Craigslist Graphics Card Buying Advice

[aisle9]

10 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

Insist on a benchmark. A friend of mine just bought what he thought was a 1050. We put it in a system, and while programs like GPU-Z say it's a 1050, it performs like a GTX 460.

Did he get it off eBay? If so, open a ticket saying it's a fake and his money will be refunded damn near instantly. There were/are tons of Fermi GPUs being sold from China as higher-end models, and plenty of people in America are getting them, wondering why they suck so much, then reselling them thinking that the "1050" they bought just isn't powerful enough.

 

If he got it off CL, might as well just open it up, wipe off the paste and see what's really under there. If it is a 1050, you might be able to RMA it.

[aisle9]

1 hour ago, Daniel Z. said:

tell him you can PayPal at the spot

I just wouldn't bother with it at this point. When someone makes it this difficult to give them your goddamned money, maybe that money should go elsewhere.

[Mick Naughty]

Yea gotta pass on this “deal” and get a card somewhere else. 

[Official_BlazeKing]

Seller could also just be overly paranoid about being physically robbed or something. That's kind of what it sounds like if he's letting you pick it up, but making sure he gets that money before you even touch the card. There's no real way to test a card like that in a safe "neutral" location, is there?

[JoostinOnline]

2 hours ago, aisle9 said:

Did he get it off eBay? If so, open a ticket saying it's a fake and his money will be refunded damn near instantly. There were/are tons of Fermi GPUs being sold from China as higher-end models, and plenty of people in America are getting them, wondering why they suck so much, then reselling them thinking that the "1050" they bought just isn't powerful enough.

 

If he got it off CL, might as well just open it up, wipe off the paste and see what's really under there. If it is a 1050, you might be able to RMA it.

He got it from Facebook. It's not a 1050, but I couldn't figure out what card it actually is.

[auspotta]

buy new cheap or dont bother, could be trashed and you wouldnt know till you load a 6+ hour stress test

[JoostinOnline]

3 minutes ago, auspotta said:

buy new cheap or dont bother, could be trashed and you wouldnt know till you load a 6+ hour stress test

1. What dumbass is running a 6 hour stress test on a graphics card? That's idiotic.
2. Assuming it's not fake (which you can test by running a single benchmark), graphics cards are the safest thing to buy used, aside from CPU's.

[auspotta]

6+ hours of 99% utilization means playing fucking games not furmark.

Edited June 21, 2018 by colonel_mortis
Sanitisation

[JoostinOnline]

17 minutes ago, auspotta said:

*snip*

You said a stress test (i.e. Furmark), not gaming. Graphics cards also don't just fail like that. Obviously no electronic is as good used as it is new, but aside from physical damage a CPU or GPU is as long lasting as it gets. It's why a 10 year old graphics card can run just as well as it did straight out of the box.

 

Also, please don't use that word.

[Supportsneedlove]

17 hours ago, Daniel644 said:

HELL NO, thats straight up a scam for sure, why would someone want to lose 3% of there asking price to Paypal Fees if they are meeting you in person? also NEVER give anyone money for something you haven't held in your hands first.

 

https://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

You never order online?

[Supportsneedlove]

2 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

1. What dumbass is running a 6 hour stress test on a graphics card? That's idiotic.
2. Assuming it's not fake (which you can test by running a single benchmark), graphics cards are the safest thing to buy used, aside from CPU's.

Isn't RAM pretty safe as well? Since it really doesn't degrade?

[Daniel644]

2 minutes ago, Supportsneedlove said:

You never order online?

Not from craigslist sellers, I meet them in persona and deal in CASH, Online ordering I buy from retail stores, Amazon and occasionally Ebay but not random people on ebay, the stores that use ebay as a store front and have good reviews are the ones I use.

Just now, Supportsneedlove said:

Isn't RAM pretty safe as well? Since it really doesn't degrade?

it's the SAFEST, provided it's from a reputable company, most of the good companies have LIFETIME warranties on RAM, if you have  bad stick they'll replace it.

 

 

It's 7 AM, i'm off to bed, I got an alarm going off in like 3 hours.

[JoostinOnline]

1 hour ago, Supportsneedlove said:

You never order online?

Definitely don't order online from Craigslist.

1 hour ago, Supportsneedlove said:

Isn't RAM pretty safe as well? Since it really doesn't degrade?

Yes, although I've got plenty of bad DDR RAM (well over 10 years old), so I keep it lower on the "safest" list.

[aisle9]

7 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

He got it from Facebook. It's not a 1050, but I couldn't figure out what card it actually is.

It's probably a 550 Ti or a 460.

 

6 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

1. What dumbass is running a 6 hour stress test on a graphics card? That's idiotic.

There guy mining ETH on a dual R9 390X setup that's running a 120% power limit and a balls-out overclock, but yeah, he's an idiot anyway.

 

I have been known to run Heaven or Valley overnight, but that's usually because I walk away and forget to turn them off until the next morning.

4 hours ago, Daniel644 said:

Not from craigslist sellers, I meet them in persona and deal in CASH, Online ordering I buy from retail stores, Amazon and occasionally Ebay but not random people on ebay, the stores that use ebay as a store front and have good reviews are the ones I use.

eBay is about the safest online marketplace for buyers because of how hard they bone their sellers. As a buyer, you almost have to be trying to get scammed there.

 

As a seller, FML.

[JoostinOnline]

13 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

eBay is about the safest online marketplace for buyers because of how hard they bone their sellers. As a buyer, you almost have to be trying to get scammed there.

 

As a seller, FML.

There are still precautions you should take. It's easy to get your money back if you're scammed on eBay, but it usually means the money comes out of eBay's pocket.

 

Only buying via PayPal virtually eliminates the possibility of scams because they have access to the seller's bank account.

13 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

It's probably a 550 Ti or a 460.

It showed up right next to a 460 on the benchmark, so that's what I think.

 

Also, that "6 hour stress test" guy got banned. Probably due to a couple words he'd been using.

[aisle9]

1 hour ago, JoostinOnline said:

There are still precautions you should take. It's easy to get your money back if you're scammed on eBay, but it usually means the money comes out of eBay's pocket.

 

Only buying via PayPal virtually eliminates the possibility of scams because they have access to the seller's bank account.

True, but they don't have access to the second bank account that the seller immediately transferred the funds to.

[JoostinOnline]

14 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

True, but they don't have access to the second bank account that the seller immediately transferred the funds to.

It doesn't matter.  Even if the money isn't there anymore, they have a firm link to the seller.

 

PayPal has a scary amount of control over your finances once it's connected to the bank.  They froze one of my friend's bank accounts a few years back for a few months.

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

It doesn't matter.  Even if the money isn't there anymore, they have a firm link to the seller.

 

PayPal has a scary amount of control over your finances once it's connected to the bank.  They froze one of my friend's bank accounts a few years back for a few months.

Times have changed. Trust me, I do this stuff for a living. The sort of schemes I see are freaking scary at times.