Nintendo’s NES Mini launched today, but despite the miniature console retailing for a thoroughly reasonable $60 its limited stock has allowed scalpers to take advantage, bumping up the price to as much as $500 on the likes of Amazon and eBay.
The NES Mini, a console which contains a built-in compilation of a variety of Nintendo’s 8-bit video game classics, has shared the same fate as Nintendo’s Amiibo figurines, which routinely shared a similar stock shortage that would lead their prices to skyrocket in the hands of third-party sellers. Now the NES Mini is currently retailing on Amazon for $479.99 brand new, with its average Buy It Now price on eBay coming in at $279.99 — there’s even one seller attempting to flog the system for a whopping $800.
This is hugely frustrating for those who wanted to get their hands on a NES Mini this month, and is even more annoying for Nintendo fans who will once again likely find themselves stung financially by the company’s issues with providing a reasonable amount of stock for its hardware. Throughout each new wave of Amiibo figures, Nintendo failed to rectify its stock issues, leading to collectors finding themselves paying an extortionate amount of money to keep up to date.
It seems that the scalpers predicted this shortage ahead of schedule, with them flooding to stores and wiping out their stock within a few hours. Nintendo is expected to issues restocks before Christmas, so if you were looking to get your hands on the console then you’re best off waiting a month. However, with some retailers even pushing back pre-orders as a result of the high demand, it remains to be seen whether or not Nintendo will have enough supply to not disappoint customers.
