While I was technically on vacation—beach chair, drink in hand—I couldn’t resist diving into Nintendo’s latest plot twist. (No surprise. My brain doesn’t do “off.”)
The short version?
Nintendo launched the Switch 2 in early June. Fans were ready. Listings popped up on Walmart, Target, and other major retailers. But on Amazon U.S.? Crickets. No official listing—just a flood of third-party sellers flipping consoles at inflated prices.
What happened?
According to Bloomberg (June 30, 2025), Nintendo pulled official Switch 2 listings from Amazon after discovering that unauthorized sellers were importing the console from Southeast Asia and undercutting U.S. pricing strategies. Amazon had essentially become a back door for grey-market units—something Nintendo couldn’t allow during a high-stakes product launch.
Both companies denied any rift. But as The Verge reported (July 7, 2025), the Switch 2 eventually reappeared on Amazon—this time with an invite-only purchase option. It’s still there… just behind a velvet rope.
Why this matters beyond gaming
This isn’t just about Nintendo. It’s a wake-up call for every brand selling online. Even iconic companies can lose control of how their products are listed, priced, and sold on platforms like Amazon.
From MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) violations and grey-market leakage to rogue sellers and skewed search results, these disruptions aren’t just annoying. They erode revenue, reputation, and customer trust.
If Nintendo had to pull its listings to regain control, how are you staying ahead of this?
Brand Protection in the Age of Amazon
This is exactly the kind of challenge we solve at Traject Data.
Our Rainforest API is built for brand protection on Amazon and other major ecommerce platforms. We don’t rely on marketplace APIs that limit your view to curated data. Instead, we scrape live listings—what your customers actually see—and deliver clean, structured data that helps you take fast, decisive action.
Traject Data enables you to:
- Detect unauthorized sellers creeping in across regions
- Monitor MAP violations across Amazon, Walmart, and Target
- Understand where product variants are listed under the wrong seller
That’s the visibility our brand protection API provides. Fast. Flexible. No velvet rope required.
The Bigger Picture
Nintendo’s “Amazon pause” wasn’t a glitch—it was a calculated reset. They pulled listings in late June and didn’t return until mid-July, well after launch day. That may work when you’re Nintendo. But for most brands, disappearing from the world’s largest online marketplace isn’t an option.
This is the new reality: listing chaos, grey-market back doors, and third parties playing by their own rules.
The question isn’t if this will happen to your brand.
It’s when—and whether you’ll have the data to respond.
Stay in Control with Traject Data
We provide ecommerce APIs for Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Google Shopping so you can monitor your brand across the platforms that matter most. Whether you’re tracking unauthorized sellers, pricing violations, or SKU mismatches, we give you the data to act fast.
Want to protect your brand online? Reach out to Traject Data and get started today.
