A player proudly shows that he was able to acquire an AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D for under 100 euros. The community itself is surprised. Normally, you would pay almost 500 euros for the CPU. There are reasons why hardware prices are generally much lower in the USA.
What did the player buy? The player bought a Ryzen 7 7800x3D at Walmart, a US electronics chain. This is one of the best processors you can buy for a gaming system. The CPU is only surpassed by the Ryzen 7 9800x3D. But both processors share several features and issues:
- Both processors are very popular and very expensive. The Ryzen 7 9800x3D is so popular, that scammers sell blatant fakes of the AMD CPU.
- The Ryzen 7 7800x3D currently costs around 450 euros (via geizhals.de), while the Ryzen 7 9800x3D is another 100 euros more expensive when it’s not out of stock.
- Both processors rely on AMD’s own 3D cache: This is particularly well-suited for gaming. Since the Ryzen 7 9800x3D, the 3D cache is even suitable for applications.
High-end processor for under 100 euros, which officially costs almost 500 euros
What is special about this purchase? The user posted a picture on Reddit from a Walmart in the USA. The picture shows that the Ryzen 7 7800x3D costs only 99 US dollars. That converts to about 95 euros, but additional taxes would apply in Germany. Taxes are also the reason why the PS5 Pro seems cheaper in the USA. With taxes, the price for the CPU would rather be around 120 euros. Many users are shocked because the price is so incredibly low.
This is how one user comments (via Reddit.com):
The USA is a wild country. 24 eggs cost 30 US dollars, but they sell PC parts as if they were candy.
Other voices from the community share this view. Another user adds on Reddit:
No wonder Americans don’t complain about the prices for PC parts. They get them practically for free! If I bought this here and sold it to a European for 300 €, he would still be happy. The 7800x3D is still sold in my country for 450-520 euros.
Prices seem so cheap in the USA because there are no taxes and more competition
Why do the USA always seem so cheap? The German buyer or gamer always feels that hardware is much cheaper to buy in the USA. But there are good reasons why this is the case (via Quora.com):
- Prices in Europe usually include value-added tax, which is added to the prices. This is 19% in Germany. In the USA, prices are listed without tax, though taxes may apply depending on the state. But these are significantly under 10%.
- In the USA, competition in hardware is very high, and there are many large suppliers. Retailers generally have to sell computers with very low profit margins to remain competitive. Therefore, computer manufacturers are happy to sell their products in Europe because their profit margins are higher.
- The logistics for importing and distributing computer parts are significantly lower in the USA. Many manufacturers also produce first for the domestic US market before the European market is addressed.
However, for another player, the purchase of a Ryzen 7 7800x3D turned into a disaster. The user wanted to save money and ordered the popular CPU directly on Amazon. But when he opened the packaging, he immediately realized that something was wrong: A player orders a gaming processor from AMD on Amazon in Germany, instead receives a nasty fake product
