GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen just found himself at the center of a strange online marketplace twist: he was reportedly banned from eBay on the same day GameStop is said to be chasing a takeover of the platform.
The story kicks off with GameStop pursuing an acquisition of eBay after Cohen submitted an unsolicited takeover proposal valued at $56 billion. That headline-grabbing number immediately raised eyebrows across the business and tech world, largely because GameStop’s finances don’t appear to line up with a deal of that size. Estimates place GameStop’s cash and liquid investments somewhere in the $6.3 billion to $9.6 billion range, while the company’s market valuation sits around $10.86 billion. Put simply, that’s a massive gap between what GameStop is worth today and what it would need to pull off a $56 billion purchase.
Then came the stunt—or what many people believe is a stunt. Cohen created a new eBay seller account and started auctioning off personal memorabilia, a move he framed as an effort to “pay for eBay.” The listings included an eclectic mix of items: GameStop store signs, old carpets, vintage autographed baseball cards, and even a Halo Master Chief statue. The most attention-grabbing listing, however, may have been the oddest one: a pair of tube socks priced at $1,000.
Cohen amplified the moment on X, posting that he was selling items on eBay to fund eBay itself, and pointing people to his storefront under the username ryan_5050. But the attention spike didn’t last long. Later that same day, his eBay account appeared to be suspended. Cohen followed up again on X, saying he was on the phone with eBay customer support and asking the company to respond. He also shared a screenshot stating the account had been permanently suspended due to activity believed to be putting the eBay community at risk.
As the screenshots circulated, the situation began to look less like a serious fundraising effort and more like a headline-friendly marketing play—especially given Cohen’s history as a high-profile figure in GameStop’s meme stock era. The auctions themselves were drawing real bids, too, with some listings climbing into the thousands. One example highlighted online: a simple GameStop mousepad allegedly reaching $1,500.
In an update, eBay reportedly reinstated the account, explaining it had been flagged due to unusually high activity for a brand-new profile. Online skepticism hasn’t gone away, but a source close to the situation told Business Insider that the account review was not connected to the takeover proposal.
For now, the entire episode sits in that blurry zone between corporate theater and viral internet spectacle: a would-be mega-acquisition, a sudden memorabilia auction spree, an account suspension, and a rapid reinstatement—all unfolding in public view and fueling questions about what’s real strategy and what’s pure attention economics.
