- An unlucky Redditor ordered an NVIDIA RTX 5080 graphics card from Amazon, but the package contained a brick instead
- Bricks came in an anti-Statatic bag, suggesting the gpu used to be in there
- It’s probably the result of ‘Comingling’ but there are ways to protect yourself when you shop online
Imagine spending $ 999 to buy one of NVIDIA’s Best graphics cardOnly to get a literal brick instead? Unfortunately, this just happened with an unlucky Reddit user.
Redditor ordered PNY GEFORCE RTX 5080 Graphics card from Amazon. When it arrived, they opened the box and discovered a brick in an antistatic bag.
This is not the first time anyone has ordered an advanced graphics card and received something else hero. These scams are increasing – here is how they work and how to protect yourself from them.
What happened?
Reddit -User GlassHistorical5303 (which we call Glass for Simplicity’s Sake), recently divided into R/PCMASTERRACE, that RTX 5080, which they ordered from Amazon, was not what they expected.
GPU entered the original box, but by opening it, Glass found a brick. Yes, the kind you would use to build something with and not a walled GPU.
Bricks were wrapped in an antistatic bag that had clearly been opened before. The most surprising part is that Glass ordered GPU from PNY’s official store on Amazon, so we don’t have to do with a suspicious seller. The user is still waiting for a refund.
Amazon sent me a brick instead of a 5080 from R/PCMASTERRACE
Nvidia’s advanced graphics card is very heavy, which certainly helped this go unnoticed as the package went its way from Amazon storage to the buyer. However, it is still weird.
The card may have been swapped into a brick before being sent, which means an Amazon worker then a chance and took it. It is also possible that the RTX 5080 was returned in this state. Someone may have received a legitimate RTX 5080 and swapped it into a brick that weighs as much as GPU, and then returned to Amazon.
How could a brick disguised as a GPU reach it through each step IE trade sales process? The chance is that this was the result of ‘comingling’.
What is it and is that what happened in this case?
Amazon sells products directly, but it also allows many different sellers to use it to sell their goods. Just because products are attributed to different sellers does not mean that they are marked as such in the Amazon stock.
This brings us to the question of ‘comingling’, which refers to the merger of objects from many sources of a statement. Due to intervention, different sellers and sales channels all share a statement, making it harder to track what went wrong in situations like these.
If the RTX 5080 came from a return, it should have been caught in the warehouse. But if the scammer found a brick that matched the exact weight of the card, it is possible that it went unnoticed.
In the end, we will probably never know what really happened here. Amazon clearly recognizes the question as the company has recently announced that comingling will be phased out. However, the package may also have been manipulated in the warehouse, which is difficult to prevent fully.
How to protect yourself when you buy a GPU
Unfortunately, online shopping -fraud is floring, which makes buying a GPU online a little daunting. After all, to all some of these cards (looking at you, RTX 5090) Costs North of $ 2,000 / £ 2,000 / AU $ 4,000. Most retailers are generally good at handling refund, but it is still a stressful situation to end up.
To Stay secure against GPU -WindowYour first step is to do your research before you ever act. Avoid unknown sellers on Amazon. This does not protect you from questions caused by accumulating, but it keeps you safe from straight faucet.
To avoid collecting specifically, your best choice is not to shop through Amazon and buy from sellers who only hold a statement of products – their own. However, it introduces another vulnerable element as smaller sellers may not be so quick to handle refund. In the end, retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, Newegg or Micro Center are all safer efforts than an unknown store.
You can’t quite avoid being sent the wrong thing, but you can make the return process much easier. Movie everything from the moment you receive the package to removing the box card, installing it and starting your PC. Even if you get the actual graphics card and not a brick, it may still not work, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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