Buying A Switch 2? Watch Out For Stapled Receipts Puncturing The Display
I don't know which is the worse scenario—lining up for the midnight launch of Nintendo's Switch 2 console and having it sell out before you can get your hands on one (womp womp), or scoring one of the most anticipated consoles of all time, only to discover that the clerk damaged it by stapling a receipt to the retail box (yikes!). It may sound far fetched, but there are multiple reports of Switch 2 displays being punctured by stapled receipts.
What makes the situation especially frustrating is that there are only so many Switch 2 units to go around at launch. This is something that X user Oadhan Lynch (@Oadhan) lamented on the social media site where you posted pictures of his punctured Switch 2 console.
@gamestop stapled the receipt for me and my friends Switch 2s to the box.
— Oadhan Lynch (@Oadhan) June 5, 2025
FML.#nintendo #switch2 #gamestop pic.twitter.com/AXtrgr7y0P
"Genuinely insane how I'm gonna have to wait 3 months for the restock," Lynch wrote in a follow-up post. He also confirmed that he was at GameStop for the midnight release, and reckons that others who showed up may have the same issue.
Indeed, he is not alone.
@gamestop Helo ! My switch 2 has staple holes in the screen. They stapled the receipt to the box at 1756 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10303 and it damaged the screen. @NintendoAmerica pic.twitter.com/aqxPtRgNEs
— Rudeboy (@Rudeboy__NYC) June 5, 2025
As spotted by the folks at IGN, at least one other GameStop shopper reported the same fate for his newly-acquired console, along with pictures showing the damage.
Over on Reddit, there's yet another report of damaged consoles, with user Pozzo4 writing, "Me and my homie here (we never met before) were unfortunately at the same GameStop and this happened to me and another buddy! Think the entire preorder batch is completely f**ked."
Even if no damage to the console itself occurs, I think its bad form for employees to staple receipts to retail packaging, as opposed to using tape or, even better, just handing over the receipt. If using staples, the best case scenario is minor damage to the retail packaging, which is annoying—it's something you'd probably want to disclose if you ever end up selling your console. Tape can also damage retail packaging, but at least it doesn't pose a threat to the actual hardware.
Some feel there is blame to go around. In another post on X, @AncientArgonaut writes, "I knew this would happen - it was a weird decision by Nintendo to have the screen sit face-side-up at the very top of the box with only the thin cardboard to protect it."
Not that Nintendo could have foreseen receipts being stapled to the retail packaging, but he does have a point. Flipping the console around in the box would offer some additional protection against damage in general. Fortunately for @AncientArgonaut, his console was unscathed, though he says he was "horrified" and his "jaw dropped" when opening the box to discover how the Switch 2 was packaged.
"Not because anything was wrong with mine but because I just KNEW someone out there is going to have a bad day," he wrote.
This is also a good time to remind folks that if you score a Switch 2, be sure not to remove the protective film that comes pre-applied. Nintendo states in no uncertain terms, "Do not peel it off."
