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

The highly anticipated RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs finally launched, creating a frenzy in the market. These powerful, premium graphics cards quickly sold out at most retailers, leaving many potential buyers disappointed.

Consequently, both GPUs, especially the RTX 5090, are experiencing significant price inflation on resale platforms like eBay. Shortly after release, RTX 5090s were fetching over $6,000, and prices have since soared to a staggering $9,000—a 350% markup over the $1,999 MSRP.

This exorbitant demand stems from the RTX 5090's suitability for both gaming and demanding AI workloads. Startups and businesses involved in AI are eager to acquire these chips for local model processing. With Nvidia's datacenter GPUs often inaccessible, the RTX 5090 becomes a desirable alternative, regardless of its inflated resale price.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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The gaming community isn't idly watching this supply shortage and rampant scalping. eBay is now flooded with deceptive listings designed to trick buyers into purchasing a photograph of the RTX 5090 instead of the actual GPU.

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 completed listing, sold for $2,457, clearly reads: “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 unlikely to challenge Nvidia's dominance, and Intel trailing behind, Nvidia holds a near-monopoly. The current GPU shortage and extreme pricing present a discouraging outlook for high-end PC builders and enthusiasts.