeks for production to catch up to demand. It's not fair that decent hardworking people are inconvenienced by this behavior but just please keep it in perspective.
@LittleZ I guess I can get along with your comment on these special, limited edition items, and there's definitely risks involved for them, but hey, criminals also run risks. Doesn't mean they have to do something criminal. Whatever you do, there's always consequences, sometimes good ones, sometimes bad ones...
But my point does stand on the whole SNES Mini debacle, and similar examples, because there was indeed ample supply of all of those, so in that regard definitely not limited or super special, but still limited enough for people to REALLY want them, for whatever reason, be that never having owned a 16 bit Nintendo system before, or for sentimental reasons. Either way, it shouldn't have been possible for single individuals to buy up dozens upon dozens of these consoles, only to be able to resell them for whatever a desperate collector or gamer is willing or able to pay for it.
And over here in Europe, we were only allowed to buy 2 at most, and rightly so. Which, if it was the same over in the States, would mean that you would have to go out of your way, using multiple profiles, sites or bots to be able to legally acquire that many SNES Minis, which in and of itself is already a nefarious act, far as I'm concerned. Any and all people who wanted them, should have been able to get them at retail price, and even to this day, you now see them on eBay, going for double or triple the price, or some modded with additional games for even more than that, which is ridiculous.
But yeah, I may have come across as angry, but my initial comment was actually rather well-considered and calm, regardless of how it may have seemed. There's just something about unfair practices that really pushes my buttons.
As an aside: as I mentioned as an edit in my other comment, these kinds of people are also found in other areas, and there it REALLY hurts people, such as with the people hoarding/scalping face masks and hand sanitizer and such, or maybe even worse: food items. I get that in that particular case, it's also partially panic-driven purchases, but still...
Lowlife scumbag probably bought 5 grand worth of toilet paper in hopes of reselling that at exorbitant prices too.
@ThanosReXXX
I'm with you there. Gouging the public for life-saving medical supplies is one of the grossest things I've witnessed in my adult life. In the states we're witnessing capitalism run rampant and taken to such extremes that we somehow elected a sociopath to our highest office that not only allows these things to happen, but practices his own terrible business at the expense of the poor and desperate while simultaneously demonizing them. Not trying to make this political, but my point is that I agree with you. You're not wrong. The world is a disgusting place, and this kind of behavior should be prevented by retailers.
If people stopped buying the scalped systems this would stop! These people are freaking evil
I don't think I need to say what scalpers can do to themselves. They're money grubbing parasites and their pathetic existence isn't needed especially in these times.
@nhSnork You read my mind, this was done with Fire Emblem Fates SE and it's still selling USED for $200-$300. USD. that's just absurd. And N wonders why there's piracy... Pft.
@LittleZ Many times, however, the supply doesn't catch up, as in the case of Fire Emblem Fates SE which is still selling USED for $200-300 USD. You can't find it anywhere new for the original retail price, so scalpers ruined a good thing for the /humble/honest, home collector/player. I refer to the game, not the system.
If nintendo isn't going to produce enough units they need to raise prices or live with scalping.
@LittleZ Yeah, indeed we'd better not go there. Talking politics is a no-no according to site rules anyway...
But thanks for understanding, and the agreement goes both ways. I'll try to be less direct and/or abrasive in my initial comments next time. It's the nature of the beast, though: I am usually quite direct. In my humble opinion, it's preferable to people who don't speak their mind, having to mince words, and all that...
@LittleZ People don't have a choice any more. Like the latest Invidia and ps5 preorders, scalpers are buying everything up before you even get a chance. Your chances of finding these things in store are gonna be rare. Switch Pro or whatever N's gonna call it will probably NEVER hit store shelves. Online stores need to use multiple captchas that automated programs can't pass, or have you do some sort of communication to verify a purchase.
@StevenG Or have people do online sales directly with them using their online ID. If said ID has no activity history on Nintendo's network, and/or shares the address as another ID, sale denied.
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