The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 won’t be released until September 17, but scalpers are already trying to extort hardware enthusiasts who are champing at the bit for a flagship Ampere GPU. A cursory glance at eBay shows 26 listings for the heavily hyped card, all of which are going for ridiculous margins ranging from $1,099 to $1,299. That’s nearly twice the MSRP set by NVIDIA ($699). Surprisingly, the markup isn’t as bad for the GeForce RTX 3090, which is being listed for $1,800 ($1,499).
To be clear, these listings are for preorders only, which means that bidders would only be putting down their hard-earned cash for the chance of scoring one. If the scalper sleeps in and fails to get a card, the only thing you’re getting is a refund and a lot of disappointment. “If I am unsuccessful which I doubt I will refund you within 24 hours,” wrote one seller. Needless to say, don’t waste your time (and shame on eBay for allowing this type of behavior).
While this kind of thing happens with any hyped product launch, the listings are nevertheless interesting. Evidently, $1,200 seems to be the amount that GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition cards will be valued at in the event that its stock is truly as bad as rumors have suggested. Those of you who want one in September or October (we’re remaining optimistic about availability growing significantly by the end of the year) may have to pay a lot more for AIC and Founders Editions.
