Is microcenter scamming us?

[Bi0]

I recently went to a microcenter to see if there were any new cards to my surprise they had some amd cards. Me not being too familiar with their prices I bought a RX 6800, as I sold my 1080ti before the 30 series was released, and have been waiting ever since. Because of this desperation I just threw my card at the cashier and paid 1100$ for the card, when I looked it up it seems that the card should only be valued at 500$. Did I just get scammed by micro center or is there a reason the card is currently priced like this. I think I'm going to return the card, and put my pc out of commission again. As much as I hate waiting I don't think I can justify the price. Has anyone else noticed this? 

 

Keep in mind the card has a 30 day return which i am planning to take advantage of, and i am more just probing to see if this is common for everyone else/ if any one has some insight. The money isn't a huge deal to me personally as ill just be returning it shortly. Also keep in mind i'm using scamming liberally, i do not feel as though micro center is maliciously trying steal my lunch money. it is just there to grab attention and raise discussion on the topic of the increasing rates we are starting to see with retail prices, specifically with the over 100% mark up on AMD cards. At least locally Nvidias offerings have not had such a drastic increase.

[connorkincaid]

Just now, Bi0 said:

I recently went to a microcenter to see if there were any new cards to my surprise they had some amd cards. Me not being too familiar with their prices I bought a RX 6800, as I sold my 1080ti before the 30 series was released, and have been waiting ever since. Because of this desperation I just threw my card at the cashier and paid 1100$ for the card, when I looked it up it seems that the card should only be valued at 500$. Did I just get scammed by micro center or is there a reason the card is currently priced like this. I think I'm going to return the card, and put my pc out of commission again. As much as I hate waiting I don't think I can justify the price. Has anyone else noticed this?

Yes, they're not scamming you, they're just not AMD direct. They are third-party cards. You pay a premium for this. 

[GuiltySpark_]

I feel like I would have done a little research before dropping $1100 but either way, yeah that's normal with what's going on right now. Unless you buy your cards at Best Buy or AMD Direct, you're not getting MSRP. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=AMD+Radeon+6800&_sacat=0

[minibois]

The price increases are near universal among graphics cards and retailers. The simple idea behind supply and demand just made it so the prices had to have been increased.

The MSRP AMD Radeon or Nvidia puts on a graphics card are irrelevant, when the market is in a state it is.

 

I wouldn't say you were scammed, as I would assume the price was shown on the shelves and the screen when using your card, plus the price can likely be seen on their website (and all other retailers their websites), but I understand why this feels shitty.

If you are not happy with the price you paid and can return the card, do that. 

 

I don't expect the market to normalize any time soon though.

[Bi0]

1 minute ago, rickeo said:

I feel like I would have done a little research before dropping $1100 but either way, yeah that's normal with what's going on right now. Unless you buy your cards at Best Buy or AMD Direct, you're not getting MSRP. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=AMD+Radeon+6800&_sacat=0

I figured 30 return policy, will come in handy worst case. lol

[Middcore]

The price the card "should be valued at" is whatever people are willing to pay, in the end.

 

Micro Center is selling cards at market price. If they sold them at MSRP most of them would just be bought by people who would resell them for a profit. Micro Center is a business, so they're not going to leave money on the table like that.

 

Please do a bare minimum of research before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

[Bi0]

1 minute ago, minibois said:

The price increases are near universal among graphics cards and retailers. The simple idea behind supply and demand just made it so the prices had to have been increased.

The MSRP AMD Radeon or Nvidia puts on a graphics card are irrelevant, when the market is in a state it is.

 

I wouldn't say you were scammed, as I would assume the price was shown on the shelves and the screen when using your card, plus the price can likely be seen on their website (and all other retailers their websites), but I understand why this feels shitty.

If you are not happy with the price you paid and can return the card, do that. 

 

I don't expect the market to normalize any time soon though.

I am using "scammed" liberally, i'm not actually accusing them of this, i just was curious as the Nvidia options are only slightly higher than msrp. The amd cards seem to have doubled/ tripled in microcenter. 

[tkitch]

You still haven't said what card you got. 

[Bi0]

Just now, tkitch said:

You still haven't said what card you got. 

it does in the description, it was just a rx6800 the gigabyte variant.

