Micro Center starts a GPU trade-in program

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1_rick

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They'll take used GPUs that you bought from them and give you store credit. I saw the press release on PRWire on my phone, but couldn't find that article again, so here's the link to the program itself.


https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/trade-in-landing.aspx

"It's time to retire your old GPU and revitalize your PC! We offer an exclusive trade-in program for working GPUs purchased at Micro Center, ensuring you get same-day value for your graphics card. Effortlessly upgrade your setup today!"

Here's a reddit thread about it, dominated early by complaints that you can't do as well as you could selling it on (for example) eBay yourself: https://www.reddit.com/r/Microcenter/comments/18ldefk/micro_center_gpu_trading_program/
 
nice! but yea you see the same rage at car dealerships. No they arent going to give you 15k for your trade in and then sell it for 15.5k. No one that is wanting to resell something will buy it real close to the price they will sell it for. usual goal is a 30% margin.
 
calmnothing said:
The biggest caveat is that the gpus have to be bought from Microcenter.
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I wonder if that is to help reduce fraud or exploitation. Buy cheap made up shit from china and sell to them. Or not legally obtained cards. Seems to me a like CYA kinda thing.
 
Darunion said:
nice! but yea you see the same rage at car dealerships. No they arent going to give you 15k for your trade in and then sell it for 15.5k. No one that is wanting to resell something will buy it real close to the price they will sell it for. usual goal is a 30% margin.
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Depends on the industry and the product. Gun stores only offer 50% of current retail value of any used firearm. So if a new Beretta 92FS is $595 and used retail is $500, they'll offer someone trading in a used one in good condition only about $250 if they are lucky. If the condition is fair to bad, the price will plummet. Wallet Trap in Plano offered a guy $100 for a Ruger Redhawk .44 revolver in mint condition about 10 years ago. At the time, the same gun was going for around $750 on Gunbroker.
 
Dan_D said:
Depends on the industry and the product. Gun stores only offer 50% of current retail value of any used firearm. So if a new Beretta 92FS is $595 and used retail is $500, they'll offer someone trading in a used one in good condition only about $250 if they are lucky. If the condition is fair to bad, the price will plummet. Wallet Trap in Plano offered a guy $100 for a Ruger Redhawk .44 revolver in mint condition about 10 years ago. At the time, the same gun was going for around $750 on Gunbroker.
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That is a good point. I guess it does have to buffer things like what someone just sold is actually a piece of crap or requires a bit of work that might not have been noticed at time of sale. In the case of video card maybe it runs fine for the test but craps out a few hours later and is just a loss. The entire business model has to be profitable, not just the individual sale.
 
Given the number of GPUs I have on the shelf I never ended up selling (despite the intention to), getting any money instead of no money is something. If I lose out on $150 on a video card but I also don't have to deal with someone claiming the package never arrived, or was damaged, that's kind of worth it.
 
Endgame said:
Given the number of GPUs I have on the shelf I never ended up selling (despite the intention to), getting any money instead of no money is something. If I lose out on $150 on a video card but I also don't have to deal with someone claiming the package never arrived, or was damaged, that's kind of worth it.
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It is why I sell locally. First time I sold a GPU on eBay the buyer tried to pull some shit. I have yet to have an real issue with selling stuff on FB market.
 
Endgame said:
Given the number of GPUs I have on the shelf I never ended up selling (despite the intention to), getting any money instead of no money is something. If I lose out on $150 on a video card but I also don't have to deal with someone claiming the package never arrived, or was damaged, that's kind of worth it.
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It really depends on what Microcenter ends up paying for a given GPU. My guess is, it damn near be pennies on the dollar where most GPU's won't go for more than $50-$150.
 
Dan_D said:
It really depends on what Microcenter ends up paying for a given GPU. My guess is, it damn near be pennies on the dollar where most GPU's won't go for more than $50-$150.
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Well, I got $0 for my:
Geforce 2 Ultra
Geforce 3 Ti 500
Radeon 9700pro
GTX 680

For no effort trade in, I'd have been better to take $50
 
And since MC does NOT do online sales on 99% of their products, this is simply a cash grab attempt, to get you into their stores, after which they can try to (up)sell you some other stuff you don't need, to make up for whatever little money they give you for the trade-in item....

And yea, anyone with 1/100th of a brain knows you can always get more from a private sell vs. a retail trade in, pc parts or otherwise....

