Any tips for buying GPU's online?

[CrownG]

I've been sifting through Alibaba and that place is shadier than a monkey with a knife at night. Always with the buy 2 get 1 free deals, and even some are showing MSI/Gigabyte/other brands with EVGA as a marketed brand. wtf, is the language language barrier that broken?

Curious if anyone's ever attempted to buy through Alibaba (through paypal) and have any experiences to share, or know of any sites that can cover shopping experiences for specific places like Alibaba and more.

If looking on ebay, what's a good Canadian price range for a GTX 960, 970, and 980 these days from used?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Look here. If it's listed at a reputable vendor, it should be here. Filters are on the left hand side to get only the results you want.


http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/


I would recommend against purchasing a used card from anybody you don't trust enough to have over for dinner or driving your car. WAY too many incidents of faulty used cards from Amazon and Ebay. If somebody is selling it, it either had an issue or they upgraded because of performance issues. Plus, even in the best of conditions, it's lifespan has already been shortened by use and the prices of used versus new does not, in my mind, offer a significant value over a new card with a warranty.

 

[Bombie1138]

Look here. If it's listed at a reputable vendor, it should be here. Filters are on the left hand side to get only the results you want.


http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/


I would recommend against purchasing a used card from anybody you don't trust enough to have over for dinner or driving your car. WAY too many incidents of faulty used cards from Amazon and Ebay. If somebody is selling it, it either had an issue or they upgraded because of performance issues. Plus, even in the best of conditions, it's lifespan has already been shortened by use and the prices of used versus new does not, in my mind, offer a significant value over a new card with a warranty.

Totally agrees,.only buy new on E-Bay,.you can get a good deal there,,I have often,but never buy any GPU used,.

 

[Supermuncher85]

I think the usual warning would apply here: If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Don't buy off a site if you think it is shady, you'd either lose money, or not get what you wanted. I've been there.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Plus, the Ebay guarantee everybody always wants to bring up, I always have to shut down. It does NOT cover faulty hardware. If it doesn't arrive, or comes visibly broken, it's covered. If it fails to work when you install it in the machine, or two days later it fails, it will NOT be covered by the Ebay guarantee.

 

[CrownG]

What about here on the forums, is there a section where trusted members can list goods for sale?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yep. I don't know about "trusted", but there is a classifieds section.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-8.html


I don't know that anything listed there is any more trustworthy than on ebay, but if you're willing to take the chance, you might find a good deal. Graphics card manufacturers generally advise a 3-5 year lifespan on a GPU that sees moderate to heavy use, so if somebody has already logged a couple of years on it, I don't see that as a legitimate bargain even if the card is working properly. Considering the regularity with which we see GPU failures, I'd want a warranty on anything I spent that kind of money on.