PSA: Holiday sales represent one of the best opportunities to score a high-end graphics card with a deep discount, but it also provides ample opportunities for scammers. AMD board partner Sapphire is warning consumers that some deals for their products on Amazon are too good to be true.
If you’ve recently seen a high-end Radeon GPU selling on Amazon for hundreds of dollars below its MSRP, it’s probably a scam. Graphics card maker Sapphire has received reports of fraudsters selling the company’s products at steep discounts on Amazon in the United States.
An October warning from Sapphire indicates the scam started well before the Black Friday / Cyber Monday shopping rush. The company highlighted an example of one of its Radeon RX 7800 XT models on sale for $300, which would be almost half-off since its price usually sits around $500.
Hi SAPPHIRE NATION, please be aware that there is a scam being run on Amazon US store showing large discounts on a few SAPPHIRE GPU products – Ships from/Sold by “an unverified seller’s name” (this seller name may periodically change as well).
This is NOT a verified seller. pic.twitter.com/LI3erMr030– SAPPHIRE Technology (@SapphireTech) October 13, 2023
The retailer noted that the indicated seller, “putianshichengxiangqubi,” is not a verified vendor. The scammer has likely since registered a different account name, so those shopping for graphics cards should pay extra attention to the seller. If Amazon is investigating the issue, it hasn’t resolved it yet.
Extremely low prices might cause Amazon to prioritize fraudulent listings automatically when users add a product to their cart. Sapphire said that this can even occur if a customer follows a link directly from the company’s website and that it can’t fix the issue from its end. The company advises shoppers to ensure its GPUs are shipped from and sold by Amazon.
We’ve been getting questions again recently regarding the scam sellers on Amazon.
We want to once again remind everyone looking to purchase GPUs from Amazon. Please CHECK that the box specifying “Ships from / Sold by” both indicate https://t.co/NJx6Qo9v9G and not another seller. pic.twitter.com/4eaVSYg2ol
– SAPPHIRE Technology (@SapphireTech) November 30, 2023
Another way to verify a listing is to scroll down a store page until a box containing alternate prices appears on the right side. If the other listings, especially Amazon’s, differ significantly from the main listing, it could be a scam.
Sapphire had to issue another warning this week after continuing to receive complaints. The company said the scams have gone on for months. Tom’s Hardware reported seeing fake listings during Amazon Prime Day or more recent events selling the RX 7900 XT, 7800, and 7600 for unbelievable prices.
Although the current problem only affects Sapphire cards sold on Amazon’s US storefront, customers should always watch out for suspicious sellers when shopping for expensive hardware. Fraudsters could run similar scams with GPUs from any partner on Amazon, Newegg, Walmart, or other stores.