GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen’s recent publicity stunt, tied to his attempt to take over eBay, appears to have backfired almost immediately.
Cohen posted on X Wednesday night claiming that his eBay account had been permanently suspended. The post included what appears to be a screenshot of a message from eBay saying the suspension was due to activity the online marketplace believed was “putting the eBay community at risk.”
Just hours earlier, Cohen posted on X that he was selling items on eBay “to pay for eBay,” linking to an account page featuring 36 new listings. The auctions included items like retro video games, trading cards, life-sized character statues, and GameStop memorabilia.
As of Thursday morning, the highest bids included a pair of what appeared to be used Adidas socks and a couple of GameStop store signs, with bids reaching over $14,000. Each of the 36 listings also comes packaged with a signed copy of Cohen’s proposal letter sent to eBay management on Sunday.
EBay did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. Despite the reported suspension, the listings were still live on the platform Thursday morning and appeared to be still accepting bids.
The apparent ban comes just days after GameStop submitted an unsolicited proposal to acquire eBay for roughly $56 billion. Cohen offered to buy the company for $125 per share in a deal split between cash and GameStop stock.
Cohen told The Wall Street Journal that combining the two companies “could be a legit competitor to Amazon.”
A major part of the pitch focuses on the overlap between the two companies in categories like trading cards, retro video games, and collectibles.
Cohen proposed using GameStop’s roughly 1,600 U.S. stores as a network of authentication and fulfillment sites. Additionally, Cohen pitched the idea that GameStop stores could double as broadcasting studios for live commerce where sellers livestream while selling products—think QVC meets TikTok and Twitch.
For its part, eBay confirmed Monday that it had received the offer and said it would consider the proposal with a focus “on the value to be delivered to eBay shareholders, including the value of the GameStop stock consideration and the ability of GameStop to deliver a binding, actionable proposal.”
Cohen suddenly putting items up for auction on eBay days later appears to be at least partly a response to Wall Street skepticism about how GameStop would actually finance the deal. Unsurprisingly, Cohen’s eBay auctions are nowhere near enough to fund the acquisition.
So far, GameStop has secured a commitment letter from TD Bank for up to $20 billion in debt financing to help support the takeover effort.
Still, some investors are not convinced.
Michael Burry, a former fan of GameStop and the investor portrayed by Christian Bale in The Big Short, disclosed this week that he had sold all of his GameStop shares.
“Never confuse debt for creativity,” Burry wrote in a post on Substack.
