Don’t wait too long to sell your original Nintendo Switch

The Switch 2 is imminent, which means you may be considering an upgrade. What to do with your old console, though? You could keep it, sure, but the Switch 2 is backwards compatible – and some games have enhancements on the new console. For some of you, selling your Switch might make the most sense, especially if you want some help affording the Switch 2’s $449.99 price tag. If you’re debating hawking your old console, it’s time to take action. The sooner you can do it, the better. 

As someone who sold a Switch Lite shortly after news of a follow-up dropped, I was surprised to find that typical market values for a used version of the console were quite low on reselling sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. A Lite in good condition can be sold for anywhere between $100 to $120, or more depending on whether or not it comes with things like games or memory cards. That’s nearly half of what the console cost when it originally came out in 2019, and just barely over what you’d need to afford a new Switch 2 game. 

A fully-sized Switch 1 in decent shape, on the other hand, can net you anywhere between $165 and $250. Beyond games and accessories, pricing can be impacted by factors like whether or not you still have the original box, cords, and dock. The model also matters; OLED versions command better prices, whereas older models go for slightly cheaper. The exception to this seems to be if you have a Switch from the original launch period, or a Switch with a “low” serial number. This hardware, which is apparently more easily moddable, is sought out by hackers.

You also have the option to trade in your console at GameStop, where the credit can go directly toward your Switch 2 purchase. But trade-in values are comparatively abysmal, especially if you don’t have a GameStop Pro membership or if you want cash over store credit. Without a Pro account – which costs money to get – a Switch can only net you up to $85 in store credit, or just under $60 for tender.

The GameStop pricing reflects what might be a universal truth in the near future: the longer you wait, the lower the value might become. We’re in that weird interim period where the Switch 2 will be front of mind for gaming communities all over, and the console may well be hard to source near launch. But the average person might not know what a Switch 2 is, or why they might want one. Hardcore fans might be unloading their old consoles left and right, but the proverbial market isn’t as saturated now as it will be once the Switch 2 goes fully mainstream and is visible everywhere. Come the holiday season, families everywhere will be thinking about the latest and greatest tech to give – and used Switch 1 consoles might become a common sight. 

The chances of seeing values drop even further than where they’re at now are a real possibility as time goes on. We’ve already seen some of it in action; GameStop initially offered a trade-in value of $175 for anyone who put that money toward a Switch 2 pre-order. A couple of months later, they’re offering less than half of what they used to. 

There’s an argument for holding tight to your Switch 1. Maybe it’s sentimental value. You might want to wait until the Switch 2 has more must-buy games. It’s not like the Switch Lite takes up much space, right? If you play the long game and are willing to keep your Switch for years, you could theoretically get more than what anyone is willing to pay now. To wit, I also sold a 3DS this year. I was able to get over double what anyone was willing to pay for a Switch Lite despite selling it at a slight discount. It also sold for more than what I would have been able to get for a well-kept Switch OLED. That’s the power of retro games for you. Presumably, once the Switch 1 becomes discontinued and less prevalent, it’ll be harder to find – which would make it more valuable.

But who has the patience for that? You might be better off selling now than risking an inevitable dip in price if you want a new console. The Switch 2 won’t be getting cheaper anytime soon. If anything, it might get more expensive.