[Cool_Evlo]

11 minutes ago, Middcore said:

Please do a bare minimum of research before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Hundreds of thousands? You know when people say that they mean 100,000+. I dont think they spent over 100,000 dollars.

[Middcore]

2 minutes ago, Cool_Evlo said:

Hundreds of thousands? You know when people say that they mean 100,000+. I dont think they spent over 100,000 dollars.

 

It was a typo for hundreds or thousands, as I'm sure you could figure out. 

[minibois]

9 minutes ago, Bi0 said:

I am using "scammed" liberally, i'm not actually accusing them of this, i just was curious as the Nvidia options are only slightly higher than msrp. The amd cards seem to have doubled/ tripled in microcenter. 

Yeah I assumed the word "scammed" was probably used more in the figurative way.

As for the pricing between AMD Radeon and Nvidia, from my anecdotal experience, I've noticed there is just way less supply of AMD Radeon cards, as compared to Nvidia.

That is not to say Nvidia is readily available, far from it. I think AMD Radeon is just proportionally hit worse by the entire shortage of chips (whatever the reason behind that may be).

 

That may be why the pricing difference is so much bigger between MSRP and retail in AMD Radeon vs. Nvidia.

[Bi0]

2 minutes ago, Middcore said:

 

It was a typo for hundreds or thousands, as I'm sure you could figure out. 

instructions unclear dog is in microwave.

[Dedayog]

47 minutes ago, Bi0 said:

I recently went to a microcenter to see if there were any new cards to my surprise they had some amd cards. Me not being too familiar with their prices I bought a RX 6800, as I sold my 1080ti before the 30 series was released, and have been waiting ever since. Because of this desperation I just threw my card at the cashier and paid 1100$ for the card, when I looked it up it seems that the card should only be valued at 500$. Did I just get scammed by micro center or is there a reason the card is currently priced like this. I think I'm going to return the card, and put my pc out of commission again. As much as I hate waiting I don't think I can justify the price. Has anyone else noticed this? 

 

Keep in mind the card has a 30 day return which i am planning to take advantage of, and i am more just probing to see if this is common for everyone else/ if any one has some insight. The money isn't a huge deal to me personally as ill just be returning it shortly.

It's incredibly short sighted to even suggest that Microcenter "may" be scamming you.

 

I'd change your title, it's offensive to anyone that knows Microcenter.

 

IMO, you have failed at every turn to understand what's involved in your purchase.

 

Do some research into the pandemic and it's effect on economics the world over, or even narrow it down into the chip and silicon shortages that effect everything from your GPU to Ford/Toyota/GMC shutting down plants.

 

But please, understand that Microcenter has been at the forefront of getting people great deals on PC parts for years.  Kicked Fry's, Amazon's, Newegg's asses many times over with some of their specials.

 

   Much love for MC.  Much.

 

 

 

 

[Blue4130]

I am going to say something that may not win me any friends or be a popular opinion. 

 

If you return the card after opening in and using it because of buyers remorse, you are "scamming" them, not the other way around. 

 

I understand and get that you are within your rights to do so, but it's a dick move. That is one more card that can't be sold as new in a time where cards are already difficult to get. 

 

With how long this gpu drought has been going on, and how widely it's been reported on (even non-tech news sites have reported on it) I find it extremely hard to believe that you didn't know that prices were jacked up. And even if you truly didn't, why not bust out your phone and read a review of the card before buying it? 

[Chris Pratt]

First MSRP is basically meaningless. For an AMD card, it would only apply to a reference model from AMD direct. I'm not sure about AMD in particular, but I know that with Nvidia the MSRP is actually only a 1-5% margin over the cost of the GPU + VRAM to AIB partners. In other words, it's basically impossible for a partner to sell their cards at MSRP and make a profit. As result, partner cards are always more expensive than the reference/founder's.

 

Then, the actual manufacturing and shipping costs are more right now because of the pandemic and supply chain issues. So, cards are more expensive than they normally would be because of that.

 

Finally, in the U.S., you have an automatic 25% tariff on top because of the Trump administration. So if the card would have been $800, it's now a $1000.

 

This isn't Micro Center. It's just the world we now live in.

