Nintendo partners with third-party websites to stop Switch 2 scalpers

It is as inevitable as a sunrise that in the hours after the Switch 2 launch next week, third-party sites like eBay will be filled with listings for the new console. But in Japan, Nintendo has announced a new partnership with Japanese third-party retail sites to combat fraudulent Switch 2 listings.

Mercari, Yahoo Auctions and Yahoo Flea Market, and Rakuten Rakuma are the participating websites that will, according to a machine translation of Nintendo’s announcement, “proactively remove listings” and establish “a collaborative system for sharing information.” Nintendo says only “fraudulent listings” that violated the sites’ terms of service agreement would be targeted for removal.

In a translated statement on Yahoo Japan’s website, the retailer stated that there will be a probationary period for the Switch 2 starting June 5th in which Yahoo Japan will remove listings for the console or suspend the accounts selling them. According to Yahoo Japan, it will revise the probationary period as necessary.

Scalpers are the bane of any console launch. Bots flood online buying queues to snap up units before real humans can click “Add to cart.” Bot users then take advantage of consumer FOMO by listing consoles for exorbitant prices. Meanwhile, other sellers use deception to trick people into buying what they think is a console but is actually a picture of a box or some other worthless item. (Anti-scalpers would later use a version of this practice for the Switch 2.)

Hopefully, Nintendo’s plan with third-party sites in Japan works well enough to expand it to other regions.