RTX 5090 Sells for $9K as Buyers Dodge Bots With Photos

The RTX 5090 and 5080 made their long-awaited debut yesterday. These powerhouse GPUs—offering cutting-edge performance at premium prices—flew off shelves almost instantly, leaving countless eager buyers disappointed.

As expected, both cards (particularly the RTX 5090) are now facing massive scalping on secondary markets like eBay. Prices skyrocketed mere hours after launch, with RTX 5090 units initially selling for over $6,000 before peaking at $9,000—a jaw-dropping 350% markup over the $1,999 MSRP.

What's driving this frenzy? Beyond gaming, the RTX 5090 delivers exceptional AI processing capabilities, making it invaluable for startups and businesses running local AI models. With Nvidia's professional-grade datacenter GPUs proving cost-prohibitive for many, consumers are reluctantly paying these inflated prices.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photo Gallery

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The gaming community has responded to this shortage and scalping crisis creatively—though perhaps cynically. eBay now hosts countless parody listings designed to troll scalpers, offering photos of the RTX 5090 instead of actual hardware.

One satirical listing bluntly states: "Bots and scalpers welcome, do not buy if you are human. You'll receive an 8x8-inch framed photo sourced from Target—not the actual GPU. HUMAN BUYERS PLEASE ABSTAIN."

Another successfully sold listing at $2,457 clearly advertised: "GeForce RTX 5090 (PICTURE ONLY)" while emphasizing their no-refund policy—since buyers were explicitly purchasing an image file.

This situation exposes deeper industry issues—namely Nvidia's uncontested dominance in premium GPUs. With AMD's RX 9070 series incapable of competing at the performance tier and Intel still playing catch-up, NVIDIA faces no meaningful competition. Combined with severe inventory shortages, this creates frustrating conditions for high-end PC builders and tech enthusiasts alike.