Getting hold of an original model Nintendo Switch isn't the easiest of tasks right now in the UK, with supply failing to meet demand up and down the country. The Nintendo Official UK Store is completely sold out, but some other retailers unfortunately appear to be taking advantage of the situation.
Checking some of the biggest gaming retailers in the UK brings up far too many saddening results. High street retailer GAME, which also operates online, has plenty of Switch console bundles available at inflated prices.
One bundle contains a console alongside copies of Super Smash Bros. UItimate and Luigi's Mansion 3 for £409. The RRP of these three products altogether totals £390, although GAME actually sells both of those titles for £5 under RRP if you buy them standalone, meaning the total should really be around £380. Instead, buyers are expected to spend £20 - £30 more, and a section of GAME's website shows tens of similar, overpriced deals.
It's a similar story over at Amazon UK which is selling a Nintendo Switch console for £299 - £20 over RRP [Update: the listing has now disappeared, with all stock presumably having been purchased].
Some lesser-known retailers, like ShopTo, also have very limited stock. In ShopTo's case, buyers are forced to grab the console alongside copies of Cars 3 and Just Dance 2020 in a bundle totalling £329.85. The price is acceptable when compared to the products' total RRP, but forcing other items on buyers to clear out stock isn't exactly consumer-friendly.
The Nintendo UK Store notes that the company is working hard to re-stock products as soon as possible, so hopefully it won't be too long before options become plentiful once again. For now, you might want to hold off paying over the odds.
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Comments 48
Same with ring fit on Amazon - I paid £10 over RRP from official amazon seller just because there was a small window when it was finally available again
No-one is forcing them to buy.
Profit maximization above all else aka capitalism is working as intended.
GAME being overpriced and ripping off customers?! Well I for one am shocked!
Ah, so not profiteering but selling the console only in bundles, misleading article form Nintendo life again.
Supply and demand.
At the end of the day its only worth what someone is willing to pay
@johnvboy How is this not profiteering exactly?
Those poor people with cars 3 that they will never play…
Amazon are very good at obfuscating who you're actually purchasing from. I was looking at Ring Fit on the official Amazon Nintendo page, but the embedded item being offered was at a much higher price than the official RRP. I was surprised that Nintendo was selling it at inflated prices but when I clicked through the link to buy it the actual item was being offered by a 3rd-party scalper. Very naughty from Amazon, and Nintendo probably aren't even aware of what's being done.
It's quick to think that this is retailers exploiting low stock and consumer desperation.
But you also have to consider that scarcity of supply means that retailers are forced to sell with price mark ups to cover themselves.
If they sell what little stock is available at a normal price, this would be substantially less income than they can function on.
Are they the marketplace sellers or just Amazon and game themselves?
Argos were charging £370 for the switch, New Super Mario Bros and a £10 'starter kit' earlier in the year. This has to be the most over-inflated RRP of them all.
Just shows how well Switch sells well over 3 years after release...
@gcunit There is no reason for the price to jump, neither production costs nor extended stocking/storage expenses, it's purely OOH DEMAND HURDY URDY URDLE GURDLE GOUGE PEOPLE MORE BECAUSE THE RULES AREN'T STOPPING US
Acting like Americans, for shame.
@RupeeClock Larger retailers are selling way more products than just Nintendo Switches and Ring Fit Adventure. As for the individual sellers, they don't have the overhead that comes with being a giant business. So this applies to neither of these scenarios.
Game are absolutely horrible in general tbh. I refuse to buy anything from them anymore.
GAME have been awful for years. I remember during the height for the Amiibo craze them selling Amiibo's above RRP.
Never buy from them... Awful company
@RupeeClock
So what? Game's income is substantially higher than that of any of their customers. The moment they start raising prices above RRP due to low stock they're making it more difficult for people with lower incomes to obtain the product. They sell other products as well so their income isn't solely determined by Switch availability. Punishing poor people by jacking prices to protect their bottom line is scummy behaviour. And let's face it, this isn't about protecting their income, it's about them doing what they think they can get away with.
GAME needs to be shut down. Them and Gamestop are worst gaming companies.
@Rob3008 who ever knew they were overpriced?! this is such a shock!
If people are stupid enough or rich enough or both to pay more than they know they should that's their business. They'll make great Nintendo customers, paying way more for things that aren't worth it
I hadn't expected that from Amazon.
I hope people take note.
@KingBowser86 That's not actually true, it might be costing Game more to get hold of Switches from distributors at this time given the issues going on in the world at the moment there could be increased transport costs etc.
I'm not defending Game here but there could be a legitimate reason.
Switch RRP is £279, Smash RRP is £59.99, Luigi's Mansion 3 RRP is £49.99 - So the console at £20 over RRP seems about right looking at other retailers currently.
The bigger issue which I do diasgree with is bundling games in a package and charging a higher price for the games than they would normally be on their own website. That absolutely shouldn't be allowed.
@HappyMaskedGuy.
Because the items are not being overpriced, o.k you can have issues with people being forced to buy a bundle, but there is no profiteering involved.
Not at all surprised, Game have indeed been horrific for a number of years now, I used to think I would miss them if they disappeared but in actuality, due to their prices primarily, they have just been awful and not remotely competitive.
