In context: EVGA was quick to act following news that Amazon's New World beta was bricking its RTX 3090 cards. The company said it would immediately replace all the flagships killed by the MMO, but customers opting for the Advanced RMA option are paying scalper prices. It is, however, easy to understand EVGA's reasons.
Last month saw numerous reports of Amazon's New World beta killing off RTX 3090 graphics cards, most of which came from EVGA. The company was quick to offer replacements, and those who don't want to wait can choose the Advanced RMA program.
Rather than first sending a broken card to EVGA, which is then checked before a replacement is sent out, the Advanced RMA service lets customers pay a deposit to the company. It then sends out a replacement card and fully refunds the money once it receives the faulty product.
Typically, customers would pay the MSRP as a deposit, but these aren't normal times. Igor's Lab reports that owners of broken GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra graphics cards, which retail at 782 Euros or 931 Euros with VAT, are being asked to pay a 1,728.20 Euro (around $2,038) deposit---scalper prices.
Not a happy customer
From EVGA's point of view, the problem is that someone could file an Advanced RMA, pay the MSRP, and then sell the replacement card for a much higher price without returning theirs. The money they'd receive from scalping a new RTX 3090 would far outweigh the lost deposit.
The issue faced by consumers is that not everyone has that sort of money available---even if it is refunded---leaving them with the slower, standard RMA option.
"Due to increased fraud and current market conditions, the collateral amount includes an additional RMA service hold attached, which will be fully refunded upon the return of the original item. As a thank you for our customers, we now include a pre-paid UPS return label in the box," writes EVGA.
Few companies these days offer Advanced RMA services, though that's unlikely to appease anyone whose RTX 3090 was broken by New World.