Are you currently trying to buy a graphics card for your gaming PC? Two experts have explained in an interview why gamers currently have little chance of obtaining a graphics card fairly.
Graphics cards and PS5 consoles are currently a rare commodity and are either hard to come by or you have to pay thousands of euros on eBay for a graphics card.
Even though many users are willing to spend a lot of money on a graphics card, few are willing to deal with greedy scalpers. However, the situation is unlikely to improve much in the future.
Now, two users explained in a discussion with TheVerge that an average gamer currently barely has a chance to buy a graphics card (via theverge.com). The two individuals run a Discord and ensure that gamers can also purchase a graphics card. They are now also developing bots, as there is currently no fair way to get one.
On the market, retailers, bots, and scalpers would be fighting against each other using tools to get their hands on graphics cards. A few people just trying to get a graphics card for their gaming have no real chance in the current situation.
Honest buyers have no chance of buying a graphics card
This is the big problem right now: For honest buyers, it’s normal to take items off the shelf and then go to the checkout. But bots, as the two explain, simply skip the queue.
The bots would simply use a backdoor and buy up all available items – while everyone else is still in line hoping for a product.
In their interview, the two script developers explain how much this situation bothers them:
Ultimately, it is bots and scalpers that drive up the price of these goods and give them higher profit margins. Some retailers might even be pleased about this because they can ship the goods as a pallet, which saves them a lot of money on shipping costs.
via TheVerge.com
Basically, you have to invest hundreds of hours to save a few hundred euros. It is already a big luck if you can get a graphics card within a few hours for a good price.
Many users also do not spend days at their computers because they enjoy searching for a graphics card so much or because they have the time for it due to Corona. People want to do something together, and gaming is one of the few options to do something with friends during a time of Corona.
It’s not just about, “I’ll spend a hundred hours here because I just want GPUs“ – it’s the social aspect, the community, the shared interest with other people.
via TheVerge.com
“We represent the little guy, or would like to believe so”
In the meantime, the two users have also started developing various scripts and tools. Some retailers are so heavily occupied by bots that one has to develop their own tools to get past the other bots.
We develop scripts and utilities. We still check them manually, but we help you with some of the tricky things by offering small scripts that they can run.
via TheVerge.com
In the end, they hope to help at least a few gamers get a graphics card this way. However, they can never be sure, as many users hide behind anonymity and, of course, scalpers or miners could also use these scripts.
And one cannot prevent scalpers and miners anyway, as they are clever and do not want to miss out on any potential profit. The two operators also earn money from graphics card purchases through affiliate links, but they cannot live a luxury life from it.
Gamers who have managed to get a graphics card would never reappear on Discord, as they have gotten what they wanted. Scalpers often never show up again, as they know that the operators would kick them out of Discord immediately.
What do you think about the situation? Have you already been able to buy a graphics card or are you equally frustrated about greedy scalpers and the poor availability? Tell us in the comments and discuss with other users.
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