Breaking News: Nvidia RTX 5090 Prices Skyrocket, Users Outsmart Bots

The highly anticipated RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs have launched, creating a frenzy in the market. These powerful, premium graphics cards quickly sold out at most retailers, leaving many gamers and professionals disappointed.

Consequently, both GPUs, particularly the RTX 5090, are experiencing significant price gouging on secondary marketplaces like eBay. Shortly after release, RTX 5090s were fetching over $6,000, with prices escalating to a shocking $9,000 – a 350% markup from the $1,999 MSRP.

This exorbitant demand stems from the RTX 5090's suitability for both gaming and demanding AI workloads. Startups and AI businesses, 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

5 ImagesThe scarcity and price inflation haven't gone unnoticed. eBay is now flooded with fraudulent listings designed to deceive buyers. These listings deceptively offer an image of the RTX 5090 instead of the actual GPU.

One such 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 stated: “Geforce RTX 5090 (read description) Picture Only - Not the Actual Item,” with a similar disclaimer about non-refundable image purchases.

The core problem is the lack of substantial competition in the high-end consumer GPU market. With AMD's RX 9070 series seemingly failing to challenge Nvidia's dominance and Intel lagging, Nvidia holds a monopoly. The current situation of limited supply and inflated prices presents a bleak outlook for high-end PC builders and enthusiasts.