- One unlucky Redditor ordered an Nvidia RTX 5080 graphics card from Amazon, but the package contained a brick instead
- The brick came in an anti-static bag, implying that the GPU used to be in there
- It’s likely the result of ‘commingling’, but there are ways to protect yourself when you shop online
Imagine spending $999 to buy one of Nvidia‘s best graphics cards, only to get a literal brick instead? Unfortunately, this just happened to one unlucky Reddit user.
The Redditor ordered the PNY GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card from Amazon. When it arrived, they opened the box and discovered a brick in an anti-static bag.
This isn’t the first time that someone has ordered a high-end graphics card and received something else entirely. These scams are on the rise – here’s how they work and how to protect yourself from them.
What happened?
Reddit user GlassHistorical5303 (whom we’ll call Glass for simplicity’s sake) recently shared in r/PCMasterRace that the RTX 5080 that they ordered from Amazon was not what they expected.
The GPU came inside the original box, but upon opening it, Glass found a brick. Yes, the kind you’d use to build something with, and not a bricked GPU.
The brick was wrapped up in an anti-static bag, which had clearly been opened before. The most surprising part is that Glass ordered the GPU from PNY’s official store on Amazon, so we’re not dealing 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 high-end graphics cards are very heavy, which surely helped this go unnoticed as the package made its way from the Amazon warehouse to the buyer. However, it’s still odd.
The card may have been swapped for a brick prior to being shipped, meaning that an Amazon worker saw a chance and took it. It’s also possible that the RTX 5080 was returned in this state. Someone may have received a legitimate RTX 5080 and swapped it for a brick that weighs just as much as the GPU, then returned it to Amazon.
How could a brick disguised as a GPU make it through every step of the ecommerce sales process? Chances are that this was the result of ‘commingling’.
What is commingling, 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 wares. However, just because products are attributed to different sellers doesn’t mean that they’re marked as such in the Amazon warehouses.
This brings us to the issue of ‘commingling’, which refers to the merging of items from many sources into one inventory. Due to commingling, different sellers and sales channels all share one inventory, making it harder to track what went wrong in situations such as these.
If the RTX 5080 came from a return, it should’ve been caught at the warehouse. However, if the scammer found a brick that matched the exact weight of the card, it’s possible that it went unnoticed.
Ultimately, we’ll likely never know what truly happened here. Amazon clearly recognizes the issue, as the company has recently announced that commingling will be phased out. The package may also have been tampered with at the warehouse, though, which is hard to fully prevent.
How to protect yourself when buying a GPU
Unfortunately, online shopping scams are rampant, which makes buying a GPU online a little bit scary. After all, some of these cards (looking at you, RTX 5090) cost north of $2,000 / £2,000 / AU$4,000. Most retailers are generally good at handling refunds, but it’s still a stressful situation to end up in.
To stay safe from GPU scams, your first step is to do your research before you ever shop. Avoid unknown sellers on Amazon. This won’t protect you from issues caused by commingling, but it’ll keep you safe from straight-up scams.
To avoid commingling specifically, your best bet is to not shop through Amazon and buy from sellers that only keep one inventory of products – their own. That introduces a different vulnerable element, though, as smaller sellers may not be as quick to handle refunds. Ultimately, retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, Newegg, or Micro Center are all safer bets than an unknown store.
You can’t fully avoid being sent the wrong thing, but you can make the return process a lot easier. Film everything, from the moment you receive the package to unboxing the card, installing it, and starting up your PC. Even if you get the actual graphics card and not a brick, it still might not work, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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