News Micro Center low-balls RTX 4090 owner — Store's GPU trade-in program offers just $700 for Nvidia's flagship GPU

[Admin]

Micro Center is giving criminally low offers via its GPU trade-in program, and reportedly offered just $700 for an MSI RTX 4090 Gaming Trio that typically sells for over $1,350 on eBay — for a used card.

Micro Center low-balls RTX 4090 owner — Store's GPU trade-in program offers just $700 for Nvidia's flagship GPU : Read more

 

[JamesJones44]

Are people truly getting $1500 from NewEgg ($99 dollars off MSRP)? Just running some basic math, the cost of inspection and taxes for flipping it at $1800, assuming they could get that in auction or resale of a certified used product, isn't a great risk/reward return. This is especially true when Nvidia could announce 4090 Super tomorrow and turn a profit chance into a loss.

$700 is definitely absurd, but equally it seems crazy to think NewEgg would shell out $1500 for something less than a sealed box, but maybe NewEgg is in desperation mode and the risk is worth it to them, IDK.

 

[valthuer]

This is especially true when Nvidia could announce 4090 Super tomorrow and turn a profit chance into a loss.

4090 Super, Ti, or whatever you wanna call it, was cancelled like 9 months ago.

 

[JamesJones44]

4090 Super, Ti, or whatever you wanna call it, was cancelled like 9 months ago.

Sure, but that doesn't mean Nvidia won't resurrect it or come up with some other variant that could affect pricing. It's a gamble for such small margin, if the quoted pricing is true.

 

[NedSmelly]

We don't expect GPU trade-in programs to offer the same price that you paid for your GPU when it was brand-new, but we do expect a GPU trade-in program to at least be competitive with common used market prices.

It could also be their way of saying "we don't really want to do this, but if it works for you then sure why not." Kinda like those ludicrous builder or mechanic quotes.

 

[MergleBergle]

Micro Center is giving criminally low offers via its GPU trade-in program, and reportedly offered just $700 for an MSI RTX 4090 Gaming Trio that typically sells for over $1,350 on eBay — for a used card.

Micro Center low-balls RTX 4090 owner — Store's GPU trade-in program offers just $700 for Nvidia's flagship GPU : Read more

GPU trade in programs offer what you would get if you sold it yourself? I don't think so. How does that benefit the company? They're in the business of making money, not losing it. Generally speaking, selling (which is was this basically is) to a reseller, you can expect to make about half of what they can sell it for. Been that way forever. Total disclosure, I'm haven't done a trade-in with any company, so I don't know what the offers would normally be. But in the "selling used item to store that will resell used item", you can generally speaking expect about half of what they'll sell it for.

 

[ingtar33]

Sure, but that doesn't mean Nvidia won't resurrect it or come up with some other variant that could affect pricing. It's a gamble for such small margin, if the quoted pricing is true.

nvidia has no motive to do so. it looks like the next gen AMD card will compete in the midrange only. doubt we'll even see a 5090 next gen. nvidia will likely launch the 5080 at 4090 prices (or slightly higher, since it's supposed to be like 10-30% faster) and move their whole product stack up the price chain. Probably won't bother with a 5090 unless amd can put something on the market to challenge the 5080.

 

[brandonjclark]

You should've seen what my local car dealer offered me for my Mustang after I was ready to sell it.

 

[thisisaname]

It could also be their way of saying "we don't really want to do this, but if it works for you then sure why not." Kinda like those ludicrous builder or mechanic quotes.

Aye very much a please do not sell that to us kind off offer.

 

[watzupken]

Trade in value is usually unattractive. If it is too low, just walk away.

 

[jlake3]

We don't expect GPU trade-in programs to offer the same price that you paid for your GPU when it was brand-new, but we do expect a GPU trade-in program to at least be competitive with common used market prices.

That's... not really how this works?

