eBay Reports an Average NES Mini Sale Price of Over $200

Scalpers are the worst. Depriving real fans while lining their pockets with ill-gotten money.

I can't believe that there are still people stupid enough to pay such a ridiculous amount. Even if I had the money, I still wouldn't pay more than the retail price.

It's fools like this that enable the scalpers. Supply and demand and all that...

And if I were the CEO of eBay, I wouldn't be proud of such disgusting behavior at all. I'd probably ban it, even though it would cost me money...

And people wonder why people use emulators? Because of stupid BS price gouging like this, it's no wonder.

Screw people that jack up prices to 400%

This is Switch's future.

Jesus....how ridiculous.

Ridiculous when I paid $330 Australian for all this.

I'm lucky enough to have bought a NES Mini but if I hadn't I wouldn't be paying those prices.
I would just wait, it would be an excruciatingly long wait but I'm sure these things will become readily available soon enough.

Got mine in the mail yesterday. Absolutely worth $60, but you're an idiot if you spend $200+ on it. It's the same games that have been available on Wii VC for 10 years.

RIP Switch and any other hyped game it'll get within first year

Awful company,beyond horrible seller support,terrible system and run by a bunch of hypocrites.I hate Ebay with a passion.

Delayed gratification is lost on modern society. The internet made sure of that.

Will the situation with Super NES Classic Edition be the same?

Expect the Switch to go up to a $1000, especially the limited edition bundles...

I'm gonna be a scalper for the SNES mini next year. I have it all planned. Preorder 5 and make $700 profit. I will have money for some really cool gifts. You can't beat that. I'm a HO ho HO.

This makes me sick

I love eBay. I buy something every other day from it. It has a lot of bargains.
eBay is not the problem here.

People are actually willing to pay that price?

Ebay will most likely make a huge commission on this that they will evade tax with - I guess their profits will be higher than Nintendo's.

Scalpers are scum and people are stupid.

I made £130 profit on two systems and an extra controller, thanks Nintendo.

@UK-Nintendo As a buyer they're great,as a seller they're the absolute number 1 worst company I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with in my lifetime.

People can't wait until more are available? More money than sense, I guess.

I can't see its Nintendo's Fault if dozy buyers want to pay $200 for Nes mini, that's there choice,there not forced to buy it.Nintendo does not profit from it Ebay does ect.They said there would be regular supply available upto Christmas.I kown Not enough to fill demand but bloody he'll wait for it for $60.

@OorWullie I guess your right.
I'm a collector of jakks Pacific figures. I recently bought a figure from my local smyths for 8 pounds. Just checked eBay as its a new figure people are already selling it for 30 pounds or over.
I guess a lot of people just want things quickly without looking elsewhere

I got mine yesterday at Target. It took me less than a week to nab one....if you're considering spending more than MSRP, just don't.

Anybody who buys one at that price is a sucker.

@Grumblevolcano if the Switch does the same thing, I won't be supporting it

Paying over $200 for something that is $60 and will be seeing restock soon.. Yup, some ppl have more money than brains

I'm going to feel so good buying mine in a store for retail price in the coming weeks.

$200 ? Are you kidding ?

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I used to think that way until I realised nobody's pointing a gun and forcing anyone to buy at inflated prices. The market forces at work here are not good nor evil, they are simply as intended within the (mostly) global free market economy. The interaction of Supply and demand sets the ultimate price. The ebay "scalpers" if such a thing exists, are simply inviting you or anyone to buy at a price. You dont have to buy it.

Now dont get me wrong i love my nes mini it's a very polished piece of kit but half the games on it are crap, similar to some rudimentary atari or original gb games and you wont likely play them for very long anyway. I do pity those who surrender to their ocd to collect and pay such a high price. Im willing to bet nintendo will see the demand met and there will be full pallets in retail stores come new year. They may even be sold at reduced prices by those same retailers eventually.