[Ravendarat]

Funny that thats what you found. Up here in Canada at Memory Express which is our closest thing to a microcenter AMD cards have been FAR easier to get a hold of and are selling for about MSRP. Now I assume the reason why its easier is because they backordered way more Nvidea cards for customers so when they get shipments they are already spoken for where as AMD cards being less popular have less backorders but still, I was able to walk in to one a couple days ago and get my 6800 for CAD MSRP

[Bi0]

On 6/18/2021 at 12:27 AM, Blue4130 said:

I am going to say something that may not win me any friends or be a popular opinion. 

 

If you return the card after opening in and using it because of buyers remorse, you are "scamming" them, not the other way around. 

 

I understand and get that you are within your rights to do so, but it's a dick move. That is one more card that can't be sold as new in a time where cards are already difficult to get. 

 

With how long this gpu drought has been going on, and how widely it's been reported on (even non-tech news sites have reported on it) I find it extremely hard to believe that you didn't know that prices were jacked up. And even if you truly didn't, why not bust out your phone and read a review of the card before buying it? 

Yeah, I mean I didn't know the MSRP at the time, I also mistook it as the 6800xt. So lost on both accounts.

 

I find it hard to think of it as a "dick move" then the market that this card is intended for cannot afford it because it is over MSRP by roughly 120%. So the people i could be effecting wouldn't be able to buy it in the first place, fault lies with the third party, or microcenter. Also micro center should just resell it as an open box product, so either way it's not a "dick move" on my part.

 

On 6/18/2021 at 1:11 AM, Ravendarat said:

Funny that thats what you found. Up here in Canada at Memory Express which is our closest thing to a microcenter AMD cards have been FAR easier to get a hold of and are selling for about MSRP. Now I assume the reason why its easier is because they backordered way more Nvidea cards for customers so when they get shipments they are already spoken for where as AMD cards being less popular have less backorders but still, I was able to walk in to one a couple days ago and get my 6800 for CAD MSRP

I'm curious, was it a reference, or a third party card?

 

On 6/18/2021 at 12:56 AM, Chris Pratt said:

First MSRP is basically meaningless. For an AMD card, it would only apply to a reference model from AMD direct. I'm not sure about AMD in particular, but I know that with Nvidia the MSRP is actually only a 1-5% margin over the cost of the GPU + VRAM to AIB partners. In other words, it's basically impossible for a partner to sell their cards at MSRP and make a profit. As result, partner cards are always more expensive than the reference/founder's.

 

Then, the actual manufacturing and shipping costs are more right now because of the pandemic and supply chain issues. So, cards are more expensive than they normally would be because of that.

 

Finally, in the U.S., you have an automatic 25% tariff on top because of the Trump administration. So if the card would have been $800, it's now a $1000.

 

This isn't Micro Center. It's just the world we now live in.

I'm just surprised as the Nvidia cards are only up by 25% at the most usually less aib or not. so in wondering is amd is just making them at a drastically lower price than aib compared to Nvidia and their aibs.

[CommanderAlex]

They're not really scamming anyone, as it's just the MSRP of aftermarket cards that can add hundreds of dollars more than what a reference design card sold by AMD or Nvidia will ever be. I got my RX 6900XT from Micro Center for MSRP price and it's great!

 

Do more research about the costs of the components before going in to make a purchase. 

[Bi0]

Im just curious as to why it seems amd aib, are so high compared to nvidias. If anything I would expect it to be the other way around.

 

1 minute ago, SpiderMan said:

They're not really scamming anyone, as it's just the MSRP of aftermarket cards that can add hundreds of dollars more than what a reference design card sold by AMD or Nvidia will ever be. I got my RX 6900XT from Micro Center for MSRP price and it's great!

 

Do more research about the costs of the components before going in to make a purchase. 

 

[Blue4130]

1 minute ago, Bi0 said:

Im just curious as to why it seems amd aib, are so high compared to nvidias. If anything I would expect it to be the other way around.

 

 

It's not that amd is high, it's thst Nvidia msrp was unrealistically low (as far as letting the aib guys to make a profit) 

 

I don't agree with the pricing, I think cards are too high, but I see why amd msrp is higher. 

