I am not selling consoles on eBay, this post has nothing to do with me, but I would like people to know what the situation looks like.

So, it seems like a ton of people were not able to get the Switch consoles, which, honestly, is always the case with Nintendo limited or special edition systems. The problem, however, is that with any other limited or special edition systems, there is no harm in playing the game you want to play on a different system. In this case, if you already have a Switch, but you wanted the Animal Crossing Switch to play Animal Crossing on, as it seems many people do, if you buy the Switch at a later date, you can’t transfer your save from the Switch you have now, so you will have to start the game over. I imagine that is something a lot of people are not going to want to do. It also means that if that is the Switch you want, and you do not already have a Switch, you will not be able to start playing Animal Crossing right when it comes out. So, for people in those two groups, yes, eBay might be your best option.

Before you go down that road, make sure you double and triple check your local stock. Use brickseek to check stock at Wal-Mart and Target, and call around to Best Buy and Gamestop. In the case of Target, call the store, press the button for electronics, and when someone picks up, say "hi, can you check a DPCI for me?" When they ask you for the number, it is 207-29-0024. They will then be able to tell you not only if they have any, but ALSO if they have any coming in within the next few days, this is important to know since we don’t know if restocks are coming.

Which brings me to my next point. WE DON’T KNOW IF RESTOCKS ARE COMING! Yes, a web site in another country says the system isn’t limited edition, and will continue to be produced, however that information is only for that country, and there has been no confirmation of that being true for the rest of the world. And, even if it is, it does mean that you either can’t play Animal Crossing until a restock happens, or that you will have to start over if you have been playing it on a Switch you already own.

With all that said, if you really want one, and you really want to play Animal Crossing on Friday, then yeah, it might be time to start looking at eBay. You can also try Facebook marketplace, you might be able to find one cheaper. If you need to get one on eBay, make sure you sort by "buy it now," and "lowest price shipping." Also, be sure to filter by "sold listings" first to get an idea of how much you "should" be paying. And make offers if you can. As I write this, systems are going for around $420 on average, with free shipping, so if you make an offer, it should be around there. As someone that sells all of my old video game stuff on eBay, remember that while yes, many of these people are scalpers, and they are the scum of the Earth, if they are selling a system for $420, for instance, eBay charges them $42 for selling that item, and in the US, it will cost $10 to ship within zone, or $20 to ship across country. So, that system they are selling for $420, ends up being worth $360, and they paid $320 for it in the first place. I hate scalpers, but, they only charge so much (if we are giving them the benefit of the doubt), because they have to pay eBay for selling the item at all. So, if you are sitting there thinking "oh, well they could be fair and sell them for $360," that is actually close to what they are doing, when all is said and done.

If anyone has any questions about anything, please feel free to ask. I have been using eBay for 20 years, and I have been neck deep in all of the Animal Crossing Switch stuff for the past four days. I am just trying to help people.