Used Ebay 1080 TI's - buyer bewares

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Sep 4, 2012
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hey guys, i havent bought from ebay in like 5 years much less something as expensive as a GPU. In regards to the 1080 TI's used on there, what should i look out for?

I know i should get a model still under manufacturer warranty i.e. something purchased in 2017 to 2018. But what else do i need to ask the seller before I bid? (i.e. buyer bewares specifically for a GPU purchase)

I've read some ridiculous posts where ppl are selling just the 1080 TI box itself and scam ppl that way, so I was trying to avoid getting a card that doesn't work or something completely messed up. wasn't sure if there were any key things to look out for on some of these auctions....

thanks guys for any help.
 
Just to add get a solid manufacturer, (not msi) cards will run for a long time if they are made well. EVGA is good and their warranty is good, might be worth looking into that brand.
 
ok so now the real question is, is a 680$ new GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Ti DirectX 12 GV-N108TGAMING OC-11GD better than getting an EVGA or MSI used for $500ish? I've seen that one have some flash sales to 680$, and seen some youtube reviews saying if you see a 1080TI dip below 700$ to grab it...
 
ok so now the real question is, is a 680$ new GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Ti DirectX 12 GV-N108TGAMING OC-11GD better than getting an EVGA or MSI used for $500ish? I've seen that one have some flash sales to 680$, and seen some youtube reviews saying if you see a 1080TI dip below 700$ to grab it...

Getting a used 1080ti for under $500 is the best route to go. Just as many other will say ebay HEAVILY favors buyers. You will have several weeks to extensively test the card and if there is a problem you should be able to return it hassle free within a month or so of receiving it. The only issue being if you have a problem after this period. If the card has no warranty or its from a GPU manufacturer that doesn't allow warranty transfers or for you to prove your the original owner then you are SOL if the card craps out.
 
I’ve never had an MSI card crap out on me. Current one’s been running strong for 2 years.

3 cards died for me out of all the cards I have bought. 2 of them were MSI and they died in less than a year and the RMA service was crap. My last RMA with MSI was a 50 days turn around all together. MSI sucks.
 
3 cards died for me out of all the cards I have bought. 2 of them were MSI and they died in less than a year and the RMA service was crap. My last RMA with MSI was a 50 days turn around all together. MSI sucks.

During the crypto craze? I've had 1 or 2 cards I've sent and turn around time was usually 3-4 weeks. Pretty typical for MSI/Asus/Gigabyte.
 
During the crypto craze? I've had 1 or 2 cards I've sent and turn around time was usually 3-4 weeks. Pretty typical for MSI/Asus/Gigabyte.
I can just give you my experience. If it was different for others that is fine. Personaly I won't be buying another MSI product.
 
I usually try to buy stuff that has the original box and manuals. Don't know why, but it makes me think the person cares a little more about their stuff. I've still bought stuff without their original box though. Just make sure they have decent feedback.

If the card ends up being bad you will be covered as long as you do the transaction through ebay and paypal. DO NOT EVER send them money outside of the ebay/paypal transaction, if they even suggest it they are trying to scam you.
 
780 and 1060. 780 burned in the case, 1060 started to crash games and then died. The 1060 took 50 days all together for rma and it probably would have taken longer if I had not called in.

Unlucky I guess, sorry to hear that. 2 of my favorite cards were the 770 and 980 ti lightning.
 
Man i've been trying to scoop one up. I responded to an ad on craigslist and the guy never showed up. I offered 450 cash and he accepted, but no show. Good thing its only a 5 minute drive.
 
Just to add get a solid manufacturer, (not msi) cards will run for a long time if they are made well. EVGA is good and their warranty is good, might be worth looking into that brand.