That's awful enough for VP to say a thing like that, but I don't blame him, it's legal and part of his business model. Nintendo is at fault for not meeting the demand (they've ran this rodeo since the 80s, at this point it's intentional) and also the people stupid enough to buy it at those high prices that are the problem. Why give in to the high prices when YOU KNOW they're going to release more of them. This isn't a limited item or anything, this item was set up to be a hot item for this holiday season.

..wow..Nintendo should have just sold them on Ebay themselves...

@KiWiiU_Freek

You paid $330 for all of that?! What a ripoff!

90% of those games are crap that can be had for $2-10 each and an N64 can be bought for $60-80 on its own. Damn son, I wouldn't be bragging about that 'score'.

@bolt05

I have a feeling that most Mini's will be played for a couple hours so someone can scratch their nostalgia itch on Christmas then will sit in a drawer for years after that.

Trivia time! Who's to blame for this disaster?

A) Nintendo
B) Scalpers
C) Anyone who actually pays these outrageous prices

Spoiler: There is no wrong answer.

@WilliamCalley
..lol, yea..or next year there'll be a boatload on EBay for 20 bucks..sad..

@WilliamCalley
Thanks for your kind words.
Maybe where you live, these are all cib.
Most are Australian versions which sell for crazy amounts, have a look on eBay, Bomberman Hero Aus version sells for$150 on its own.
Biofreaks cib sells for $80, Buck Bumble for $100, Rampage $120, but yeah, I got swindled.

Those people paying 400% mark up are going to feel mighty silly when they walk into Walmart in February and see a couple of these consoles laying around. I've been that guy. I've caved and I've paid the prices only to be burned. No more. It looks great but I can wait.

I just shake my head at Nintendo.

What's wrong with you, Nintendo? I think you guys anticipated more demand for Federation Force than the NES Mini.

Pay attention, mass "likes" means people will buy it like crazy, mass "dislikes" means it's a dud.

@Don Based on the average eBay price for SNES games vs NES games, I'd say it'll be at LEAST double this.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE No, Scalpers are the 2nd worst.

The worst are the morons PAYING the $230 for these $60 items. If they wouldn't do that, they price wouldn't skyrocket.

People need to learn some patience. We've played these games before. A lot of us know a majority of these games 2-5 times over. People just have no self control.

I'll happily pick one of these up in January when they are stacked up at a Target Clearance end cap for $40.

Nintendo will never change.

Also, retailers could and should (but won't) stop scalper bots and scumbags like this guy: https://twitter.com/PythonKicks , by enforcing a simple captcha at checkout for highly collectible items.

@WilliamCalley Of course, that's exactly it. No need to purchase an extra for your buddies/uncle/sister/whoever. After getting a week (at most) from your NES Mini, you'll go back to your iPad and the Mini will go to that time capsule called the back of the closet, only to be found and enjoyed when some kid in 2070 unearths it and figures out how to make it work with his holographics head implant. Again, a few minutes later, he'll move on.

Total guess, but...odds are 90% of the NES Minis bought here on the 11th have been opened once, played, then the lucky day-one buyer saw dollar signs from the hysteria and decided to cash in like the scalpers and listed it as NEW NEVER OPENED SUPER RARE TOY on ebay.

After the hype has fizzled, these things will be treated like cheap junk by many people.

I truly regret not buying one for $115.99 the day before launch.

@KiWiiU_Freek

If someone pays $120 to buy Rampage, I will eat my own face.

@WilliamCalley
Better start eating.
StarCraft 64 sells for $800 to $1,200 here in Australia.
I've seen Rampage go for $130!
Paper Mario goes for around $600, Rampage 2 cib sells for $150!
Remember I'm stating cib games, mint condition, not loose.
Australian versions go for crazy prices because our covers don't have the huge black borders and were produced in smaller numbers than Europe etc, hence why they fetch high prices.

