Culture
StockX's latest move to rival eBay is reselling the Nintendo Switch
The company isn't just focused on sneakers anymore, and tech may be its next big product category.
The Nintendo Switch is a hot commodity right now. It is nearly impossible to find at retail and online stores, and while Nintendo has said it is ramping up production to meet the demand caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, that hasn't happened quite yet. If it has, resellers are outsmarting everyone with bots that can snatch Switches up faster than humans can from Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop, flipping them for profit on sites like eBay and Craigslist. And now there's another platform where people can sell (or buy) the Switch: StockX, where listings for the Lite versions of the console have started popping up.
Seizing the moment — At the moment, the Switch Lite is reselling for between $211 and $229 on StockX depending on the color, slightly above the $199 MSRP. The addition of the product couldn't come at a better (worse?) time for StockX, which clearly sees an opportunity to profit off the current insane demand for the Nintendo Switch.
Interestingly enough, there aren't any regular Switches being sold on StockX as of this writing, but now that floodgates are open, it's likely only a matter of time before those show up, too. The non-Lite Switch can be found across the internet for as much anywhere from $450-$500 brand new, well above its retail price of $299. They have been restocking over the past few days on Amazon, Best Buy, and Game Stop, but they're usually gone in seconds — and those units end up on the resale market.
Beyond sneakers — Over the past few years, StockX has slowly begun making a push to break into categories beyond streetwear and sneakers, the original core of its business. In 2017, the company started a vertical for watches and handbags from high-end fashion and luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton and Roles. Last year, StockX also opened a buy-and-sell marketplace for collectibles, such as Pokémon trading cards, rare Supreme skateboards, and KAWS vinyl figures, products that can resell for thousands of dollars.
This is all part of StockX's plan to race toward profitability, as it looks to eventually become a public company. Just last month, Input broke the news that StockX had laid off 12 percent of its workforce, a move that was designed as a drastic cost-cutting measure.
"As a global startup that has experienced hypergrowth, it is important to reflect and pivot to capitalize on future operations," StockX CEO Scott Cutler said in a blog post in April, after we reported on the company's layoffs. "As we continue to provide the highest level of service to the millions of global customers who rely on us, purposeful structure, unwavering determination and hard choices are required. The current climate coupled with the need to optimize for future success led to the prudent but difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 12%."
Cutler added that, in order to navigate "today's new normal," StockX needs to invest in "long-term sustainability to better serve our customers tomorrow and in the years ahead."
