How to guarantee your chance to purchase an NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti at Best Buy today
Your chances of buying an RTX 3080 Ti in person are probably higher than trying to grab one online.
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What you need to know
The NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti launches today at several online retailers. As is the case with all of thebest GPUs, we expect the new card from NVIDIA to sell out immediately. You can try to get lucky online by jumping between retailers, but Best Buy has another option. At select Best Buy stores, you’ll be able to show up early to receive a ticket that gets you the right to purchase an RTX 3080 Ti.
Best Buyspells out the terms and conditionsand also has a tool to help you find participating retailers.
Here’s how you can purchase the powerful RTX 3080 Ti today, as explained by Best Buy (emphasis added):
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition graphics card will have limited quantities available on Thursday, June 3, at select Best Buy stores only.Employees at participating stores will start handing out tickets at 7:30 a.m. local time.[i] We’ll have as many tickets as graphics cards available at each store, which means if a customer gets a ticket, they will be guaranteed the opportunity to purchase a graphics card inside the store beginning at 9 a.m. local time.
While you aren’t guaranteed to get a ticket if too many people line up, you are guaranteed the opportunity to purchase an RTX 3080 Ti if you get a ticket. That’s probably better odds than waiting until the cards go live online and hitting F5 repeatedly.
Demand for buying a powerful graphics card for over $1,000 will vary from area to area. You may get lucky and be in an area in which people don’t want to race to purchase one. That would provide better chances than competing with scalpers and everyone else trying to grab one online.
This is a similar setup to major console launches and other cases in which brick and mortar stores expect demand to outpace supply. As you’d probably expect, each individual can only purchase a single RTX 3080 Ti.
If you can’t get to a participating Best Buy, you can try your luck when the cards go live online today.
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The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is an incredibly powerful graphics card. Like all popular GPUs, we expect it to sell out immediately, but you can try these retailers.
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_.
