The RTX 3070 Ti is out, and at this point, it almost feels like official retailers (or maybe Nvidia’s AIB partners) are scalping us, too. It’s not uncommon to see new graphics cards going for over twice their MSRP on eBay and other aftermarket sites on launch day, but now we’re seeing the same phenomenon hit Best Buy and Newegg.
Best Buy’s currently got two RTX 3070 Ti cards listed on its site, the Founders Edition and the Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. Both say they’re “coming soon,” but while the former is selling for Nvidia’s suggested $599, Asus’s card is $949. Usually, we expect AIB cards to be more expensive than Nvidia’s, but that’s a pretty steep increase. Sure, the Asus card has three fans and one RGB strip, but it’s not like we’re talking liquid cooling here.
The same phenomenon is happening at Newegg, too, where the Asus ROG Strix version of the RTX 3070 Ti is $999. Hey, but there’s more RGB than on the Tuf Gaming model!
If you thought the price increases were limited to Asus, though, you’re out of luck. A chart published yesterday by Jon Peddie Research shows that AIB graphics card pricing has roughly quadrupled since the start of Q1 2020.
Even today’s Newegg Shuffle, which is sadly probably your best chance to get an RTX 3070 Ti right now, is dominated by high-priced cards, ranging from $799 to $999 and including makers like Gigabyte and Zotac. There are a few cards at the $599 MSRP as well, but Ampere stock is sure to be so low across the board, so it’s not guaranteed you’ll get those.
I just hope that if you’re one of the folks that have been waiting in around-the-block lines for this card, you don’t have to leave the store feeling like you could have just gone to eBay instead.
