Graphics card prices dropping from record highs as scalpers face reality

If the last nine months or so have taught us anything, it’s that everyone loves the latest generation of graphics cards. Us gamers, content creators, professionals, scalpers, and crypto miners have all been fighting to get our hands on something. What everyone doesn’t like (aside from the manufacturers and those damn scalpers), are the sky-high prices that come with the latest graphics cards. Aside from the tariff price hikes and expensive markups on certain AIB models, scalpers have added plenty of fuel to the dumpster fire of graphics card availability and pricing.

That may be about to change though. In what is perhaps the best news in months, several companies have published statements that the situation will soon improve. According to DigiTimes, ASRock has reportedly stated that Chinese crypto mining demand is on the decline while supply chains for substrates are on the upswing. Likewise, ComputerBase reported that availability and pricing is now much better in European markets. These reports coincide with earlier statements from AMD and Nvidia that component and substrate shortages were expected to be resolved around the second half of this year.

A look at the situation today

With this news in mind, we decided to take a look at how scalped prices for the latest graphics cards have changed on markets like eBay. The overall picture is still far from ideal, but there is marked improvement that supports the statements coming out from manufacturers and data analysts alike. This spring marked peak insanity where graphics cards like the RTX 3080 were selling for upwards of 300% its MSRP. AMD cards were also selling for well over double the suggested pricing earlier this year. Today’s numbers paint a far more optimistic picture, with a possible end to the GPU supply crisis in sight.

The RTX 3080 now sells for about $1800 on eBay, depending on the make and model. That’s still about 250% higher than the MSRP, but it is progress at least. What may surprise you, however, is the going rate for the RTX 3080 Ti on eBay. The MSRP of this graphics card is 170% the price of the standard RTX 3080, but it’s only selling for $2150 on eBay, which is just 16% more than the RTX 3080. The RTX 3080 Ti is only selling at 180% of its retail price.

(Image credit: Nvidia).

A look at the RTX 3070 and Ti variant shows a similar pattern. Many of the grossly overpriced graphics cards listings expire unsold, while the final bidding prices for the standard RTX 3070 appear to range between $1100-1200. That’s still 230% over MSRP, but a decent decrease from prior months. Interestingly, 3070 Ti scalper prices are only slightly higher.

What’s odd is that these patterns of price improvement are not reflected in the lower end of the Nvidia RTX 30 Series product stack. Consumers continue to pay higher markups for the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti. This could be due to a variety of reasons, but the valuation to performance still remains high for these models.

(Image credit: AMD).

A look at the AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series shows similar price improvements. While the 6800 XT continues to sell for about 210% of its MSRP at $1300-1400 on eBay, a couple of the other models fair better. The 6900 XT typically sells in between the price range of $1600-1700, only 170% more than MSRP. As for the 6700 XT, prices range between $800-900, roughly 190% more.

The beginning of the end?

Prices have been consistently on the downswing for the last several weeks, which could indicate a noticeable improvement in availability in the months ahead. As supply continues to increase and scalper prices continue to fall, the incentive for scalpers to buy and resell GPUs will diminish as well. As always, patience will be key if you want to score a GPU without needing to keep your eyes glued to inventory refresh trackers. You may not need to be patient for too much longer though.

CPU availability has also improved. If you still need to pick up a Ryzen 5000 Series CPU or even one of Intel’s Rocket Lake offerings, we have the latest deals collected together for your convenience. You can even take advantage of a sale on the 5800X or 11700K. Need more power? You can get the 5900X now if you’re quick.

Please note that all prices are in USD.