GameStop's eBay Bid - What Could It Mean For Retro Gamers?

If you've been checking out your social feeds today, then you'll no doubt have seen that GameStop has put in a bid to purchase eBay. I know, it's a wild move, especially because it would put GameStop at the very top of the second-hand market, essentially making them the high rulers of retro gaming.

GameStop has put forward a bid of $55.5bn, which works out at just under £41b to buy eBay. I know, it's an insane amount of money and a figure that I'll never see in my lifetime. GameStop's cash-and-stock offer values eBay at $125 per share, which is $20 more than the existing valuation of the auction platform's shares.

And while the owners of eBay are probably feeling very excited about being able to buy a small island in the Maldives after this sale, I'm thinking more about how it will affect the likes of you and me, the retro game and 90s collectibles hoarders.

I saw a tweet recently that said 'Pokémon cards on GameStop would instantly return back to MSRP'. And it got me thinking, how would it affect the sale of retro games? Would we see people selling games for extortionate amounts on eBay anymore, or would there potentially be some sort of cap? Would GameStop capitalise on the fact that some games sell for thousands on eBay and turn into evil super villains stealing our cash, and would that then ramp up prices inside GameStop stores?

I love the fact that games like Banjo-Tooie have become cheaper to purchase since the game appeared on Nintendo Switch Online, though games like Chibi-Robo! still sell for upwards of £300. Would GameStop add a big premium to games on eBay, making it even tougher for us to get good bargains, or would they remove the auction idea alltogether and make it more like Vinted, putting everything at a 'Buy It Now' price?

I can't see them keeping the 'Make An Offer' option, because that would then mean that we could walk into GameStop and say 'I'll give you $12 for this copy of Rule of Rose instead of $1,200.'

Would this mean for your local retro gaming store, too? There's also the option that GameStop could just underprice all of their competition and knock smaller stores off the map now that they're set to make even more money. Some of the stores we've been to on our Retroad Show trips rely on footfall to stay alive, but if one of the biggest retro gaming powerhouses buys the most-used platform for selling retro media online, would people still head into stores?

It's odd to think of GameStop earning money off the sale of everything from dog toys to power tools. It would feel like the online version of Aldi, where you can pick up everything from Pringles to power tools!

As this is just an offer right now and we don't have any information about what a potential takeover could look like, all of my guesses are simply conjecture. Still, it's an interesting talking point, and I would love to hear your thoughts about what this could mean for the future of the second-hand gaming market below.