 

 

And as for the dick move. I am specifically talking about not doing your research and then finding out after the fact but still using the card. This is one reason why msrp is high. (not the only reason obviously) but manufacturers bake in to their calculations people that return cards for any reason. Less cards returned = lower msrp (it doesn't happen generation by generation, it's a historical calculation) 

 

If you were to return the card unopened, my dick move comment is negated. 

[Bi0]

2 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

It's not that amd is high, it's thst Nvidia msrp was unrealistically low (as far as letting the aib guys to make a profit) 

 

I don't agree with the pricing, I think cards are too high, but I see why amd msrp is higher. 

 

 

And as for the dick move. I am specifically talking about not doing your research and then finding out after the fact but still using the card. This is one reason why msrp is high. (not the only reason obviously) but manufacturers bake in to their calculations people that return cards for any reason. Less cards returned = lower msrp (it doesn't happen generation by generation, it's a historical calculation) 

 

If you were to return the card unopened, my dick move comment is negated. 

 

2 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

It's not that amd is high, it's thst Nvidia msrp was unrealistically low (as far as letting the aib guys to make a profit) 

 

I don't agree with the pricing, I think cards are too high, but I see why amd msrp is higher. 

 

 

And as for the dick move. I am specifically talking about not doing your research and then finding out after the fact but still using the card. This is one reason why msrp is high. (not the only reason obviously) but manufacturers bake in to their calculations people that return cards for any reason. Less cards returned = lower msrp (it doesn't happen generation by generation, it's a historical calculation) 

 

If you were to return the card unopened, my dick move comment is negated. 

I mean in saying that your essentially telling me that what I do don't actually contribute to anything harmful lol. And I was originally intending to just keep it if it preformed at the level I needed it to unforchantly that is not the case.

[Bi0]

8 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

It's not that amd is high, it's thst Nvidia msrp was unrealistically low (as far as letting the aib guys to make a profit) 

 

I don't agree with the pricing, I think cards are too high, but I see why amd msrp is higher. 

 

 

And as for the dick move. I am specifically talking about not doing your research and then finding out after the fact but still using the card. This is one reason why msrp is high. (not the only reason obviously) but manufacturers bake in to their calculations people that return cards for any reason. Less cards returned = lower msrp (it doesn't happen generation by generation, it's a historical calculation) 

 

If you were to return the card unopened, my dick move comment is negated. 

But that is a good point, amd may be more relaxed, and the aibs are likely taking advantage of that. That's the only theory so far with any substance. With what ravendarta said idk if It holds up.

[Blademaster91]

7 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

It's not that amd is high, it's thst Nvidia msrp was unrealistically low (as far as letting the aib guys to make a profit) 

 

I don't agree with the pricing, I think cards are too high, but I see why amd msrp is higher. 

I don't see how Nvidia MSRP was too low, Nvidia undercut the AIB companies with an FE card that is comparable to the mid tier AIB cards at the same price or cheaper.

Although in North America FE cards are more difficult to find than an AIB card, Nvidia only sells FE cards through Bestbuy, instead of their store directly.

The AMD GPU msrp being higher makes sense though, TSMC 7nm is used for both AMD CPU and GPU's, making supply and demand the main issue.

3 minutes ago, Bi0 said:

 

I mean in saying that your essentially telling me that what I do don't actually contribute to anything harmful lol. And I was originally intending to just keep it if it preformed at the level I needed it to unforchantly that is not the case.

If you aren't satisfied with the performance you can likely sell it for what you paid even if the box was opened and you actually used it. The whole GPU market is crazy, everything is worth a lot more even old used gpus.

[Bi0]

14 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

I don't see how Nvidia MSRP was too low, Nvidia undercut the AIB companies with an FE card that is comparable to the mid tier AIB cards at the same price or cheaper.

Although in North America FE cards are more difficult to find than an AIB card, Nvidia only sells FE cards through Bestbuy, instead of their store directly.

The AMD GPU msrp being higher makes sense though, TSMC 7nm is used for both AMD CPU and GPU's, making supply and demand the main issue.

If you aren't satisfied with the performance you can likely sell it for what you paid even if the box was opened and you actually used it. The whole GPU market is crazy, everything is worth a lot more even old used gpus.

Yeah I have been thinking about it, i just don't know if I can wait for the possiblity of a buyer. I don't wanna be stuck with it.