Newegg Shuffle Morality

[Tech87]

As we all know by now, getting your hands on the latest amd/Nvidia GPUs at MSRP is like stumbling across a unicorn in Asgard. It's next to impossible.

 

Newegg stepped up and created their shuffle program, which is supposed to help get the latest tech into the hands of consumers, in a fair and honest manner.

 

But how moral is their shuffle program?

 

In order to give yourself the best chance to get your hands on the latest tech, you typically need to select combo packages for items you may not even want and/or need, such as; power supplies, motherboards and even monitors!

 

I think Newegg is trying to come off as virtuous, but it wreaks of slimy capitalism to me.

I get that they're a private company and can do as they please, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

What do you guys think?

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, Tech87 said:

What do you guys think?

I think no matter what they do people would still complain.

[kelvinhall05]

$10 says OP is salty they didn't win the shuffle lol

[MultiGamerClub]

Better than giving it directly to scalpers..

 

4 minutes ago, Tech87 said:

"It's next to impossible. "

This however isnt true, or atleast not in scandinavia. Shipments of 3060/ti, 2060/s, 30-series especially keeps coming in with new each day about or so..

 

Mostly 70's or 90's, but saw about about 100-200 RTX 3080 Ti's the other day on launch.. That was cool to see about 250~ cards get bought in.. 7 minutes or so?

 

Good thing their coming in too, because i want one aswell x'D

[SPARTAN VI]

I think it was a step in the right direction by giving us non-bots a chance at buying hardware. For example, between my buddy and I, we scored 3 GPUs on Newegg Shuffle in May alone. Then Newegg took 2 steps back by tacking on their stagnant inventory items... 

[Tech87]

4 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

$10 says OP is salty they didn't win the shuffle lol

Nah, I'm just posing a legit question.

[Tech87]

1 minute ago, 8tg said:

You are currently questioning the morality and sales practices of an online storefront system on a website used to buy small electronic bricks that make your videogames go vrooom.

 

Stand back for a second, really just read what you typed, and question if you’re taking something too seriously.

Forget it.

You're clearly missing the point.

 

How would you feel about going to a store for a new car purchase for a limited model, to only be told the only way you could buy the car is if you also bought a four wheeler as well? (Assuming you have no other new vehicle options)

[Tech87]

13 minutes ago, SPARTAN VI said:

I think it was a step in the right direction by giving us non-bots a chance at buying hardware. For example, between my buddy and I, we scored 3 GPUs on Newegg Shuffle in May alone. Then Newegg took 2 steps back by tacking on their stagnant inventory items... 

Yes, this how I feel too.

I'm honestly not emotionally invested. I'm in queue with EVGA for a new card, and am not in a hurry to be honest.

I still enter the shuffles, and just noticed that they seem to be getting more bold with the products they're packaging alongside GPUs.

 

Pretty soon they're going to be packaging toasters and other home appliances with their GPUs. Haha

[jones177]

To me it is about choices.

Today I did the shuffle for a EVGA 3080 ti. There were other cards that had products attached but I was not interested.

I would go for one with a 850 watt or more PSU since I need a spare so I went for one yesterday.

 

I did get a 3080 ti without any products attached so it is doable.

[Dedayog]

25 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I think no matter what they do people would still complain.

You'd think Moderators would take a second to digest what is being asked vs knee jerking with snark.

 

The point the OP asks is valid.  Newegg is bundling items along with am incredibly high demand and contested items.  Creating forced sales for items people may not want or they're having trouble moving otherwise.

 

Nowhere did the OP come off as "fuck, I am pissed I lost the shuffle or fuck, I had to buy 1456 PSU's to get my 3070!!!"  Also it wouldn't be a big deal if nothing was said about the Shuffle from Newegg's viewpoint and they just simply bundled, but they're touting the Shuffle as a big deal to help consumers.

 

I personally feel they should have bundled and just gone with it.  Totally fine.  It gets sticky when they try to look like the savior as well.

 

That's all.  Don't try to be awesome and then do unawesome stuff.

[Blademaster91]

3 minutes ago, Tech87 said:

Yes, this how I feel too.

I'm honestly not emotionally invested. I'm in queue with EVGA for a new card, and am not in a hurry to be honest.

I still enter the shuffles, and just noticed that they seem to be getting more bold with the products they're packaging alongside GPUs.

 

Pretty soon they're going to be packaging toasters and other home appliances with their GPUs. Haha

There isn't any morality in a store selling GPU's, they'll sell them to whoever is willing to pay the most, or willing to wait for the shuffle.

I signed up for the EVGA queue for several cards, but I'm not expecting anything and considering going with an AMD RX 6000 series card, or waiting with what I have.

