Fortnite accounts are trending on eBay, and I can see why
Epic Games’ smash-hit battle royale game, Fortnite, is arguably the most popular game at the moment. It derives some of that success from its skins and emotes.
What emotes a player whips out after killing an opponent after a fierce battle or what shiny new skin a player valiantly wears into battle means everything to the most dedicated of Fortnite fans. It’s the difference between being the cool kid on the block, and being a “noob”.
These items aren’t just about looking cool on the field, but they’ve become a way to prove your talent, too. I myself know this too well. I’ve spent much of my time playing Fortnite referring to opponents as “John Wick” or “Omega” to emphasise how much of a challenge they might be if my squad or I were to take them on. Since certain emotes can only be acquired through hitting or surpassing a certain paid battle pass tier, it means a prospective opponent must’ve dedicated hours of their time into doing challenges and getting kills.
The cosmetic-only items are popular, paid, and limited-time-only. They can range in price anywhere from 200 V-Bucks to 2000. 2000 V-Bucks can cost as much as US$20.
The limited-time-only part is where account selling comes into the picture. There are more skins, emotes, backpacks and gliders in Fortnite than one could bother counting, but some hold a higher prestige in the minds of gamers than others.
Some of the more popular skins, like the Christmas skins, Skull Trooper and Red Knight, have fanatical players endlessly fawning over them.
Epic re-listed the Red Knight skin a while back, which caused some frustration over its rarity in the community.
With so many fans adoring these cosmetic upgrades, some gamers are panning off their accounts to prospective buyers. These accounts can be listed for anywhere up to AUD$2000, and they’re being bidded on.

Some of these skins are hard to get, are admired and can be never unlocked again after a certain time period, so some choose to make up for that by obtaining them later on, even if that means forking out the big bucks for it.
While Fortnite’s revenue gains might be slowing, there’s no sign of it disappearing from our consoles, phones or computers anytime soon.