eBay promoting NES Classic scalping in the US

Online auction giant eBay is encouraging owners of Nintendo’s NES Classic to sell the machine on its site for a big profit.

Scalping has become a frustrating phenomenon for buyers. Some people will buy hard to find items with the express intention of selling them on at a mark-up, starving the market of in-demand items and pushing prices up for everyone.

Polygon reports that eBay is now offering potential sellers a Price Guarantee on the machine. This means that at the time of listing it promises that the console will sell for a certain minimum price, calculated based on recent sales. If for some reason it should fall short, eBay will top up the difference.

In Polygon’s case, eBay guaranteed a sale price of $193. That’s going to tempt a lot of people who paid the $60 RRP.

Scalping in an unavoidable truth in today’s market, but to see eBay so openly promote it will be a frustration for many. The question is whether it will frustrate Nintendo into action.