Nintendo's NES Classic Edition console looks to be one of the holiday season's hottest items, in part because of how difficult it is to find.
Retailers such as Best Buy and GameStop didn't offer preorders for the $60 retro console, instead requiring customers to line up outside stores for hours with the hope of snagging the console in limited supply. Many retailers have capped the purchase of consoles to one per customer, but the consoles are already sold out almost everywhere.
NES Classic On Ebay
Although Amazon has yet to start selling the NES Classic (which begins at 2 p.m. PT), NES Classic Editions are already appearing on eBay at outrageous prices. Some scalpers are attempting to sell the in-demand console for up to $999. Most sellers, however, are pricing the consoles for a (sort of) more reasonable price of $200 to $300, a price that appears to be selling.
The highest price that somebody has paid for one of the consoles as of Friday morning is $500, but that could go up as the day goes on and people grow more and more desperate.
Even at $200, scalpers are selling Nintendo's high-demand product for more than three times the standard retail price. That makes for plenty of upset Nintendo fans who were looking to purchase the NES Classic either for themselves or as a gift for their kids this holiday.
It's become a bit of a trend that Nintendo always seems to underestimate demand, as seen in the case of their popular Amiibo toyline for quite some time and is still a reality for those looking for Nintendo's Pokemon GO Plus accessories.
NES Classic Might Be Tough To Find
Nintendo makes it a habit of forcing people to resort to eBay rather than fixing a frustrating supply and demand problem, and that doesn't make for happy gamers. And it appears Nintendo has yet to learn its lesson. Even better, fans can expect much the same when the Nintendo Switch arrives in March, as reports are already indicating that there will be fewer Switch units available at launch than there were Wii U.
But before giving into despair, know that there is hope. Nintendo has confirmed that a second wave of consoles should be arriving within the next few weeks. Those will likely go fast as well, so keep an eye out for retailers listing when their stock is replenished. The NES Classic is going to be tough to find this winter, but hopefully Nintendo can turn this disaster-in-the-making around. Hopefully.
