After criticism from analysts who pointed out the company's lack of such funds, Cohen began listing various items on eBay, jokingly trying to "raise" money for the deal.
The situation quickly stopped being a joke when extremely rare sealed retro games, including Dracula and Yoshi's Cookie, appeared among the lots. Frank Cifaldi, founder of the Video Game History Foundation, and former employees of Game Informer magazine stated that these copies came from the publication's archive.
Game Informer was closed by GameStop's decision in 2024. Later, the magazine was revived under the management of Gunzilla Games, but the physical archive remained with GameStop. Former employees recognized the exhibits by their distinctive stickers and covers.
Former magazine employee Ben Hanson sharply commented on the situation:
The history of Game Informer should be in a museum, not in eBay auctions run by some idiot.
The network also discussed whether GameStop had the right to sell part of the archive after transferring the brand to new owners. The company has not yet provided detailed comments.
Ultimately, eBay officially blocked Ryan Cohen's account, citing a violation of community safety rules.