EVGA had recalls on their GTX 970 and 1070s. Also a lot of coil whine issues with their 970s if I recall. And their 970 design was just underwhelming overall. I have a 1070 and it is a decent card; actually very quiet. Customer support isn't that great. I'm sure you can get much worse (ASUS), but out off my three EVGA purchases three have had issues. Had to get seven total cards to get three good ones. Thankfully Amazon helped me some years back but Amazon's return/replacement policy isn't what it used to be. When you get a solid one it works great. CS eventually does the right thing but it takes a lot of back and fourth.
 
One thing I would do (if you even care, that is) is ask if it's from a non-smoking home. If you're not a smoker and you buy a PC part that was near a smoker while in use, it can be really fucking gross.
 
EVGA had recalls on their GTX 970 and 1070s. Also a lot of coil whine issues with their 970s if I recall. And their 970 design was just underwhelming overall. I have a 1070 and it is a decent card; actually very quiet. Customer support isn't that great. I'm sure you can get much worse (ASUS), but out off my three EVGA purchases three have had issues. Had to get seven total cards to get three good ones. Thankfully Amazon helped me some years back but Amazon's return/replacement policy isn't what it used to be. When you get a solid one it works great. CS eventually does the right thing but it takes a lot of back and fourth.
I'll take coil wine over my MSI card that caught fire while in use, I'm lucky no other parts were damaged that would have been even more fun.
 
eBay is pretty much only good to sell things you are willing to give away. If you get something for it instead, great.

Ebay isn't that bad, in fact paypal's return policies are way worse than ebays (180 day dispute period), which sit on top of ebay's policies since most sales are done through paypal, and most online 2nd hand sales are done with paypal, so in effect selling anything used through paypal is similarly bad. Ebay's policies are basically a weaker version of paypal's, which the buyer can turn to if ebay turns them down.
 
Ebay isn't that bad, in fact paypal's return policies are way worse than ebays (180 day dispute period), which sit on top of ebay's policies since most sales are done through paypal, and most online 2nd hand sales are done with paypal, so in effect selling anything used through paypal is similarly bad. Ebay's policies are basically a weaker version of paypal's, which the buyer can turn to if ebay turns them down.
I noticed you said the "buyer can turn to".

Thanks for confirming.
 
Just to add get a solid manufacturer, (not msi) cards will run for a long time if they are made well. EVGA is good and their warranty is good, might be worth looking into that brand.


That's exactly what I did a few months ago. Reached to EVGA and they verified the warranty would be honored if I purchased a 1080Ti off eBay. Registered it on the EVGA site as soon as I received it.
 
Limited sample sizes are fun. The secondhand MSI 580 I bought from a user on this forum is still running strong as the gpu in my office computer. Conversely, I have an 87.5% failure rate with Corsair products including six faulty memory kits in a row (original purchase plus 5 RMA kits) spanning both the Vengeance and Dominator lines.
 
Limited sample sizes are fun. The secondhand MSI 580 I bought from a user on this forum is still running strong as the gpu in my office computer. Conversely, I have an 87.5% failure rate with Corsair products including six faulty memory kits in a row (original purchase plus 5 RMA kits) spanning both the Vengeance and Dominator lines.

I second the Corsair comment but at least their RMA process is decent. I have purchased a bunch of used GPUs from eBay and really have not had any issues.
 
Just to add get a solid manufacturer, (not msi) cards will run for a long time if they are made well. EVGA is good and their warranty is good, might be worth looking into that brand.
That's interesting. MSI's have been the most reliable for me over the years. They're the only ones I buy. To each their own I guess...
 
EVGA has been no friend of mine. Multiple cards that died (never overclocked), and EVGA refused to honor their warranty. Let's put it this way, I bought PNY (that can tell you how bad my EVGA experience was).
 
EVGA has been no friend of mine. Multiple cards that died (never overclocked), and EVGA refused to honor their warranty. Let's put it this way, I bought PNY (that can tell you how bad my EVGA experience was).
Im curious why they refused their warranty? They have been gold for me many times.
 
Im curious why they refused their warranty? They have been gold for me many times.