If they're taking trade-ins they have to test them, which involves paying a technician even if they don't accept the card in the end.
They appear to be offering a 90-day warranty on used cards that go through their trade-in program, and since the buyer is not the original purchaser and likely cannot be given a reprint of the original purchaser's receipt for privacy reasons, that means they've gotta average out the cost of repairing/refunding any cards that die during that window out of pocket.
While it seems unlikely they'd be unable to resell a RTX 4090, they are taking on a risk with a trade-in program that they could end up with some inventory that just doesn't move, or there could be a rapid swing in pricing.
They've got various retail overheads to cover.

And after you account for all that, as well as added some markup because you probably want to make a profit on this program instead of just shuffling GPUs around for fun, the sale price needs to be in line with common used market prices. That means they need to aquire the card for less.

They might be able to do better than $700, but I kinda suspect there's an additional "we don't really wanna do this" factor applied? My local Micro Center has 81 RTX 4090s currently on the shelf, which seems high. That's about equal to 4060 inventory, and more than double the combined 7600/7600XT stock. Locally, the demand might not justify carrying even higher levels of stock.

 

[usertests]

I've heard that ebay has very buyer-friendly policies that can screw the sellers badly. Not an excuse for Micro Center but something to think about.

Used 4090s might be $700 this time next year.

 

[valthuer]

Sure, but that doesn't mean Nvidia won't resurrect it or come up with some other variant that could affect pricing. It's a gamble for such small margin, if the quoted pricing is true.

A Super or Ti version, won't be happening, for a number of reasons:

a. there's no need for one, since 4090 already is a beast of a card

b. Nvidia's primary focus, is now on AI

c. the company, has already limited supply of GeForce RTX 40 “Ada” GPUs, to make room for the RTX 50 lineup

d. AMD has failed to provide the GPU market with the sort of competition that would force Nvidia's hand into releasing a more powerful version of 4090

e. a Ti/Super release, is always preceded by an avalanche of rumours, and we haven't heard a 4090 Ti rumour for the past 9 months or so

Long story short, Nvidia is pretty much done with Ada.

It's all eyes on Blackwell now.

 

[PEnns]

All trade-ins are bad, from cars to RTX 4090s. Having said that, MC and other businesses are in the business to make money.

After all the QC, testing etc to make sure this baby is working, they still cant sell it as new and hence maybe $1200. So, they're really making way less than $500 on this trade in.

 

[beyondlogic]

4090 Super, Ti, or whatever you wanna call it, was cancelled like 9 months ago.

Awe but they could have named it

4090 ti super hazard edition
Comes with free fire extinguisher.

 

[derekullo]

It's possible they never wanted to offer trade-ins from the beginning and had to check a corporate box requiring them to have a trade-in program.
Pricing yourself out of the market would actually be a genius strategy of that was the plan from the beginning.

 

[gg83]

It could also be their way of saying "we don't really want to do this, but if it works for you then sure why not." Kinda like those ludicrous builder or mechanic quotes.

Right? Buying a used 4090 with the risk of the rumored power connector and pcb cracks is a gamble.

 

[JamesJones44]

A Super or Ti version, won't be happening, for a number of reasons:

a. there's no need for one, since 4090 already is a beast of a card

b. Nvidia's primary focus, is now on AI

c. the company, has already limited supply of GeForce RTX 40 “Ada” GPUs, to make room for the RTX 50 lineup

d. AMD has failed to provide the GPU market with the sort of competition that would force Nvidia's hand into releasing a more powerful version of 4090

e. a Ti/Super release, is always preceded by an avalanche of rumours, and we haven't heard a 4090 Ti rumour for the past 9 months or so

Long story short, Nvidia is pretty much done with Ada.

It's all eyes on Blackwell now.

I agree that Nvidia likely won't release a 4090 <insert name here>, that's not the point and not really relevant for the argument being made. The point is, if it's true NewEgg is offering $99 less than MSRP, it's a flawed business model because there are 100s of things, like the example I gave or even a rumor that Blackwell will be release early, that could negatively affect the after market sales price and could easily turn into a money losing item.

 

[King_V]

Ok, so, until now, I didn't know that Micro Center had a GPU trade-in program.

I seem to recall that Newegg's trade-in program, was nothing to brag about. Sub-heading on the article was: Newegg's offers are laughable.

