News Retailer ships RTX 5090 with missing GPU and memory chips to customer — defaced GPU took over a year to ship

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That is not common at all. These are normally returns. Someone takes the card and puts a dead card in the box or a bunch of junk to bring it up to the proper weight. Then they shrink wrap it (it doesn't take a major criminal organization to do this) and mail it back to Amazon as a return or exchange. Amazon doesn't actually check to see if there are any signs of tampering and just weighs it, comparing it against what a new, unopened product should weigh. If it passes the weight test then it goes back on the shelf for resale.
It might not take a major criminal organization but it does take a criminal to do it.
 
ls this the kind of articles we soon gonna have to pay for? A 60$ subscription to get AI generated texts?

The 5090 got released in January 2025. How could he have ordered one in July 2024? And since the "author" wrote thay he had to wait for a year, it's certainly not a typo.

By the way, the guy on reddit said he checked that the card was SHIPPED by Amazon, not sold by Amazon. Only shipped doesn't mean anything. I used to sell stuff on Amazon and they always propose to handle the shipping for you when you put something for sale. Any third-party sellers can let Amazon handle their shipping, it doesn't guarantees it's not a scam. You have to always make sure the item is SOLD by Amazon, not just shipped when you buy expensive items like this.
 
So, I am guessing this is the type and quality of "free" content we can expect from TH from now on? So it is either give-me-the-money or get AI-written garbage, right? Guess you can count me out. Really pathetic. TH been on a downward slide for a while...
 
Marketplace? Not a chance.
...and not just Amazon.
Walmart, Target, Newegg, [insert other big online retailer], any of their 3rd-party marketplace selling is like the wild wild west. Your wallet is very likely to get shot!

The only exception to this (for me) is eBay. But I have my own set of rules for vetting sellers. I also have a stellar account that has been active for over 25 years. I've been stiffed a couple times, but eBay has always had my back and given me a full refund.