The highly anticipated RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs launched yesterday, immediately becoming a hot commodity. High demand and limited supply led to rapid sellouts across most retail channels, leaving many potential buyers disappointed.
Consequently, both GPUs, particularly the RTX 5090, are experiencing significant price gouging on secondary markets like eBay. Shortly after release, RTX 5090s were fetching over $6,000, a price that has since climbed to a shocking $9,000 – a 350% markup from the MSRP of $1,999.
This exorbitant pricing stems from the RTX 5090's suitability for both gaming and demanding AI workloads. Startups and AI businesses, often unable to afford Nvidia's datacenter GPUs, see the RTX 5090 as a viable, albeit expensive, alternative for local model processing.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Images
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The gaming community is not idly watching this supply crisis and the rampant scalping. eBay is now flooded with fraudulent listings designed to deceive buyers. These listings offer, not the GPU itself, but a photograph of the RTX 5090.
One such listing concludes: "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, already sold, listing priced at $2,457 explicitly states: “Geforce RTX 5090 (read description) Picture Only - Not the Actual Item,” with a similar disclaimer regarding non-refundable image purchases.
The core problem is the lack of significant competition in the high-end consumer GPU market. With AMD's RX 9070 series unlikely to challenge Nvidia's dominance, and Intel trailing behind, Nvidia holds a near monopoly. The current shortage and inflated prices paint a bleak outlook for high-end PC enthusiasts and builders.
