Yesterday marked the release of the highly anticipated RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards. These powerful, and pricey, GPUs quickly sold out at most retailers, leaving many potential buyers disappointed.
Consequently, both cards, especially the RTX 5090, are experiencing significant price inflation on resale markets like eBay. Almost immediately after launch, RTX 5090s were listed for over $6,000, a price that has since climbed to a staggering $9,000—a 350% markup over the MSRP of $1,999.
This exorbitant pricing is driven by demand from beyond the gaming community. The RTX 5090's capabilities extend to AI workloads, making it attractive to startups and businesses needing powerful local processing power. With Nvidia's datacenter GPUs often out of reach for many, the RTX 5090 becomes a viable, albeit expensive, alternative.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos
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However, the gaming community is fighting back against the scarcity and scalping. eBay is now flooded with deceptive listings offering, not the coveted GPU, but simply a picture of the RTX 5090.
One listing explicitly 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 detentions [sic] is 8 inches by 8 inches, I got the frame from Target. DO NOT BUY IF YOU’RE A HUMAN.”
Another listing, which sold for $2,457, clearly states: “Geforce RTX 5090 (read description) Picture Only - Not the Actual Item,” with a similar disclaimer about non-refundable image purchases.
This situation highlights the lack of competition in the high-end consumer GPU market. With AMD's RX 9070 series unlikely to challenge Nvidia's dominance, and Intel still lagging, Nvidia holds a strong monopoly. The current shortage and inflated prices paint a bleak outlook for high-end PC builders and enthusiasts.
