Bethesda blocks sale of used game, claims it was to "protect buyers"
Amazon's Marketplace is home to many sellers who try to resell used games, or occasionally, new games. Usually, there's no issue with this method, at least, until Bethesda involved themselves with one of the sellers, Ryan Hupp. Hupp had been trying to sell a sealed copy of The Evil Within 2; the product itself had been purchased by him prior, but still remained in the shrink wrap from original store that he'd bought it from. The sale page stated the copy of the game was "new", rather than used, due to that fact. However, shortly after creating the listing, Bethesda had contacted Hupp, telling him that he needed to remove the listing. He was also issued a legal notice from their lawyers, telling him that if he didn't take down the sale, legal action would be taken. Within the notice was the explanation that Hupp's sale was "unlawful", as he was not an authorized reseller of the company's games.
Unless you remove all Bethesda products, from your storefront, stop selling any and all Bethesda products immediately and identify all sources of Bethesda products you are selling, we intend to file a lawsuit against you
After the listing was removed, Bethesda made an official statement on the matter, claiming that they never have, nor ever will prevent used games sales. They specifically took issue with Ryan Hupp selling The Evil Within 2 due to the fact that he marked the copy of the game as "new", and according to the legal team, it's impossible for him to sell a new game, as he cannot provide a warranty on the product.
Bethesda does not and will not block the sale of pre-owned games. The issue in this case is that the seller offered a pre-owned game as “new” on the Amazon Marketplace.
We do not allow non-authorized resellers to represent what they sell as “new” because we can’t verify that the game hasn’t been opened and repackaged. This is how we help protect buyers from fraud and ensure our customers always receive authentic new product, with all enclosed materials and warranty intact.
In this case, if the game had been listed as “Pre-Owned,” this would not have been an issue.
Currently, there are no listings for "new" copies of The Evil Within 2 sold by marketplace users on Amazon. Though, eBay has dozens of listings of "new", factory sealed versions of the game, sold by regular eBay sellers, with varying amounts of feedback. Do you agree with Bethesda's stance, or do you think that they're trying too hard to police the public on game sales?
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