I did check their website's Trade In Your GPU page, and it shows under the What is your GPU worth? section that $1500 is the offer for an RTX 4090.

The cheapest new RTX 4090 cards they list are 1799.90. So, a $300 difference, and they have to account for their costs of taking it in, making sure it's okay, etc. etc.

Funny, for the RTX 4080, the offer is $799, and the cheapest one they sell is $1169.99, which is a $370 gap.


I still trust Newegg overall for new items, but, this trade in? I highly doubt anyone's getting the trade-in price listed for the upper tier cards, assuming that anyone's bothering trading in such cards in the first place.


I don't really know why Micro Center has such a program now, or if they've had it for a while. I wonder if for both Newegg and Micro Center, the price for a 4090 is a dummy value or placeholder, because I can't imagine anyone trading it in at all.

 

[RodroX]

I would not pay even $700 for a fire hazard GPU like the RTX 4090 (Im not sure I would pay anyting at all for it).
But hey, if they are willling to do that I don't see anything wrong here. Nobody is forcing anyone to go that way.
If people think its too low, they can try to sell it somwhere else.

 

[logainofhades]

They keep trying to offer me $90 for my Evga RTX 2060 KO. Even if I wanted to sell it, I could get more for it on Ebay or FB marketplace.

 

[dipique]

This article is either rage bait or just naive. Trade-in programs are in no way designed to be competitive. They are intended to be an additional source of margin and have very high gross-margin requirements to compensate for being risky and high-touch.

Any time a trade-in program IS competitive, it is being subsidized as a promotion for the sale of a product -- which, by definition, must then be either high margin or in the process of inventory liquidation.

 

[jlake3]

I don't really know why Micro Center has such a program now, or if they've had it for a while. I wonder if for both Newegg and Micro Center, the price for a 4090 is a dummy value or placeholder, because I can't imagine anyone trading it in at all.

It launched a little while ago, and based on what's shown up as "refurbished" they appear to accept RTX 20-series/RX 5000-series or newer. They only buy back cards they originally sold, so unfortunately I can't look up if GTX 16-series/RX 500-series are eligible but no one is taking their offer, or if there's a formal cutoff.

As for why, my guess would be a combination of trying to incentivize people to trade-up at a time when most are unenthused about the GPU market, and maybe to pull in some more options they can offer to the lower end of the market.

They did offer $98 for my blower-cooler RX 5700, which seems reasonable, and $168 for my Quadro A2000 6gb, which is low... but that's a niche card and after the open-box discount and the clearance markdown, not that much less than I paid for it originally.

The 4090 though... there's nothing to trade up to? Maybe they want to trade for a laptop or television, but those are both low margin items for retailers, so there's little incentive to subsidize that trade. And the 4090 has become known for having issues caused by weight and power that other models don't have, so I'd be very suspicious any card traded for a different GPU has some sort of intermittent/non-obvious problem they're trying to pawn off on a corporation rather than get hit with an eBay buyer protection claim.

 

[NedSmelly]

The more you think about the Newegg offer, the less it makes sense. They are selling used 4090s for $1799, which means a $300 margin on top of their 'best offer'. $300 to cover QA, restock/internal shipping, and potential warranty claims. That's an incredibly slim margin - and assumes the current market prices will hold.

And with Newegg you need to buy something first, then ship your old card in and wait for their assessor to offer you a trade-in price. Which may not (and probably won’t) be $1499.

 

[gg83]

I agree that Nvidia likely won't release a 4090 <insert name here>, that's not the point and not really relevant for the argument being made. The point is, if it's true NewEgg is offering $99 less than MSRP, it's a flawed business model because there are 100s of things, like the example I gave or even a rumor that Blackwell will be release early, that could negatively affect the after market sales price and could easily turn into a money losing item.

Yeah, the wireless providers were offering close to original msrp for 2 year old trade in phones. I guess it's all about moving a certain new product for good looking numbers on the front end. Tax break for the loss? I have no idea and it does seem to be a terrible business model.