- GameStop is auctioning an infamous stapler that punctured the screens of new Nintendo Switch 2 screens. CEO Ryan Cohen raised the stakes Thursday by offering his underwear as well. On Friday, he said if bidding tops $1 million, he will hand deliver the personal garments – and take the winner to lunch at McDonald’s.
Gamers love a pop-culture moment—and the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 certainly qualified. But when GameStop accidentally ruined several of the new, hard-to-get console systems by stapling receipts to boxes and puncturing the yet-to-be-turned-on screens in the process, things took on a life of their own.
GameStop’s leveraging embarrassing malaprop into a charitable moment, putting the stapler (and a Switch 2) up for auction, with the proceeds going to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Gamers turned out for that. Then things took a weird turn. And they’re getting even odder.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen vowed that should bidding reach the six-figure mark, he would include his underwear in the auction. (Why? Dear God, we have no idea. What kind of underwear? While Fortune regularly does deep dives on executives, there are some depths we’re not willing to plumb.)
So, as of Thursday, people were bidding not only for a generic stapler and a Switch 2 (which, it’s worth noting, WAS punctured by the stapler, but has since had the screen repaired), but also for Cohen’s boxers or tighty whiteys (and those are the only possibilities we’re willing to entertain, people!).
Friday, Cohen raised the stakes: Should bidding hit $1 million or more, he said in a social-media post, he will fly the winner to Miami, take them to McDonald’s for lunch, and then “personally deliver my preowned underwear.”
Bidding, as of 11:45 a.m. ET on Friday, stood at just $218,401. So, for now, Cohen seems safe from having to shell out for McNuggets. But there are five days left in the auction.
Bidding started high—at over $120,000—so there are definitely some people who are serious about getting their hands on … the stapler. Let’s all just assume it’s all about the stapler and the piece of gaming history, OK?
Bidder names are truncated and anonymized at present, so there’s no way to know if Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, who sparked the enthusiasm on GameStop stock that led it to become the first meme stock, is among the bidders.
