Looks like really the right person got the card - happy for you, Igor! Enjoy it. And remember, sleep is overrated. No need for more than 3-4 hrs, seriously ;) This comes from another <50 yo gamer with a family on his back...

Zdravo, čestitke :)

Hello congrats.

Finally this beautiful monster is in my hands!!! Story following its (more than a 2.5 months long) journey to our home to me is... dunno, almost like trying to fight Khabib, exhausting at least :( almost gave up... Well here we go, make yourself a double coffee before reading any further :D

Card was shipped from Asetek/California via UPS in October 2021... through Germany... Croatia... and it arrived to UPS Serbia on October 25th and that's where "fight with the final boss" has begun. Can't remember I ever saw/had so many issues with anything that was ever shipped to me via UPS, DHL... or with things I've shipped to someone else, complete and confusing mess started after parcel had arrived to UPS depot in Serbia.

I was checking package tracking on a daily basis, after parcel arrived to Serbia I've waited few days before calling UPS Serbia to ask if they need something from me and when can I expect for package to be delivered, their answer was usual/generic: "...parcel has arrived, be patient, few more days and we'll call you if needed...". Two days later called them again, got the same answer, OK, no biggie, I'll wait.

iirc on December 2nd somewhere around lunch got the e-mail from UPS about tracking update, opened the link and couldn't believe my eyes! I regret not making a screenshot but tracking status was something like: "...parcel is abandoned by both sender and receiver, it will be disposed of according to the local guidelines..." o_O WTH is going on here!? I've immediately called UPS Serbia: "...what is going on, how can you change tracking status to -abandoned- when I've called you twice in past few days to ask if you need something from my side?...". Lady who worked as UPS phone operator was confused too, think she was the one who answered my call few days earlier and she remembered my name. "...I'll... well... I'll check what is going on and give you a call later, OK?" ...she said. I've immediately contacted Shawn Sanders from Asetek by e-mail or via Discord not sure, probably both, he was my Asetek contact if anything about shipping/delivery goes wrong. Shawn was also shocked because he also got the same e-mail from UPS about package tracking status change to: -abandoned- ...and he too did make a call to UPS to ask what's the problem. Same day, few hours later tracking status -parcel abandoned- simply vanished (!?) and it was replaced by new tracking status: "...We're in the process of returning this package to the sender. / The parcel was undeliverable and has been disposed of according to the local guidelines. Belgrade, Serbia...". OMG, something really stinks here! Lady from UPS called me few hours later, or it was next day not sure: "...parcel papers are missing, papers/invoice was not send (what!?) buy the sender, we're going to contact sender through our UPS system..."... OK, I'll wait, but my panic mode was already activated.

Few days later... nothing. E-mailed Shawn if UPS Serbia contacted Asetek or him about mising papers/invoice... Shawn: "...no, they didn't...". Asked Shawn to send me parcel paperwork via e-mail and he did it right away. I've made a call to UPS Serbia: "...did you contacted Asetek and got paperwork about the parcel?..." UPS: "...we got nothing from them...". Me: "...OK, here you go, I'll send you all you need, I got this from Asetek's official who's in charge for my case...". UPS: "...OK, send everything to us via e-mail..." ...and I did. Few days later someone from UPS called me: "...this paperwork isn't complete...missing Incoterms... this... that...". I've explained to them that parcel content is a prize on a international giveaway contest, not for re-sale or anything commercial and it clearly written on (suspiciously missing, hmmm...) invoice Asetek has provided with the parcel, but now they, UPS Serbia, have those papers. UPS: "...we'll check this and give you a call...". I've send Shawn a message or two just to let him know what is going on, Shawn: "...is there anything you need - just ask..." and since that moment we were in contact almost on daily basis either via Discord or via e-mail.