When they upped there postage price to £4.99 on the website for any item was also a bit of a joke, that is astronomical in the scheme of postage prices and for me was the final nail in the coffin.
I never buy games or consoles from GAME always more expensive than anywhere else although i do buy some random merch they sometimes have on offer there
@GrandScribe That's called greed man. I think capitalism is corrupted when that becomes the main focus. I can't see the difference between that and communism.
@johnvboy
The article lays out exactly how the bundles at Game are overpriced. They're charging more for the bundle than they charge for the individual components. It's a strange sort of bulk discount that costs you more than buying the items individually.
@DevlinMandrake,
There are other factors to take into account, shortages and logistics may have put prices up slightly.
Haven't bought anything in years from Game due to how expensive they are and the low price they give for trade in. Also they acquired and killed Gamestation off which felt more like a gamers shop with staff not pressurised to get add on sales and repeat the same script to every customer.
@Morph If that were the case (and that is a valid point), wouldn't that be the case for every retailer everywhere? This article is just mentioning these 2 products and a handful of sellers.
This is not a UK thing at all.
Switch price increased lately in other countries too.
I guess the prices have increased from distributors due to demand etc.
Not just Switch but all consoles, the Xbox One X is over £400 on Game and Amazon recently were charging about £150 more for an exclusive edition than anywhere else, before they were called out and dropped the price
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise. GAME have sold Amiibos at £5 above RRP for years now. They increased 3DS eShop download prices by £5 on Xmas Eve a few years ago.
I occasionally buy from GAME if I'm out shopping because they do have rewards, but I'll always check competing prices on the web before I take something to the checkout.
Over here in Holland I saw a "sale" where the Switch was much more expensive then normal (and it was already more expensive then it should be). I was totally shocked, the nerve of those guys!!
Joke.... Man walks into a greengrocer shop and asks ' How much are your potatoes'
Greengrocer says ...£2 a kg.
Man says.... 'the greengrocer up the road is selling them for £1.50 a kg.
Greengrocer replies, ....'buy them from him then'.
Man says, ' I can't he has run out'.
Greengrocer replies,.... Mine are £1.50 kg, when I've run out. 😄
Nintendo can only suggest a price, the retailer can sell for what price he wants to. The Game prices are always higher, thats why I don't shop there. But if I was desperate to buy a Switch and the Game was the only outlet that had stock, I would pay the extra.
Nintendo charge the highest prices for their games.
@Marios-love-child exactly this is just a result of supply and demand being out of balance.
High demand with low supply = increased prices as people are willing to pay more for said item. Guess what? If there’s low demand and high supply prices go down (as there’s too much stock).
Just economics innit!
Cex was offering £280 cash for switch so was going to sell mine but now there about to open shops on the 15th there now offering £214,guess I’m keeping it now then lol
Its supply and demand nothing more. If the price is too high, do not buy it. These are the particulars of a free and democratic society. Vote with your money, not your mouth.
@KingBowser86 there are plenty of retailers selling it at higher prices, there are some who have it marked at £279 but don't have stock.
If anyone was looking to buy one, I was able to find one place with them at rrp Very.co.uk but who knows how long that will be available for?
Game is owned by the Fraiser group which is owned by Mike Ashley and the guy isn't exactly an ethical businessman. He is successful yes but by no means are the companies he owns going to not try and rip the consumer off. Like all of his Sports Direct stores you walk in and see all of these things on "sale" from brands that he owns himself. He if anything I'd well suited to owned a video game store as let's face it places like that have have had notoriously bad reputations for years since they essentially became the main high street option killing their competitors off by buying them. No different to what money bags Ashley does in business.
I don't see a problem with this. This is regular Business for every product. The current stock and demand of the product is what always decided the price. Happens with everything. If its too expensive for you just wait out until its cheaper.
You don't say!
Thanks for informing us about this fact that no one could've ever have known otherwise.
Yet again, NintendoLife breaking the "news" to us. 🙄
Probably the best in the whole worldwide web in stating the obvious...
Very easy to point fingers at Game. And they are an awful company. But honestly does anyone think they are sitting in their bank vaults, chuckling demonically while counting the cash? No, they are slowly going bust. They are just trying to stave that off as long as possible. As others have said, we as customers either pay the prices or not. It's up to you.
@Morph That's all fine and well - the article is calling out just a few of many, then.
I used to be a very loyal game customer
I even went to gamefest and was in their stores every week until they did two things
Sold me the 3ds at extremely inflated price, I think I paid £250 with piloteongs resort and the 3ds at the midnight launch
Imagine my horror when my fiancée went to a supermarket and paid almost £100 less!
Then the last game I ever purchased was Pokemon Y, first they didn’t tell me the game stopped early until I got to the store and then charged me £40 when the online price on their site was £35
even after that they said my fiancée who is in a wheelchair in store did not class as paying customer and wasn’t eligible for the offer!
Another incredulous article by Nintendo Life, try doing some real reporting for once, it's called supply and demand ffs.... END OF!!
I wonder if they've got rid of all the old Switch consoles by now then, the ones that had a shorter battery life. Surely they've all gone already.
Ah Greed, The Devil's favorite sin.
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