eBay reinstated the account relatively quickly, noting that it had been flagged for suspiciously high activity for a brand‑new profile. The internet remains skeptical about the whole situation, but a source close to the matter told Business Insider that the incident had no link to the takeover bid.

Original article continues as follows:

Apparently, GameStop’s CEO Ryan Cohen, was banned from the very platform he’s trying to acquire in a bizarre twist. GameStop is currently pursuing the acquisition of eBay after Ryan Cohen submitted an unsolicited $56 billion takeover proposal for the online marketplace.

However, one important point to note is that GameStop currently holds an estimated $6.3–9.6 billion in cash and liquid investments, with a total market valuation of about $10.86 billion, a far cry from the proposed acquisition price for eBay. Ryan Cohen has since opened his own eBay seller account, which appears to be a stunt to sell personal video game memorabilia on the marketplace.

He auctioned off personal items like GameStop store signs, old carpets, vintage autographed baseball cards, a Halo Master Chief statue, and the strangest item on the listing: a pair of tube socks for $1,000. It’s unclear how serious he is, but it appears to be a marketing stunt, even as he claims it was to help “pay for eBay.”

Cohen took to X and bluntly stated, “I’m selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay,” and included a direct link to his new storefront under the username ryan_5050. However, things changed the same day, as Ryan Cohen’s account was apparently suspended.

He shared a follow-up post on X and wrote, “On phone with customer support @eBay. Please respond @eBay,” alongside a screenshot that read as follows:

“Your eBay account has been permanently suspended because of activity that we believe was putting the eBay community at risk.”

The whole exercise feels like a bizarre marketing scheme on the surface, especially given that Ryan Cohen is the same person who helped turn GameStop into a meme stock in 2021. His auction listings were performing well into the thousands, with a mere GameStop mousepad reaching $1,500.