Nintendo Switch 2 preorders sold out as eBay users get creative to tackle scalpers and bots

Much like its predecessor, Nintendo's upcoming console, the Switch 2 is expected to enjoy strong demand the entire year with fans, scalpers and even bots joining in the fun.

This is even as US President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to wreak havoc on supply chains, making US supplies considerably trickier to source than any previous console launch.

This has possibly contributed to Nintendo already indicating that not all users who expressed interest in the console on their website will be receiving one at launch on the 5th of June 2025, stating that "Invitation emails will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025."

While this wave of invites goes out on May 8th, users wanting to jump the queue find themselves at the mercy of some of the more unscrupulous parts of the internet, with most retailers such as GameStop already sold out.

This has resulted in some users annoyed by the mix of users scalping at scale and others using bots to gain an upper hand taking matters into their own hands by creating a series of fake listings (sample link one, two) to hinder such operations.

Most of these listings resultantly do not offer Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle but rather offer a printed image of the same while charging full MSRP or even higher. Some go above and beyond to let real users know that the listing is a fake with disclaimers such as "If you are not a bot, do not purchase".

Others are more direct, offering a simple but direct warning with a "no refunds" component in caps. Irrespective of how these are portrayed, once these listings are spotted on eBay by mods or real people disappointed with what their eyes are seeing, they get taken down, possibly due to a terms of service (TOS) violation on the seller's part.

With secured preorders remaining a relatively short commodity and fans, scalpers and collectors alike out in droves looking to secure Nintendo's latest and greatest, one can expect not only such measures to persist, but also scalpers continuing to successfully ply their trade with more legitimate-looking listings generally sitting north of $750 on the ecommerce marketplace.