And newegg already sold tea kettles and other stuff in their shuffle.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/no-gpus-neweggs-latest-shuffle-event-offers-tea-kettles-other-random-items

22 minutes ago, MultiGamerClub said:

Better than giving it directly to scalpers..

 

This however isnt true, or atleast not in scandinavia. Shipments of 3060/ti, 2060/s, 30-series especially keeps coming in with new each day about or so..

 

Mostly 70's or 90's, but saw about about 100-200 RTX 3080 Ti's the other day on launch.. That was cool to see about 250~ cards get bought in.. 7 minutes or so?

 

Good thing their coming in too, because i want one aswell x'D

Newegg is probably selling cards directly to scalpers and miners, and saving a few cards for their shuffle, as if you're seeing 30 series cards in stock there's no reason why Newegg shouldn't have them.

[CrowTheRobot]

At the end of the day, this is capitalism.  It's a corporate conglomerate finding ways to take advantage of lousy situations to make money.  It might be helping in some way (I snagged a 3060 a few weeks back, and honestly was happy to get a PSU with it since the one I had before was probably too basic to be advisable, so I'm at least one case of someone getting a GPU who actually wanted it) but there's always the chance that it's either not helping or not helping as much as Newegg wants to claim.  At the end of the day, really the only recourse is to avoid them and try to find another solution.  Is it good recourse?  Not really, given that Newegg is unlikely to notice a dip in shuffle signups to a certain threshold, but it is what it is.

[Rex Hite]

I think it's entirely fair to regard many of the retailers as 'unethical'. I'd quibble that 'immoral' is not the right word. It implies an importance in this case that isn't there. If it were about food, medicines and true necessities then immoral as well as unethical would apply.

 

[Levent]

41 minutes ago, Tech87 said:

Forget it.

You're clearly missing the point.

 

How would you feel about going to a store for a new car purchase for a limited model, to only be told the only way you could buy the car is if you also bought a four wheeler as well? (Assuming you have no other new vehicle options)

 

Bad example police (me) has entered the thread.

Let me introduce you to Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Koenigsegg, heck even BMW and Mercedes. You CANNOT get a brand new GT3RS without buying another highly specced Porsche or without having history of ownership, you cannot get the Ferrari Roma (or whatever they decide to call it) without having owned multiple rare ferraris and without having paid factory for some obscene stuff (like getting your car repainted at Maranello). 

[Blademaster91]

34 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

The point the OP asks is valid.  Newegg is bundling items along with am incredibly high demand and contested items.  Creating forced sales for items people may not want or they're having trouble moving otherwise.

I agree, and it's a good point to make that Newegg is throwing other stuff in a bundle like dangerous power supplies that could catch fire or kill other stuff in a PC, or force buyers to purchase other items they don't want, IMO that is a bad tactic and kind of scummy when used to force people to buy stuff they don't want.

[Rex Hite]

I'll also quibble that 'supply and demand' isn't a capitalist principle, its an  'economic market' principle.  The excuses made for the effects of supply and demand are not "capitalism", but instead "the marketplace".

[Biohazard777]

1 hour ago, Tech87 said:

I think Newegg is trying to come off as virtuous, but it wreaks of slimy capitalism to me.

I get that their a private company and can do as they please, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

What do you guys think?

I think it falls under tied selling, or tying:

Wiki:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)

 

FTC:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/single-firm-conduct/tying-sale-two-products

 

And it is quite simple, there is no benefit to the consumer.

You aren't getting that tied-in PSU / Monitor at a discount or free.

 

 

 

[Slayerking92]

 

I noticed this on Memex website today.  They make it sound like the manufactures are requesting they be sold as a bundle.

 

edit:  I just noticed their bundle prices.  OUCH.

[Biohazard777]

3 minutes ago, Slayerking92 said:

I noticed this on Memex website today.  They make it sound like the manufactures are requesting they be sold as a bundle.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/356/1#fn4

 

[CrowTheRobot]

1 hour ago, 8tg said:

The bundles are usually oriented quite well as being two parts for a good system that a builder would want, they’re popular motherboards as the most common combo, and it makes sense to do it that way in this situation.

 

I will say I've seen plenty of confusing combos, though, like 3080s being bundled with old B450 boards.  I think my B450 runs fine for me with a 3060, but if I was gonna go as far as a 3080, it wouldn't nearly be my first choice.

[Rex Hite]

I own a small retail and service business and I understand the cynicism behind these bundles.

 

When the sub-market in question is people buying overpriced luxury toys it really invites cynicism into the thinking.

