Nvidia RTX 5090 eBay Prices Hit $9,000 Amid User Protests Using Framed Photos to Outsmart Bots and Scalpers News - Latest Updates and Information

The much-anticipated RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs finally hit the market yesterday, sparking a frenzy among tech enthusiasts and professionals alike. These high-performance, albeit high-priced, graphics cards have quickly become the hottest commodities in the market, selling out almost immediately at most retail channels and leaving many eager buyers disappointed.

The scarcity has led to rampant scalping, particularly of the RTX 5090, on resale platforms like eBay. Shortly after their release, these GPUs were being resold for over $6,000, and prices have now surged to a staggering peak of $9,000—a 350% markup from the RTX 5090's manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,999.

Why are people willing to shell out such exorbitant amounts for these GPUs? The RTX 5090's appeal extends beyond gaming; it's also a powerhouse for AI workloads. Startups and businesses in the AI sector are eager to harness its capabilities for local model processing. With Nvidia's datacenter GPUs often out of reach financially, the RTX 5090 emerges as a viable, albeit costly, alternative.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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However, the gaming community is not passively accepting the supply shortages and scalpers' antics. eBay has become a battleground for fake listings designed to deceive potential buyers of these pricey cards. Some listings offer nothing more than an image of the RTX 5090, not the card itself. One such listing humorously states: "Bots and scalpers welcome, do not buy if you are a human, you will be getting a framed photo of the 5090, you will not receive the 5090. The photo dimensions are 8 inches by 8 inches, I got the frame from Target. DO NOT BUY IF YOU’RE A HUMAN."

Another sold listing, which went for $2,457, clearly stated: "Geforce RTX 5090 (read description) Picture Only - Not the Actual Item," emphasizing that no refunds would be given for the image, which is not the RTX 5090 itself.

The underlying issue fueling this chaos is the lack of competition in the high-end consumer GPU market. With AMD’s RX 9070 series unlikely to challenge Nvidia's power dominance and Intel still playing catch-up, Nvidia holds a commanding position. The combination of limited supply and inflated prices presents a challenging scenario for high-end PC builders and enthusiasts, casting a shadow over the future of GPU availability and affordability.