A guy I work with recently traded in his 2019 car for a new one (2023) and thought he got a good deal....when I looked at his paperwork, I decided to check into it further....

Turns out they "gave" him ~$12k for his car, but ONLY after he was upsold twice from the new base model ($32k) to the higher-end model (47k) with many more features/options....most of which he really didn't want or need...with the so-called "5 year extended warranty" buried into the final contract...for an extra $4k....which takes effect immediately.......and the damned thing comes with a 10 year/100k mile factory warranty anyways

A few days later, I called the dealership & inquired about his old car, and was told I should grab asap it for "ONLY" $28k....as it would not be there for long at that price :D

talk about mark-up & profit !
 
Endgame said:
Well, I got $0 for my:
Geforce 2 Ultra
Geforce 3 Ti 500
Radeon 9700pro
GTX 680

For no effort trade in, I'd have been better to take $50
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oh cmon, most of us have given away much better than that! What did you expect :p
 
Darunion said:
oh cmon, most of us have given away much better than that! What did you expect :p
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lol - more the idea, I'd have been better off selling the GeForce 2 Ultra for $50 (way below what it was "worth") for the Ti 500, and so on down the chain.
 
dogDAbone said:
And since MC does NOT do online sales on 99% of their products, this is simply a cash grab attempt, to get you into their stores, after which they can try to (up)sell you some other stuff you don't need, to make up for whatever little money they give you for the trade-in item....

And yea, anyone with 1/100th of a brain knows you can always get more from a private sell vs. a retail trade in, pc parts or otherwise....

A guy I work with recently traded in his 2019 car for a new one (2023) and thought he got a good deal....when I looked at his paperwork, I decided to check into it further....

Turns out they "gave" him ~$12k for his car, but ONLY after he was upsold twice from the new base model ($32k) to the higher-end model (47k) with many more features/options....most of which he really didn't want or need...with the so-called "5 year extended warranty" buried into the final contract...for an extra $4k....which takes effect immediately.......and the damned thing comes with a 10 year/100k mile factory warranty anyways

A few days later, I called the dealership & inquired about his old car, and was told I should grab asap it for "ONLY" $28k....as it would not be there for long at that price :D

talk about mark-up & profit !
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TBH I have never been upsold at my MC other then a extended warranty. When I order online for pick up or go in for something. They just grab me what I ask for and that is it.
 
Endgame said:
lol - more the idea, I'd have been better off selling the GeForce 2 Ultra for $50 (way below what it was "worth") for the Ti 500, and so on down the chain.
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oh i know, just pickin on ya lol. I do wonder what would be a price tag for a used version of those at microcenter that would sell.
 
vegeta535 said:
TBH I have never been upsold at my MC other then a extended warranty. When I order online for pick up or go in for something. They just grab me what I ask for and that is it.
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I got upsold once during my online pickup because they accidently gave the motherboard I ordered to someone else and it was the last one. The only one they had that had all the features was $200 more or something than the one I picked. They discounted it $150 for me so I was ok with it. MC's mobo/cpu combo prices are unbeatable.
 
vegeta535 said:
TBH I have never been upsold at my MC other then a extended warranty. When I order online for pick up or go in for something. They just grab me what I ask for and that is it.
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If you are perceived to know what you're talking about, you are generally left alone. However I personally witnessed the obviously not technical customer get taken advantage of. Yes I know its a bad apple worker but its still there. These are the same workers I call the sticker army that follows you trying to get sales numbers. Add the "Buy a computer get thanked by the manager" policy and I reach my limits.

Its been a few years so hopefully my experiences are no longer. However I still won't go there unless I need something immediately as the St. Louis, MO Microcenter is in Brentwood. The land of 11% sales tax. Not supporting that crap.
 
That_Sound_Guy said:
If you are perceived to know what you're talking about, you are generally left alone. However I personally witnessed the obviously not technical customer get taken advantage of. Yes I know its a bad apple worker but its still there. These are the same workers I call the sticker army that follows you trying to get sales numbers. Add the "Buy a computer get thanked by the manager" policy and I reach my limits.

