EVGA has finished updating its queue system for purchasing hard-to-find products such as graphics cards to 3.0. The queue system has been a huge success among PC enthusiasts seeking to avoid the volatile aftermarket where scalping practices have become the norm. The revised system does have a new and potentially controversial caveat.
Designed to Reward Loyal Customers
How is EVGA Queue 3.0 Different?
EVGA Queue 3.0 system rewards loyal EVGA customers, while still giving new customers an opportunity to purchase. In Queue 3.0, your queue position will be determined first by EVGA Score, then by the date/time of notification sign-up, and lastly by whether the user has already purchased a current series graphics card from EVGA.com.
The queue system now calculates member scores by including the value of all products that have been registered. Previously it did have a similar algorithm for calculating the score, but value was not a publicly listed factor. Unfortunately, this could mean that someone who has managed to accumulate a large number of products will take priority over those who have not.
EVGA Queue 3.0 Order:
EVGA Queue 3.0 uses many different factors to establish the queue order. This promotes several goals and requests from the EVGA Community, including: Giving greater priority to loyal customers, making more cards available to customers that are hoping to upgrade, yet without closing off the possibility for new customers to obtain a new card.The order is made up of the following factors:
1. EVGA Score and Score Tiers – This score signifies the value of your registered EVGA products, EVGA Bucks earned, and Blue Ribbons from participating on the forums.
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2. Time/Date of your notification – Date of your notification is used as a tie-breaker between customers with the same EVGA Score.
3. 30 Series purchase status – Customers who have purchased a 30 Series product from EVGA.com will be deprioritized in the VGA queue, and will become eligible to purchase their VGA notify product(s) after others in their tier purchase a 30 Series product.*
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4. EVGA ELITE Status – Some products will be available only to EVGA ELITE members.
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Becoming an EVGA ELITE Member will give you access to sign up for a notification for the first 24 hours after a product is released, subject to EVGA’s discretion.
EVGA added that “the users with the 300 highest EVGA Scores will be exempt from this requirement for select future launches, beginning with the GeForce RTX 3080 12GB.” Users can sign up for notifications without losing their place in the queue for previous active notifications.
Product purchases must be made at authorized resellers in order to count toward a member score. EVGA said that the score is “designed to reward customer loyalty, customer participation, and customer contribution to EVGA and its Community.” Now that value is included, this approach does potentially leave the system open for abuse, as other authorized resellers may not have the means, or desire, to control their own purchasing systems from being exploited.
EVGA Product Score Factors
- VGA:
- Graphics Card products earn you points based on the GPU model you own.
- Points increase with newer and higher-end products in the 30 Series, 20 Series, and 16 Series families. 10 Series and older receive a reduced amount of points.
- PSU:
- Power Supply products earn you points based on the wattage and efficiency.
- Points increase with a higher wattage and higher efficiency.
- Other Products:
- Motherboards, keyboards and mice, CLC coolers, capture devices, and other product categories all provide various levels of points. Please note that legacy and end-of-life products may not count towards your EVGA Score.
- Requirements:
- To earn EVGA points, the product must be purchased through an authorized reseller and registered to the account of the original purchaser.
- Registered products require an invoice to count for an EVGA Score, unless the product is purchased from EVGA.com.
- Only six registered products per product category will count. The EVGA Score will automatically select the highest score among registered products.
- Points from registered products count for three years from the date of purchase.
- Falsifying your purchase date or place of purchase to improve your EVGA Score may result in your notifications being cancelled and/or purchase order cancelled.
- If a serial number has been registered multiple times, only the first registered owner who uploads an invoice will receive credit for the product.
- Recertified products, second-hand products, and products that cannot be verified with a proof-of-purchase will not count towards your EVGA Score.
- Products received from RMA will not count towards your EVGA Score; instead, the original purchase product will be used towards the EVGA Score.
- Step-Up products will not count towards your EVGA Score; instead, the card that was stepped-up from will be used towards the EVGA Score.
EVGA has said that Queue 3.0 “is designed to be fair and the best experience to purchase an EVGA product,” and it will review data and customer responses over the coming months. It is also possible more changes will be made to the system to optimize or fix issues as they become known.