Few days later... nothing from UPS Serbia, I've made a call. UPS: "...this invoice Asetek has made is not valid... we don't need invoice but proforma invoice with incoterms defined...". This was followed by my another message to Shawn Sanders and he was confused why official paperwork/invoice was not valid proof this parcel content is a giveaway prize... So he made another one and send that one to me via e-mail, I've forwarded that one to UPS Serbia, few days later their answer: "...this one invoice is also not valid...".

At that moment I really didn't know what to do. Shawn did what they've asked and still it was not valid paperwork for UPS Serbia for them to continue customs procedure.

Few days later UPS asked me to write and sign my statement about what's inside the parcel package, that it's a prize on contest, free of charge, not for commercial use... and also they send me some papers to sign, it was authorisation from my side for them so that they can continue with customs procedure on their side. After that they'll take care of everything with additional fee and I was fine with that, I'll pay anything just to finish with this, oh boy how I was wrong...

Few days later, UPS: "...proforma invoice is not correct (again!?)...". Me: "...OK, listen, send me a blank proforma invoice the way you want to be written, I'll forward that one to Asetek official, he'll make valid proforma invoice and valid that one with a signature and I'll forward that one to you...". I've contacted Shawn via e-mail with UPS's blank proforma invoice, he filled that one with needed data + his signature and sent that one to me and I've forwarded that one to UPS via e-mail. At that point I was asking myself: "...why am I doing all this, I gave my authorisation to UPS Serbia (Express Courier d.o.o.) and still I'm the one doing this paperwork nonsense, they're going to charge me for that at the end and I'm the one doing all the legwork for them?!...am I stupid, or they're lazy... or what!?" :kookoo:

Again after few days of waiting, UPS: "...on new proforma invoice incoterms field is missing...". Me: "...but you've sent me YOUR blank proforma invoice without any incoterms field on it?!..." :wtf: UPS: "...we did?... well... whatever, incoterms are missing, we can't continue without incoterms information..."... Another message to Shawn Sanders, he made new proforma invoice with incoterms, I've forwarded that one to UPS.

Few days later, UPS: "...field: description of goods ...isn't defined well, we need to know what exactly has been send to you...". My another e-mail to Shawn, field description od goods has been changed from: Video card ...to: Asus ROG-STRIX-LC-RTX3080TI-O12G-GAMING ...made a new proforma invoice, signature ...and he sent that one to me via e-mail, I've forwarded that one to UPS.

Later that week, UPS: "...value of goods on proforma invoice isn't right, we need real value for parcel content...". Atm I had to call them: "...what are you doing, I've gave you my authorisation signed document, you should contact Asetek directly, why am I doing all this paperwork?..." ...and gave them e-mail of Shawn from Asetek and his mobile phone number: "...here you go, call Asetek official and he'll give you everything you want and need to know, stop bothering me anymore or else I'll find another shipping/customs agency to finish the job you're unable to do!...".

That above was late December 2021, 2 frikin months package was waiting at UPS Serbia depot and they did nothing but efficiently wasting Shawn's and my time and nerves. Mind you through whole this agony Shawn Sanders was always there for me willing to help, available almost 24/7 :respect: but of course because of time difference between Serbia and California I've contacted him via e-mail or Discord only when it was midday in California.

At that moment I was one step away from giving up completely, just wanted to message Shawn and ask him to demand parcel to be shipped back to USA, I was simply exhausted with all this paperwork with UPS Serbia, calls, e-mails... Really felt guilty about wasting Shawn's time, but lucky me, Shawn still wasn't ready to give up on this, he was waiting what's going to happen next...

Weirdest thing is that at UPS tracking (for about two months every few days there was something new) almost all of the tracking info/status between October 25th and late December 2021 simply: dissapeared :eek: ...like nothing weird has ever happened. More than few times tracking status has been changed to: Delivered (delivered to whom!?)...after few days: Unable to deliver ...again: Delivered ...next: Unable to deliver ...then: Clearance information required ...Delivered ...Unable to deliver ...OMG did I got stuck into some kind of time loop or something!? :banghead: If I knew all those weird tracking info will just dissapeared I would make screenshots every few days, now I don't have almost anything (except tons of e-mails from/to UPS Serbia and from/to Shawn) as a proof of shady work happening in the background od UPS depot in Serbia.

