Nvidia RTX 3080 going for as much as $80,000 online — avoid these sellers

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
(Image credit: Nvidia)

If it wasn’t enough that all stores seem to be sold out of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080, those fortunate enough to get their hands on the new graphics card are selling it for tens of thousands of dollars on eBay. 

One eBay listing for the RTX 3080 had bids that exceeded $80,000; that’s for a graphics card with a $699 price tag. eBay appears to have stepped in to stop such madness, but not before Rock Paper Shotgun spotted the crazy listing. 

We decided to search eBay for the GeForce RTX 3080 ourselves. And surprise, surprise, there are listings for the graphics card at rip-off prices. 

Some of these listings at least appear to have the RTX 3080 available to ship. But others are even selling pre-order slots for well beyond $1,000. Clearly, the appetite for the GeForce RTX 3080 is so high that some people seem to be willing to pay ridiculous prices for it. 

Given it outperforms the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, which started at $999 at launch, it may not seem too strange that some avid PC gamers are willing to pay over the odds for the RTX 3080. However, we advise you don't do that and exercise some patience. 

Don't try to buy an Nvidia RTX 3080 yet

For starters, we’ve pulled together a handy page detailing the retailers that are selling a range of RTX 3080 graphics cards and potential deals for the GPU. We’d suggest you're better off using that and bookmarking official retailers than running the risk of being ripped-off by an eBay seller.

Secondly, the RTX 3090 is coming September 24. So if you’re spending over $1,000 on a GPU, then the $1,499 graphics card might be worth considering. If you have less demanding gaming needs, then the $499 GeForce RTX 3070 is coming in October and still promises performance that beats the RTX 2080 Ti.

Thirdly, AMD Big Navi is on its way. With the Radeon RX 6000 series, AMD is promising a high-end graphics card that could compete with the RTX 3080. Leaks suggest it might be a little slower, but could be priced a lot more competitively.

And finally, Nvidia and its card partners are likely working very hard to get the RTX 3080 back in stock. As such, it might be best to wait a little longer before you try hunting for a RTX 3080. Going down the eBay route puts you at the mercy of dodgy sellers and potentially no warranty if you run into trouble.

If finding an RTX 3080 has soured your view of PC gaming, then Xbox Series X pre-orders are coming on September 22. PS5 pre-orders are currently live at a lot of retailers, but you might struggle to secure a console.

Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.