Nvidia RTX 5090 eBay Price Soars to $9,000 as Users Revolt With Framed Photo Listings to Trick Bots and Scalpers

Yesterday marked the arrival of the highly anticipated RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards. These powerful, and pricey, GPUs quickly sold out at most retailers, leaving many potential buyers disappointed.

Consequently, both cards, particularly the RTX 5090, are experiencing significant price inflation on resale platforms like eBay. Shortly after launch, RTX 5090s were fetching over $6,000, a price that has since climbed to a staggering $9,000—a 350% markup over the $1,999 MSRP.

This exorbitant price tag is driven by demand beyond the gaming community. The RTX 5090's capabilities extend to AI workloads, making it attractive to startups and businesses needing powerful local processing power. With Nvidia's datacenter GPUs often out of reach for many, the RTX 5090 becomes a viable, albeit expensive, alternative.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

5 ImagesHowever, the gaming community's response to the scarcity and scalping is proving creative. eBay is now flooded with deceptive listings offering not the coveted GPU, but a photograph of it.

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

This situation highlights the lack of competition in the high-end consumer GPU market. With AMD's RX 9070 series seemingly unable to challenge Nvidia's dominance and Intel trailing behind, Nvidia holds a near monopoly. The resulting shortage and inflated prices paint a bleak outlook for high-end PC builders and enthusiasts.