A few Redditors have shared how they were able to score RTX 50 series GPUs at a significant discount despite Nvidia declaring a shortage, massive scalping (even at the system integrator level), and inflated prices. PC Gamer spotted one post from a person saying they bought a PNY RTX 5080 for $895.99 in Walmart after seeing it in the PC section as a return. The MSRP for this GPU is $1,279.99 — saving $384, or nearly 30% off the original price.
Found an Open Box/Return RTX 5080 at my Local Walmart for $895.99 from r/nvidia
This is cheaper than the $1,199.99 price on Newegg for the same card (which is out of stock at the time of writing) and significantly more affordable than the $1,750 some sellers are asking on Amazon.
You may think that this was a one-off event, but another Redditor shared their Walmart experience. When they went to their local store, they found a completely sealed PNY RTX 5070 in the PC components cabinet, again sold as a returned product. It was priced at $515, which is even lower than the $549 MSRP of the GPU.
Got a 5070 on sale at Walmart for $515 from r/nvidia
We checked Newegg and Amazon and found the graphics card selling at $549.99 for the former (but out of stock at the time of writing), while sellers at the latter site priced it at $829.99 or higher.
Walmart has a 30-day return policy for most electronics, so these GPUs likely haven’t been used much, if at all. Some employees say that these graphics cards are sold online only, and a few people would just walk into their stores and return the items. But whether the GPUs have been opened or not, they must mark them down and put them in the returns section.
If you happen to be near Walmart, searching their return sections for bargains like this is one way you can score a deal on such a “rare” resource. Of course, there's no guarantee that there’s going to be such markdown products available at your local store, so it’s down to luck if you get one.
Furthermore, buying returns and open-box items comes with a few downsides. For example, it doesn’t have a store warranty, so you’ll have to deal directly with the AIB if you run into trouble. Aside from that, there’s an off chance that someone switched the cards inside, and you’ll end up getting scammed instead.
Still, these returns are a great way of getting a GPU at a discount if you’re lucky enough. It could be that the original buyer had buyer’s remorse and didn’t actually need a new GPU, or somebody bought it for their special someone, but that person already has a better one installed. But no matter the reason, one person’s return can be another one’s bargain.