"If they'll pay that much for this, I bet we can get them to pay more for these...and we'll even take away the choice!"

"There's a desperation out there for expensive toys and we're going to milk that desperation for all its worth because we can't control the supply anyway"

No doubt there are Vice Presidents of sales departments high-fiving each other over this.

 

If their supply is low and they have to reach sales targets and they can't reach them by volume they will reach them by revenue.

 

In my shop I regularly experience a severe shortage of a particular sales item that is extremely popular. I sell out almost immediately but I don't run my business on numbers and there are no VPs of sales so as long as my wholesaler doesn't raise my cost, I don't  raise my price.

 

Supply and demand is a behaviour, not a law.

 

 

[Slayerking92]

6 hours ago, Slayerking92 said:

 

 

I noticed this on Memex website today.  They make it sound like the manufactures are requesting they be sold as a bundle.

 

edit:  I just noticed their bundle prices.  OUCH.

LoL, when I added that edit, there were 8 in stock.  So it looks like the bundles are working because they are gone now.

[Heliian]

7 hours ago, Slayerking92 said:

 

I noticed this on Memex website today.  They make it sound like the manufactures are requesting they be sold as a bundle.

 

edit:  I just noticed their bundle prices.  OUCH.

So Asus is trying to dump the bunk too.  Still, that's over $2000 for a GPU, so not worth it.

[Spotty]

10 hours ago, Dedayog said:

You'd think Moderators would take a second to digest what is being asked vs knee jerking with snark.

 

The point the OP asks is valid.  Newegg is bundling items along with am incredibly high demand and contested items.  Creating forced sales for items people may not want or they're having trouble moving otherwise.

 

Nowhere did the OP come off as "fuck, I am pissed I lost the shuffle or fuck, I had to buy 1456 PSU's to get my 3070!!!"  Also it wouldn't be a big deal if nothing was said about the Shuffle from Newegg's viewpoint and they just simply bundled, but they're touting the Shuffle as a big deal to help consumers.

 

I personally feel they should have bundled and just gone with it.  Totally fine.  It gets sticky when they try to look like the savior as well.

 

That's all.  Don't try to be awesome and then do unawesome stuff.

Not a knee-jerk response. Nor did I think, say, or imply that OP was throwing a tantrum. I genuinely think there's no way that Newegg can distribute the graphics cards in a way that keeps everyone happy.

 

Selling graphics cards in bundles with other components that are likely to be bought together by someone building a system, such as a power supply or a motherboard & CPU combo would [in theory] be a deterrent to scalpers and give people who are trying to build a system who would have bought those parts anyway a better chance of being able to buy it, but of course anyone who is only looking to upgrade their graphics card or doesn't like the other item(s) in the bundle would not be interested in that and feel it's unfair.

 

I don't like the idea of panic buying a bundle just to get a graphics card. I'd personally rather shop for components individually, but I am also a tech hobbyist who doesn't mind spending my time choosing parts. For a lot of other people wanting to build a computer they buy the thing on the shelf that looks good or that has 5 star reviews on amazon. For them buying an Asus 850W power supply in a bundle with an Asus Strix RTX 3070 probably just means one less thing for them to worry about having to pick and it being in a bundle deal might mean they save $15 on the power supply or something.

 

What else would Newegg do? If Newegg just lists the cards for sale the moment they're in stock people will be unhappy that all the bots buy all the stock in 0.3 seconds. Only allow accounts that have been registered for 3+ years buy a card, well that's just going to piss off anyone who is building their first PC. Require ID verification for every purchase that tracks in a national database of GPU purchases across the country to ensure that people only buy one graphics card? Good luck convincing people their privacy isn't being invaded. Have people place pre-orders for cards that might take 12+ months to get in stock? That's going to piss people off having to wait indefinitely. Create a youtube channel, make people watch all of the videos on the off chance that one of the videos will include hints to go to a website to fill out a trivia quiz to then be placed in a queue with a chance to purchase a single model of card that might not even be the one you wanted? Anyone who lives in a different timezone or is in work/school when the video goes live would be out of luck and complain.

 

I'm not saying Newegg's bundle system is perfect, and I can understand why people don't like it. Unfortunately there's just no good way to ration the supply of graphics cards and distribute them in a way to keep everyone happy. If you have ideas for a better system Newegg could use to prevent bots and stop scalpers from buying all of the stock, one that keeps everyone happy, then I'd like to hear it. I'm pretty sure such a solution does not exist other than selling enough graphics cards to meet the demand which Newegg can't do until AMD/Nvidia/board partners are able to make enough cards.

[RoseTech]

I don’t mind, getting the extra stuff just starts the beginning of a new build.