Nvidia's RTX 4090 (opens in new tab) went on sale yesterday; it sold out in 10 minutes. Shortly after, the RTX 4090 appeared on eBay. That's normal. But it's actually surprising that these graphics cards on eBay are not priced as miserably as you might expect. They are not cheap, nor are they a bargain. In fact, things have been going downhill for a very long time.

These not-so-high prices indicate that GPU supply is probably better than at any time in the past 18 months and demand is not so frenzied, one of several reasons why you should not be taken in by the RTX 4090's soaring prices.

Over the past few years, resellers have made profits by selling in-demand graphics cards at prices well above MSRP; the RTX 3080 sold for more than 220% over its original MSRP (open in new tab) of $699 in the first few months after launch, and the RTX 3090 for the RTX 3090 was over 180% higher than the original MSRP of $699.

However, these MSRPs will not mean much during most of these graphics cards' lifetimes.

Today, however, the RTX 4090 is listed for about $2,100, a 30% increase over MSRP. This is the lowest price I could find on eBay (open in new tab). The Founder's Edition, however, is priced a bit higher.

I am not suggesting that you rush out and buy a graphics card from an eBay reseller. You shouldn't pay more for a card that is already very expensive, and it shouldn't be a worthwhile venture for those who choose to resell their GPUs to take advantage of the rush to launch. In fact, quite the opposite.

Demand for the RTX 4090 is unprecedented right now, and that is to be expected. Even before the GPU glut of the past few years, inventory never lasted until launch day. This is quite normal. All we can hope for now is a quick restock. What we have heard from the UK retailers we have spoken to is that the supply of RTX 4090 is expected to remain stable. We have also heard that there will be at least one restock at a UK retailer today, October 13.

But we're not going to pretend that everything is rosy right now; according to a post on Reddit (opens in new tab), one customer who got his RTX 4090 on launch day at Box was disappointed to hear that his order was canceled due to lack of stock. Box is also, that it is not aware of any further shipments of the RTX 4090.

We contacted Box to confirm this situation, and a spokesperson responded that a product manager had asked for clarification on the situation. They also stated that this could be an issue due to sales outpacing the system and excessive sales being made before the automatic out-of-stock notifications went live.

Still, it is a frustrating situation for those affected, especially after the past 18 months of high demand for GPUs and the expectation that a more robust sales system would be in place. [The launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card went well for Newegg; demand for the 4090 was very strong, and Newegg quickly sold out of its initial inventory.

"It exceeded our expectations and it is clear that customers are excited about the 4090 and the 40 series in general.

The supply situation is not entirely clear - we are certainly hearing mixed messages. The important thing to remember is that the actual supply of GPUs is not as massively constrained as it once was. And Ethereum, the most constrained GPU supply for cryptocurrency mining purposes, no longer requires GPUs (opens in new tab). We can only hope that there will be more readily available restocking in the coming weeks and months, as some retailers have suggested.