Even scalpers and bots couldn’t get their hands on the RTX 3070 Ti from Best Buy on launch day
Even a service that checks stock every ten seconds never managed to see the RTX 3070 Ti for sale through Best Buy.
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What you need to know
Seeing one of thebest graphics cardssell out instantly isn’t a strange sight these days. Due tochip shortages, almost all high-end graphics cards sell out right away. But the recent launch of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti raised some red flags for consumers. According to several reports, the RTX 3070 Ti never went up for sale on Best Buy’s website (viaPCMag).
The listing for the RTX 3070 Ti allegedly switched directly from “Coming soon” to “Sold out” at around 1:12 PM PST on Best Buy’s website. Instantly selling out is standard for graphics cards, but even bots and computer scripts reportedly never saw the GPU up for sale.
“No one got the Founders Edition from Best Buy,' said a representative fromHouse of Carts, a group that utilizes bots to purchase cards for resale, to PCMag.
Several scalpers told PCMag that they never saw the listing in question with a buy button. An operator ofFixitfixitfixit, a service that notifies people when online products become available, told PCMag that the 3070 Ti didn’t appear to go in stock on launch day.
“My monitors didn’t see any 3070 Ti’s go in stock on launch day,” said the operator. “As a matter of fact, from what I can tell no monitors on the market did.”
Fixitfixitfixit checks stock for products every ten seconds, so the card would have had to sell out quickly to never appear available.
People also used computer programs to track the stock of the RTX 3070 Ti. According to those behind the tracking programs, the GPU never became available.
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It’s also strange that there don’t appear to be many people reselling the RTX 3070 Ti, though that could be unrelated.
Best Buy and NVIDIA have not shared a comment on the situation at this time. ABest Buy Canadian blogstates that the company plans to sell RTX 30 series GPUs in select stores, but Best Buy told PCMag that the policy only applies to Canada.
If you are looking for an RTX 3070 Ti, you may have better luck looking to get one in apre-built PC.
Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
