Due to the soaring prices of GPU and memory, various scams and bizarre phenomena have emerged. Recently, an eBay reseller sold a ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 for a high price of US$4,000 (approximately NT$130,000). After the buyer applied for a return, the seller received an empty shell with only the PCB circuit board and radiator: the most important GPU core of the graphics card and 32GB GDDR7 The video memory chip has been dismantled and stolen using professional techniques.
Returned empty shell: professional methods to dismantle the core parts
This incident was reported on the X platform by a graphics card repairman. @Grummz revealed (you can imagine that he is the foreign version of “Brother Zhang”),The victim is eBay reseller “Baily ecom”. According to its description, the buyer applied for a return on the grounds of “malfunction.” When the seller received the returned goods, there was nothing unusual about the appearance at first glance. However, when he further disassembled the radiator for inspection, he found what was inside was shocking: the expensive GPU core (Blackwell GPU die) and 32GB GDDR7 memory chip were missing, and the entire graphics card was turned into scrap metal.
Okay this is nuts.
Reseller Baily ecom says they are selling 5090s and getting returns where the GPU core and VRAM is stolen…
GPUs and VRAM are worth more than gold now. pic.twitter.com/KQvq25LCiM
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 18, 2026
In fact, removing the GPU core and memory chip is not a simple operation that ordinary consumers can do. The GPU chip uses direct embedded packaging technology (CoWoS/Lamports), which requires professional hot air reflow equipment, precise temperature control, and considerable electronic engineering knowledge to complete. This means that the perpetrator is likely to have a professional background related to semiconductors and is not an ordinary amateur scammer.
Many netizens bluntly said “that’s ridiculous,” and some called on all sellers who resell high-priced hardware on eBay to record videos before shipment and when returning goods to prevent similar tactics. In fact, this is not the first time that this type of chip theft has occurred. In the past, Brother Zhang’s channel often received graphics cards sent by players who gambled on cards on the Chinese second-hand platform “Xianyu”. There were many cases of cores and memories being removed or swapped.
Brand-new graphics cards such as “Deya Start” and “Ying Asia Start” that are loved by netizens have also been reported to have their GPU and memory taken away by previous buyers. Taiwan’s “Prodigal Hui Ge” channel encountered this:
As NVIDIA’s latest and most expensive flagship graphics card, the RTX 5090 has always been out of stock and sold by scalpers on the market. Because of this, the RTX 5090 has become the first choice for scammers: the GPU core and GDDR7 memory chip of this graphics card itself have extremely high resale value. According to reports, stolen chips may be resold on the black market or transplanted to custom PCBs for high-performance computing purposes such as AI servers. Over and over again, the scammers can make huge illegal profits, while the victim sellers bear losses of nearly thousands of dollars.
Not an isolated case: maintenance technicians also received “empty shell” RTX 5090
This incident is not new. Repair technicians on the YouTube channel Northwestrepair have also publicly disclosed a similar case: a buyer purchased a ZOTAC RTX 5090 at a low price of $2,000. After receiving the product, he discovered that it also lacked GPU cores and GDDR7 memory. The buyer in this case claimed to have purchased at a price “below the market price”, but in exchange for a worthless shell, he was obviously a victim of fraud rather than an active participant.
Not just RTX 5090, there are also other outrageous graphics card scams. Players on foreign e-commerce forums once shared that they received a package that they thought was a graphics card, but when they opened it, they found macaroni and rice inside. There were also cases where only a belt bag was found inside the package instead of any hardware components. There have been cases in the past where netizens bought RTX 5080 at Best Buy and received a few stones. The unscrupulous buyer repackaged and returned the product after receiving it, and the manufacturer did not inspect it. As a result, the innocent buyer was in trouble.
How should sellers protect themselves?
The impact of this incident is not limited to a single victim, but has exposed the systemic risks of high unit price 3C products being traded on auction platforms. Take eBay as an example. Although the platform provides a buyer protection mechanism, it is difficult to prevent intentional people from taking advantage of loopholes in the return process to commit crimes.
Industry insiders suggest that graphics card sellers be sure to videotape the entire process when shipping and receiving returns, especially the key steps of packaging, sealing, and unpacking; if possible, an anti-tamper sticker can be placed at the junction of the radiator and PCB, and the return inspection process should be clearly informed before the transaction. At the same time, when buying second-hand graphics cards with high unit prices, buyers should also choose reputable sellers and trade through the platform’s official payment mechanism. They should also videotape the entire process of unboxing when receiving the items to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of fraud.
Conclusion
The RTX 5090 return fraud scandal reflects the chaos caused by the imbalance of supply and demand in the graphics card market. The supply shortage has created staggering premiums, making GPU cores and memory chips “high-value targets” in the eyes of criminals. Until the original factory’s production capacity has not eased and prices continue to rise, such fraud cases will probably only continue to increase. Both individual sellers and platforms must face up to this crisis of trust driven by money, otherwise the sound operation of the entire consumer market will ultimately be harmed.
Source: KOCPC Chinese