The amount of negativity towards this shortage, EBay and against the product itself is ridiculous and over the top stupid. I got one and while I was waiting on line, the vast majority of buyers hadn't played a Nintendo console since the SNES and were extremely excited to relive their youth. They skewed much older than the same waitlines for amiibos.

To suggest these will sit in the back of a closet within one play is flat out wrong, Many people did not use the VC on the Wii as the wiimotes suck as regular joysticks, most people don't own a Wii U and the over riding majority of regular folks don't use emulators either. Not everyone is an Otaku obsessed with gaming.

Some of you live in your own little world and are overtly negative on everything. The shortage sucks, but guess what? I planned it out months ago, I knew exactly where to go (and not to go) and got one no problem.

@WilliamCalley

We speaking Australian Dollars here? Or US? Everything in Australia is more expensive! When I went, Gears of War had just come out and was selling for $130 at EB games. DS carts were over $60 a pop. A preorder for Zelda: Breath of wild is currently $119.95 on EB Games Australia. That's right now. In the US, it's $60.

Have you even been to Australia? Do you understand the concept of currency exchange?

Nintendo sucks the most all.

I want one, but only at retail price.

You pay for your convenience. They don't want to wait for Nintendo to make more so they pay more. I can wait myself.

The Majora's Mask 3D Limited edition, FIre Emblem Fates Special edition, several amiibo, and now this. Several things I would have been happy to buy at launch but couldn't. I really am dreading the launch of Switch.

you can buy a good condition original nes for around $100 waste of money

I can wait. The benefits of age and a backlog the length of my right arm. And both legs. And a couple of fingers.

It is not scalpers fault, it is the people that buy it at that prices fault. Lets at least get the blame game correct.

If Nintendo could do anything about this is emphasis that the NES mini will be back in stock.

I've only once given in to scalpers on Fire Emblems fates special edition, I wasn't happy about the price nor I had to give in to scalpers. But I know the NES mini will be back, and £200+ is ridiculous. I can wait!

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Actually one can measure fandom by how willing one is to pay, in which case scalpers see it to that real fans are catered to and the casuals are deprived.

I wonder if maybe scalpers, eBay and Nintendo or all not the problem here. If consumers were able to wait a mere couple of extra months for anything scalpers wouldn't exist. While I personally wouldn't go out of my way to buy something of high demand to resell it, I can't fault them for exploiting someone's impatience. I'll tell you this much: scalpers are not to blame for the short supply. Even Nintendo isn't to blame for the short supply. Manufacturing is an extremely laborious and lengthy process. Companies cannot afford to wait an additional 6-12 months to make sure 75%+ of the units they are going to sell over the lifetime of a product are ready to ship on launch day. The storage costs and capital tied up in assets that aren't available for sale drives costs up even further. Even for companies flush with capital it makes the most sense to release in steady, planned stages. When Nintendo pushes back release dates people complain. When they stick to release dates and don't have enough stock people complain. There's no winning to be had by the company. eBay here is the farthest removed from blame, they are merely a platform for which to buy and sell goods. Hate it all you want, but remember: patience is a virtue.

Amiibo all over again..

Nintendo really wants to keep the demand high by shipping too few consoles D:

I actually got one yesterday for under $40 thanks to that $25 Walmart gift card that nobody wanted.

@dronesplitter
I think I'd rather play just one good quality old NES game, then a newer iPad shovelware game personally.
Believe it, or not there are people who actually like old games more then newer ones.

F*** scalpers and f*** Nintendo for not even attempting to meet demand for the NES classic. They did the same thing with the Wii.

As much as I would love to have one now, there's no way in hell I would pay some scumbag scalper on scambay hundreds of dollars for one. I'll be patient and wait until they're overflowing on store shelves.

@XCWarrior

I agree. Why people are OMG I NEED THIS RIGHT NOW AND WILL PAY ANYTHING. Chill out people.

