Many users want to buy a graphics card, but they are rarely available or just far too expensive. Now new numbers show that there are probably more than enough graphics cards – but they all end up with scalpers.
A scalper stands in his garage with boxes of graphics cards, grinning as he lists his offers on eBay. This image is likely to evoke disgust and horror among many gamers. And this image could haunt us for a while.
And now recent numbers show that more graphics cards are hitting the open market than we have seen in a long time. Yet many gamers are unaware of this, as the graphics cards are landing in the hands of speculators aiming for a fat profit and selling graphics cards for thousands of euros on eBay.
AMD and Nvidia sell more graphics cards than ever before
How successful are AMD and Nvidia? The two largest chip manufacturers for graphics cards, AMD and Nvidia, can look back on a stellar business year and have made more revenue than in a long time. This is shown by the numbers from Jon Peddie Research (via jonpeddie.com). This is a company that specializes in market analysis:
- AMD and Nvidia sold more than 12.7 million graphics cards together in 2021. That’s about 1 million more than in 2020.
- AMD sold 20.8% more graphics cards for desktop PCs compared to the previous year.
- Nvidia sold even 27.1% more graphics cards compared to the previous year.
The numbers clearly show that there were more graphics cards on the market in 2021 than we have seen in a long time. While it was nearly impossible to deliver graphics cards at the end of 2020, the situation looks much better according to the numbers.
What is the situation for gamers? Many gamers are likely to be unaware of these records or just shake their heads. For many interested buyers, only two things are currently apparent when they want to buy a graphics card:
- It is incredibly difficult to buy a graphics card through official channels.
- It is nearly impossible to get a graphics card at the suggested retail price.
Some may then wonder: Where are all the graphics cards going if there are supposedly more than enough, and why haven’t I been able to buy one yet?
Many graphics cards end up with scalpers and miners – gamers have to pay heavily
Many users already know that graphics cards are completely bought up by scalpers and resellers just after their release. These “middlemen” resell the graphics cards at an exorbitant markup. Therefore, it’s no surprise for many users that many gamers have no chance of buying a graphics card.
Using bots and other technical means, scalpers snatch up the graphics cards as soon as they appear in stores at somewhat reasonable prices – only to be resold at high prices.
Even at this point, you can buy plenty of RTX 3080 and other GeForce graphics cards on various platforms – but you will pay double or even triple the suggested retail price.
What is the result of this situation? This almost absurd situation leads to many users, who want to upgrade their PC, either having to spend a fortune on a graphics card or simply not being able to buy one because many hope that the prices will drop again sometime.
Some users eventually get tired of it and bite the bullet, buying a graphics card for way too much money. However, miners are particularly among the main buyers of graphics cards, as mining is currently very profitable. The prices of cryptocurrencies are rising and many take the opportunity to build their mining farms. However, cryptocurrencies have been criticized for a while and there are considerations to ban them.
Meanwhile, miners have also discovered processors (CPUs) for themselves. Because with processors, you can also mine cryptocurrencies and this can be done with any reasonably decent CPU. Whether this new trend will negatively affect the costs of gaming processors is still unclear:
Crypto miners are now buying gaming processors because graphics cards are too expensive for them
