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Gamestop’s Controversial Switch 2 Stapler Sells for Eyewatering Price at Auction
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The infamous stapler used by a GameStop employee to inadvertently damage the screens of multiple Nintendo Switch 2 units during the console’s launch has just been sold on eBay for a quarter of a million dollars. The GameStop gaffe made big headlines in early June, but the company may be turning the tide of public opinion by donating the proceeds of the stapler’s sale to a major charity that helps out sick kids.
On June 5, the launch date of the Nintendo Switch 2, news broke that GameStop had damaged some preordered Switch 2 consoles by stapling receipts directly onto the boxes. This incident occurred at a single GameStop store in Staten Island, New York, in which units reportedly received damage after the staples that were used in the process went through the cardboard and directly into the units’ onboard screens, perforating them.
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Despite its very localized nature, the incident stirred up widespread controversy for the game retailer, which responded a month later by humorously making light of the Switch 2 fiasco and posting the infamous stapler for a charity auction on eBay. Receiving a total of 282 bids since it was posted in early July, the one-of-a-kind used stapler has now been sold for a staggering $250,000. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a major non-profit organization that, according to its self-reported numbers, provides more than 32 million treatments each year to children in the United States and Canada.
GameStop’s Infamous Switch 2 Stapler Sells for $250,000
In addition to the stapler, the person who posted the winning bid will receive a few additional items, and they’re even more interesting than they originally appeared. Despite initial reports that multiple units of Switch 2 hardware were damaged, GameStop has since stated that only one console was affected. A certificate of authenticity, an image of which was added to the eBay page, states that the Nintendo Switch 2 console included in the sale is the exact same one that was damaged, and while the staple marks are still visible on the box, the console has been refurbished with a new screen. The staple was also included as an additional prize in the auction, though since it became twisted during the extraction from the screen, it is now likely unusable.
While the auction will benefit some of the millions of sick children cared for by the hospital network, it did not reach a special goal set by GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen. Along with the other prizes, Cohen had stated on Twitter on July 10 that if the auction generated at least a million dollars, he would fly them to Miami and present them with a pair of his own “preowned” underwear, along with treating them to lunch at McDonald’s.
