Many PC gamers have been very excited about Nvidia's new RTX 3080 graphic card since before it was even officially announced. But gamers who want to pre order the card might be having some second thoughts. While many gamers are willing to pay extra for the best equipment, the prices eBay sellers are asking for to preorder the graphic card are simply ludicrous, with some demanding almost $2ooo.
The RTX 3080 is a pretty incredible graphic card, and represents a huge jump in graphics technology. Without going too deep into the technical jargon, it will essentially allow games to feature "real" shadows and reflections instead of the lighting and shadows being added in artificially. Not only will developers be able work both faster and more efficiently, but it could usher in a new era of beautifully crafted video games.
Because the card is so powerful, it's in incredibly high demand. Despite being released today, the card has already sold out on Nvidia's website, which has lead some people to speculate that bots were making the purchases. Whenever there is this much demand for a product, there will inevitably be scalpers - people who buy up the product simply to re-sell it at a higher price.
While scalping isn't illegal, it certainly rests in a moral gray zone. On the one hand, buying something and then reselling it for more money is capitalism at it's finest. On the other hand, scalpers don't actually create or contribute anything meaningful. They're taking advantage of a situation to squeeze extra money out of consumers. While companies like eBay have taken measures to reel-in scalpers, they still operate mostly unhindered.
The gaming space has been particularly vulnerable to scalpers, with the Analog Pocket being resold at a 500 percent mark up earlier this year. Unfortunately, whenever there's a situation where demand outweighs supply, like with the 3080, scalpers will jump in to fill that gap.
Nvidia was selling the RTX 3080 for $699. So while some gamers who are excited for Cyberpunk 2077 might want to get the card now, it might be worth waiting for the price to drop back down. $2000 is a lot of money to pay, even for the richest of PC gamers, and if the card get's restocked at the original price, then patience will have been worth it.