Scalpers trying to take advantage of the demand for the SNES Classic Edition have been thwarted by a new eBay rule. SNES Classic Edition pre-orders were as much as three times the RRP via eBay and now the online retailer has taken action.

After a report noted that many listings for the console had been taken down from the shopping portal, an eBay representative confirmed that many listings had been removed due to a new policy. Under this new policy, the company “will remove listings for pre-release items and accessories if the release date of the item is more than 30 days away.” This means that for the SNES Classic Edition, which will be released on September 29, sellers will only be able to list their offers from the end of August.

For scalpers trying to make money from selling the console, this will be devastating news. Having hoped to capitalize on the huge demand for the console, many scalpers were set to make bank, having used their on SNES Classic pre-orders to sell the console onto others. Those who have been unable to secure a pre-order of their own may also be hurt as it means that unless their preferred retailers get extra stock closer to the console’s release, they will be unable to get one.

But the announcement is mostly good news. As scams for games like Pokemon Stars have shown, scalpers and scammers are as savvy as ever when it comes to gaming trends and figuring out what’s popular. While this may be fair in terms of competition and making money (in legitimate ways), it can often lead to fake listings, with people getting scammed out of their hard-earned cash. eBay’s new policy, should the retailer enforce it with other popular game releases, could go a long way to combatting game scammers in general.

It could also have an impact on the availability of the SNES Classic Edition too. Nintendo has promised that it will make more SNES Classic Edition units than it did of the NES Classic, but the console has proved difficult to get regardless. Retailers like Amazon have already been forced to implemented a one unit per customer limit because of scalpers, so if these resellers no longer have a place to make their money, perhaps it will give fans a chance to pre-order the units that would have gone to them.

The SNES Classic Edition launches on September 29, 2017.

Posted: Jul 06, 2017 7:45 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://gamerant.com/snes-classic-editon-scalper-new-ebay-rule/