Really? At launch or during lockdown? I had mine on day one and they didn’t seem especially hard to buy at the time.

We had different experiences.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nintendo-sto...

I called a few local stores every few weeks for months shortly after launch, all sold out.

Best Buy I think did have some scalper package you could buy for $500.

Looking back at my email, it seems I ordered mine in January 2017 and it arrived on March 6th.

When did you try to order?

It wasn't particularly hard to get a Switch at launch. I had one without resorting to scalpers or bots.