PS4, Xbox One holiday sales blow NES Classic out of the water on eBay

While the grey market for Nintendo’s impossible-to-find-in-stores NES Classic remained strong on eBay during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it was crushed by sales on the service for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, according to statistics provided to Polygon from eBay.

On Black Friday, the PlayStation 4 sold the quickest on eBay with one sold every 20 seconds in the U.S., according to the service. One Xbox One sold every minute on Black Friday. By comparison, sales for the NES Classic were almost slow, with one selling every two minutes.

On Cyber Monday, the Xbox One quadrupled its selling speed, with one sold every 15 seconds. That compared to the PlayStation 4, which slowed slightly to one sold every 30 seconds. The NES Classic remained at one selling every two minutes.

The sales rates are likely impacted by both available stock and interest. eBay did not have sales numbers for the holidays to share. But eBay DataLabs’ information shows that about 20,000 NES Classic Editions were sold on eBay between Nov. 15 and Nov. 22. About the same number of new Xbox Ones were sold during the same time on eBay, along with another 13,000 or so used Xbox One consoles. About 15,000 PS4s were sold new on eBay during that time and 12,000 used, according to the data.

“Over the Cyber Weekend, eBay was the destination for some of the best deals and selection for video games, consoles, and accessories,” Jesse Kiefer, eBay’s General Manager of Deals, told Polygon in a written statement. “Beyond seeing hot inventory like the NES Classic Edition and the PlayStation 4 Slim continue to trend, on Black Friday our Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership deal sold every six seconds and a Sony Dual Shock 4 Wireless Controller was among our top five selling electronics.”

While sales have been steady since Nintendo’s release of the NES Classic on Nov. 11, that flow of cash seems mostly to be going mostly through eBay with retailers selling out quickly and rarely getting new stock.

The day the system went on sale people were buying it on eBay once every 18 seconds. That number slowed to once every minute and 23 seconds by Nov. 15. The average sales price of the $60 NES Classic on eBay from Nov. 11 until Nov. 15 was $230.

The NES Classic is selling for on average $198 with a high of $286 and a low of $154 now, according to eBay’s DataLabs.

Most major U.S. retailers have been out of stock of the console since launch, leaving many Nintendo fans irritated and calling into question Nintendo’s handling of the sale of the device. Nintendo has said that it will have more of the console in stock “through the holiday shopping season and into the new year,” though it hasn’t offered any more specific details.

Reached for comment this week about stock of the console, Nintendo’s comment remained unchanged.

“The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition system is a hot item, and we are working hard to keep up with consumer demand,” according to the statement “There will be a steady flow of additional systems through the holiday shopping season and into the new year. Please contact your local retailers to check product availability. A selection of participating retailers can be found at www.Nintendo.com/nes-classic.”

Nintendo failed to address the apparently healthy grey market of NES Classics that bump up the price of the console considerably and line the pockets of resellers.

While U.S. fans of the console continue to hunt for an opportunity to buy the sold out NES Classic, stock is not as barren in some other countries. One store in Mayalsia, for instance, took to Facebook to post a picture of the more than 100 it received.

The NES Classic is a diminutive plug-and-play recreation of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. It comes pre-loaded with 30 games and includes a single controller. Extra controllers for the system are also sold out.

Most retailers list the item as sold out this morning, though Think Geek sent out an email earlier this week saying it would be getting new stock “soon.”