Well, they didn't exactly refuse. I RMA'd a card and they sent the same card, warts and all, right back to me (after weeks). It was obvious they didn' t even look at it. Very frustrating, and they went full denial. They handled the whole thing very poorly. I had a valid warranty, EVGA played games with me instead of honoring it, even after I tried to explain and gave them more than enough opportunity to make things right. That's my experience with EVGA.
 
Well, they didn't exactly refuse. I RMA'd a card and they sent the same card, warts and all, right back to me (after weeks). It was obvious they didn' t even look at it. Very frustrating, and they went full denial. They handled the whole thing very poorly. I had a valid warranty, EVGA played games with me instead of honoring it, even after I tried to explain and gave them more than enough opportunity to make things right. That's my experience with EVGA.
i always advanced rma to make sure i dont the same card back repaired or not. And until recently they would even advanced rma cards that you acquired secondhand. They dont anymore whick stinks
 
used cards from ebay is great. you have 30 days to return it, even if the seller says NO RETURNS. they dont get to decide that. its hard-coded into the ebay seller agreements before they post a listing. stress-test that bad boy for a week and compare to benchmarks, you will be able to tell easily if something is damaged or seriously off. i got my 1060 6gb for $150 from an obvious crypto farm a few months ago. i am very satisfied.
 
That's interesting. MSI's have been the most reliable for me over the years. They're the only ones I buy. To each their own I guess...

Gamer X series 4life. My new must have feature is fan off mode when not gaming, saves so much wear and tear vs 1000rpm for 12-18 hours a day for no reason.
 
I've bought and sold plenty of cards on Ebay with no problems...and EVGA has a pretty decent support in my experience.
 
Absolutely most critical is to get the seller to state, IN WRITING via ebay messaging, that the card(s) have NOT been mined on....as those cards are most likely the ones people will try to dump off as "great shape" or "barely used" etc etc, and also the largest majority of them have been used & abused well beyond their normal tolerances and life expectancy (grinding on & on 24/7/365), meaning they will most likely fail soon after you get them (6-12 months).

That way you will have some recourse against the seller if this is what they are doing (ie dumping old mining cards so they can buy new ones with little expense)
 
.and EVGA has a pretty decent support in my experience.
Man, that's the truth. Couple years back my 660 died. Artifacting I think it was? I came here asking questions. Someone suggested I call EVGA. I did, they got back to me, and in less than a week I had a 770 shipped to me free of charge. I don't even think that 660 was eligible to be exchanged but they did it anyways.
 
Absolutely most critical is to get the seller to state, IN WRITING via ebay messaging, that the card(s) have NOT been mined on....as those cards are most likely the ones people will try to dump off as "great shape" or "barely used" etc etc, and also the largest majority of them have been used & abused well beyond their normal tolerances and life expectancy (grinding on & on 24/7/365), meaning they will most likely fail soon after you get them (6-12 months).

That way you will have some recourse against the seller if this is what they are doing (ie dumping old mining cards so they can buy new ones with little expense)
Don't think mining matters much. I have several cards I mined on & they all work fine. Mining load is usually less than gaming load...
 
used cards from ebay is great. you have 30 days to return it, even if the seller says NO RETURNS. they dont get to decide that. its hard-coded into the ebay seller agreements before they post a listing. stress-test that bad boy for a week and compare to benchmarks, you will be able to tell easily if something is damaged or seriously off. i got my 1060 6gb for $150 from an obvious crypto farm a few months ago. i am very satisfied.

Unless it is listed not working/for parts.

I have had great fun turning down idiots who thought the return policy was for everything.
 
The average price for a used GTX 1080 is around 300.00 on Ebay. Of course you never know if its been OC or Mined. The one i recently bought GTX1080 Duke for 305.00 worked fine. Its the 1080ti that is getting hard to find now on Ebay.
 
I do not see $300 GTX 1080s used on ebay. More like ~350-ish and up.
 
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