If anybody out there is thinking about deploying a "scalping police" department, now would be the best time. Just days after Nintendo opened preorders for the limited-edition The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 console, scalpers are already listing it for nearly double the retail price.
Nintendo revealed the special-edition Switch 2 during its 40th Anniversary Zelda Direct, alongside the Ocarina of Time remake, a full redo of the N64 classic. Nintendo opened preorders at $519, and with every fan wanting this collector's item on their shelf, that was enough of a signal for scalpers to move in immediately.
Listings on eBay are currently asking anywhere from $700 to nearly $1000 for the console. Some of these listings are bundling the console with the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake, despite Nintendo offering no such bundle, purely to pad the price further.
Best Buy, Walmart, and Target all listed the Zelda Switch 2 for preorder at around $520 and sold out almost immediately. At the time of writing, the official Nintendo Store is also showing the console as sold out. Gamers are now left waiting for Nintendo to announce when the next preorder batch will open.
When Nintendo launched the Switch 2 in 2025, it made an effort to keep the console out of scalpers' hands by setting strict preorder requirements, including a minimum of 50 hours of gameplay logged on the original Switch. Hopefully, Nintendo comes up with some similar plans to stop scalpers from getting the special-edition console once the second batch rolls out.
Scalping is never not going to be infuriating, and it does not stop at hardware either. We have seen cases of scalpers charging $120 for GTA VI, which is available to preorder digitally for $79.99. The only sensible response is not to engage and wait for official retail restocks, even if it means missing out on that lovely set with Link-green Joy-Cons and a triangular Triforce-inspired pattern, as painful as that may be for any diehard Zelda fan.
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The Zelda-themed Switch 2 launches on October 29, a week ahead of the Ocarina of Time remake itself on November 5.
