The collectibles market is bracing for a potential shakeup after GameStop made a bid to take over eBay. The deal is far from final, as eBay’s board still needs to review the offer and come to a decision. However, if it does go through, GameStop will have a much bigger hold on the collectibles space, particularly when it comes to trading cards. And gamers looking for their next rare find might already benefit from the mere idea of this deal. As part of his campaign to take over eBay, GameStop’s CEO is now auctioning off over 30 rare pieces of gaming memorabilia.
On May 6th, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen shared a short and sweet post on X. “I’m selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay,” it says, with a link to Cohen’s eBay account. This is far from the first time Cohen has made headlines with an auction, as the CEO famously put his underwear up for auction alongside a Switch 2 console after the “Staplegate” incident last year. Now, he’s listed several retro games and pieces of gaming history on eBay. And each one features a copy of his letter to the board regarding GameStop’s offer to buy the site.
Less than 24 hours after initially sharing his eBay offerings, Cohen shared an update that he was suspended from eBay for the stunt. The alleged message from eBay noted that Cohen’s account activity was “putting the eBay community at risk.” However, at the time I’m writing this, it appears that Cohen has been reinstated on the site. All 36 of his listings currently show as live on the site, with many of them already racking up an impressive number of bids.
Whether or not the items actually turn out to pay for GameStop’s proposed eBay acquisition, Cohen’s collection boasts some pretty impressive finds. Sadly, there’s no rare Pikachu illustrator Pokemon card among the items on offer, but there are a number of graded sports trading cards. Though some of the items, including what look to be Cohen’s socks, are definitely there for the meme, there are a few interesting bits of gaming history among the bunch as well.
For instance, Halo fans have a shot at owning a nearly life-size Master Chief statue, which is currently sitting at $13,766 after 100 bids. There’s a similarly massive Splinter Cell statue and a replica of Fallout‘s Vault Boy, as well. And for retro gaming fans, there are a number of older games in the mix, including NES titles like Yoshi’s Cookie, Metroid Silver, and Super Mario 2, complete in box. Many of these items already have upwards of 100 bids with nearly a week left to go in the auction. So if you like browsing through collections of retro games, the page is certainly worth a look.
And if you have a strong affinity for GameStop itself? There are quite a few listings related to the gaming store itself, from merch like hats and mousepads to more, um, unique offerings. For instance, you can put in a bid for a pre-owned square of GameStop carpet (currently going for nearly $1,000). Or you could be the proud new owner of a pair of authentic GameStop store signs from one of the chain’s admittedly numerous shuttered locations.
For now, it’s still unclear whether GameStop’s bid to acquire eBay is going to go through. But it certainly seems like Cohen is willing to put his money where his mouth is, offering up several legitimately cool pieces of gaming history on eBay along the way. And if that ban email screenshot is to be believed, the auction certainly seems to have gotten the auction site’s attention.
Would you bid on a retro NES game or other gaming merch from GameStop’s CEO? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