I have Nes Mini. Stalked it appearing on website here and insta preordered (79.90€ here). Would not pay more for the system.

It's not stupid who is asking but the one who is paying.

And shame, SHAME ON Nintendo being again short on supply. Wonder if you pull the same with Switch.

the fact is people pay these prices on ebay, so why are ebay sellers to blame? its like saying Im going to sell my house but I don't want to make any profit. the whole point of ebay is to make money and no one is forcing people to pay inflated prices. these things will eventually be in stock so if you don't want to buy one on ebay....DONT! just wait. its not like the Nes Mini is brand new games.....you could probably buy a clone console with the same games for less if your that desperate.

Some people . . .

@PanurgeJr Rubbish!

Yes, scalpers are scum and people, idiots. Because people won't read, won't inform themselves of things. They see something is sold out and immediately want it, and want it now. I know a lot of people who didn't even know it was going to be released, and they now want it.

I preordered 2, because I was afraid one of the stores would have problems with stock, as it happened, so I'm glad I did it because I got the NES Mini last Monday. The other one, if I ever receive it, goes for a friend of mine who hasn't been able to secure hers. Of course, at the same price I paid.

But what keeps scalpers alive in eBay and such sites is the people who accepts those prices and makes them real by buying.

Here on the front page there is a fan drawing of an SNES Mini with a demand that Nintendo release that "already." Guess one classic system being sold for 4 times its market value on Ebay isn't enough, we ought to have two?

This just goes to show that fools and their money are soon parted. People who paid over $200 will walk into stores in January, see a stack of NES mini systems selling at $60 (or less) and feel very foolish for having been so impatient.

Since the initial quanties were so low, I wonder if the ebay purchases are just from wealthier people who have money to spare and $60-$200 makes no difference to them (or to their kids).

For me, though, I was already on the fence at $60, since most of the games I care about I have purchased on the eShop.

And people are pointing out that a working original NES costs less, however, it doesn't have HDMI without a mod.

Ill stick with my Wii and Wii u collection till I buy one in the store.i refuse to give in to them.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE So is the concept that there is some sort of real fan who is more entitled to an item than other people!

@Finntendo I want to be wrong, but my expectations is that Nintendo has like 500K Switch units available at launch worldwide.

Then they can be like, "Look! It sold out in 2 minutes! It's a huge sucess! People want this system!"

And 400k of the 500k are on ebay going for $1,000 to the same idiots who paid $230 for a NES mini.

Geez, I'll buy one, but I can wait for stock to come in and stabilize. Patience people.

I'll just wait. I want one for the novelty, but not at the expense of what they're asking for on eBay. It's not that serious. I'll just keep looking, and one day, boom, it'll be there.

Scalpers are awful and I can't believe eBay condones it (isn't it illegal?), but I guess it doesn't matter to them. They are making a lot of money off people's impatience.

In the middle of the amiibo craze I thought I'd never get a Fox or Zero Suit Samus. Guess what I saw the last time I went to Target? They had multiples of both and the Target exclusive Jigglypuff too. I'm glad I didn't pay a premium for them or I would have been standing there, staring at them, silently seething. lol XD I did pay more than I probably should have for a couple of them, $25 was the most I spent on one (the Villager) but I never did resort to eBay.

Anyways, tl:dr I learned from the amiibo debacle. I know Nintendo will make more and I will be able to get a NES Classic, it will just take a while for them to catch up.

2:01 and its allready gone. so much for walmart.

Don't blame ebay or scalpers, pay the idiots willing to be ripped off. This isn't even a limited or collectors edition; this is a standard product that WILL be in stores soon, just not right away. They aren't stopping development, so I don't know why people are paying those prices, other than impatient, and if that's the case, they most certainly deserve to lose the money.

I think the fact that they are still available on eBay and Amazon at these high prices shows they are not selling. People are entitled to sell anything they want at an asking price they want. It's called freedom.

@Allspice
Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it should be illegal.