Its been a few years so hopefully my experiences are no longer. However I still won't go there unless I need something immediately as the St. Louis, MO Microcenter is in Brentwood. The land of 11% sales tax. Not supporting that crap.
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It is possible. I haven't witness any of it at mine. I generally only go into the DIY tho. I get asked if I need help like any other store but I generally get left alone when I say I am good. The tax is not MC fault.
 
dogDAbone said:
And since MC does NOT do online sales on 99% of their products, this is simply a cash grab attempt, to get you into their stores, after which they can try to (up)sell you some other stuff you don't need, to make up for whatever little money they give you for the trade-in item....
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They're only accepting GPUs that were bought at Microcenter, so this is targeted at their own customer base, not people in general.
 
I bought my 3080 from MicroCenter...but Newegg's GPU trade-in value is $50 higher...
 
1_rick said:
They'll take used GPUs that you bought from them and give you store credit. I saw the press release on PRWire on my phone, but couldn't find that article again, so here's the link to the program itself.


https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/trade-in-landing.aspx

"It's time to retire your old GPU and revitalize your PC! We offer an exclusive trade-in program for working GPUs purchased at Micro Center, ensuring you get same-day value for your graphics card. Effortlessly upgrade your setup today!"

Here's a reddit thread about it, dominated early by complaints that you can't do as well as you could selling it on (for example) eBay yourself: https://www.reddit.com/r/Microcenter/comments/18ldefk/micro_center_gpu_trading_program/
Click to expand...
You made the thread title one word despite the quote you copied using two words properly :rolleyes:

1704459165299.png
 
They push their Micro Center GPU warranty hard - or at least they have. The sales people always *nudge nudge* *wink wink* that you can essentially "trade in" your GPU a year or two later when it isn't performing "as expected". I am sure Micro Center corporate is not a fan of this type of thing - so maybe this is their answer? I never felt comfortable with this type of pitch for warranties, especially when it is not documented.
 
sk3tch said:
They push their Micro Center GPU warranty hard - or at least they have. The sales people always *nudge nudge* *wink wink* that you can essentially "trade in" your GPU a year or two later when it isn't performing "as expected". I am sure Micro Center corporate is not a fan of this type of thing - so maybe this is their answer? I never felt comfortable with this type of pitch for warranties, especially when it is not documented.
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I believe they got rid of that warranty because people were abusing the hell out of it. Back when I was in line to buy a 3080 a guy would get the warranty and would brick the card when a new generation came out. Take it back for a full refund to buy the new card.
 
vegeta535 said:
I believe they got rid of that warranty because people were abusing the hell out of it. Back when I was in line to buy a 3080 a guy would get the warranty and would brick the card when a new generation came out. Take it back for a full refund to buy the new card.
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Wow, you're right. Just tossed a random 4080 in my cart and I wasn't even asked about warranty. Good to see that their employees abusing it (thus leading to people abusing it) got it booted (yes, I know both sides are bad - people legit abuse any warranty service). I know they spiffed the employees hard on it. I think they still have CPU warranty because I was asked when I just picked up a 7800X3D this past weekend.
 
sk3tch said:
Wow, you're right. Just tossed a random 4080 in my cart and I wasn't even asked about warranty. Good to see that their employees abusing it (thus leading to people abusing it) got it booted (yes, I know both sides are bad - people legit abuse any warranty service). I know they spiffed the employees hard on it. I think they still have CPU warranty because I was asked when I just picked up a 7800X3D this past weekend.
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I was not asked about a warranty for the 7800x3D I got a couple weeks ago.
 
DPI said:
Like the death of the old Costco return policy/warranty. A former acquaintance used to brag when it was "time for an upgrade" and he'd go return his TV after 3 or 4 years of ownership, and walk out with the latest model and a big grin.

Every minor white lie you tell yourself and others, every little thing you think you got away under the delusion of "beating the system", purchases you temporary relief from the utter insignificance of your life but long term and subconsciously tells your mind that you are trash not fit for reality.

Now if you'll excuse me I have a 3090 I need to slam in a car door.
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Micro Center does like not check anything that is returned to them in general. How are they going to try and a open box MB with bent pins with thermal grease all over the socket. Also missing 95% of the accessories lol.
 
vegeta535 said:
I believe they got rid of that warranty because people were abusing the hell out of it. Back when I was in line to buy a 3080 a guy would get the warranty and would brick the card when a new generation came out. Take it back for a full refund to buy the new card.
Click to expand...

how much was that warranty?
 
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