The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's collector's edition is being scalped on eBay for close to $400, more than triple its recommended retail price.
Last night, Nintendo's first Direct of the year gave us our best look yet at The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, showing off Link's new rail-grinding skills, some familiar foes, and an off resemblance to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. The showcase may not have confirmed the rumoured Tears of the Kingdom OLED Switch, but it did announce a collector's edition for the game, similar to the one it released for Breath of the Wild.
The Tears of the Kingdom collector's edition retails for $129.99 and contains a copy of the game, a steelbook case, a set of four pins, a metal poster, and an art book. It's neither the most extravagant nor expensive collector's edition in the world and is honestly a bit of a step down from Breath of the Wild's lovely Master Sword statue, but that hasn't stopped it from quickly selling pretty much everywhere.
Following the Direct, the Tears of the Kingdom collector's edition popped up on GameStop in the US and Smyths Toys in the UK, selling out within half an hour on both websites. It also briefly popped up on GAME in the UK, although it seems to have sold out almost instantly there as well. There are still some sites that have yet to sell it, such as Nintendo's own store, but the ones that have seem to have run out of stock pretty much instantly.
Of course, when there's sought-after Nintendo merchandise, there are also resellers and scalpers looking to make a quick buck by doubling the RRP and hoping to rake it in. Over on eBay, the Tears of the Kingdom collector's edition is being sold for some pretty extravagant prices, with the lowest I could find being around $242, double what Nintendo is asking retailers for.
Then there are some listings that are just downright silly, including one that's asking for nearly $400 for what basically amounts to a small artbook, steelbook, and four pins. That's the highest amount I could find on eBay so far, but the rest of the listings fall somewhere in the middle, usually around $300. If you're desperate for the collector's edition, you're going to be paying double no matter what at this rate.
Avid gaming collectors won't be too surprised by this. Not only are Nintendo collector's editions notoriously difficult to get a hold of, but collector's editions in general lately have been a tough get. Just last year, the God of War Ragnarok Jotnar Edition went for around £600 on eBay, while The Last of Us Part 1's Firefly Edition was similarly being sold for $500. Both were massive increases from the recommended retail price, again going for double at the very least.