January 12, 2022... Around 4:30pm, call from unknown number on my mobile phone: "...UPS Serbia here, just to let you know everything about customs/paperwork is finished, you can expect package to be delivered to you in next day or two... you have a small fee to pay (around €30) for our service... have a nice day!...". Me screaming loud: "YYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSS, Shawn we did it!!!" :clap: ...crew on ISS orbiting around Earth: "...WTF was that!?..." :D

January 14, 2022, around 11:45am... This awesome graphics card is finally in my hands! :rockout:Took it home after the work, kids are taking pics with it, they never saw anything similar, younger son: "...lol, my Strix 1070 OC Edition almost looks like a toy compared to this!...". Me personally, I'm nothing but blown away with it, words can't describe how good this beast looks and feels

My future plans with this beast... Atm I don't have big enough case to fit it inside. Tbh I have one almost completely DeepCool themed build (tons of DeepCool ARGB fans, case, AIO, ARGB remote... everything DeepCool) with big enough DeepCool CL500 case to fit this card in np, but that build is so perfectly looking that I don't want to touch anything inside/outside of it.... and it's rather old, great but old X58/5675@4.55GHz ...and honestly speaking this awesome 3080Ti deserves better than this X58 combo (will 3080Ti even POST on X58 with motherboard's legacy BIOS?). Have one spare trusty Z68/2600K@4.6GHz combo atm without RAMs waiting for some future project, but... this 3080Ti really deserves something more powerfull to show its muscles and at least 1440p high refresh monitor, all of ours gaming PCs at home are still using 1080/75Hz monitors. Atm my wallet is in not so good shape lol, tons of feasts and whatnot past 2 weaks or so dried up my wallet almost completely so I'll have to wait late January or early February for enough cash to start building my new gaming PC. Last PC build I did for myself was from early 2014, after 2014 I was just building/upgrading gaming PCs for our three kids, had to give up building/upgrading my own gaming PC because there was not enough time... and cash. My plan in late January/February is to buy another one DeepCool CL500 case, I really like CL500 and the price is really reasonable here, to put this beasty 3080Ti inside + at last 12400 or 5600X, really would love to buy 5800X or 12700 but we'll see about that (read: need to consult my better half for approval :D Guess all this thrill about building my new gaming PC after almost 8 years will push me back to my gaming roots, at least I hope so :)

That's all folks, sorry about the rant, thanks to those who stayed with me reading this wall of text... anyone.... (crickets sound) :D

Regarding all written above I wish to send thanks to, without competition on the #1 place: Shawn Sanders from Asetek, this man has nerves of steel, patience and will to help like... I don't know... quite comparable to my mother, man is a real champ, enough said :D Without help and persistence from Shawn's side no way this would be possibe. He is a true example of how marketing PR of any company should act and offer help in critical situations like this. Really hope Asetek knows how to appreciate people like him, they're rare these days. Hats off to you sir! :respect:

And of course many thanks to TechPowerUp, Asetek and Asus for this awesome giveaway prize. After 30+ years as a gamer I've retired from gaming back in Avgust 2014 (40y.o. backthen, dissapointed when last Crysis 2 Multplayer PC servers were closed) but now with this extreme 3080Ti by my side I feel like I'm in my gaming prime again (lol), I'll frag anyone!!! :D Oh well, we'll se about that "prime status" when my kids start to obliterate me while gaming online together :laugh:

Thank you!

Cheers TPU folks!

Few pics of this beast abput half an hour ago:













^^^^ OMG: Raytracing ON is so obvious on last 4 pics!!! :D

Man, cool story. It's nice that you decided to write it!

When such things happen i always remember my experience with EMS and airsoft stuff shipped in plastic bags. %)

so sorry it took so long, but good to hear it worked out in the end.

Dealing with idiots at parcel companies and customs is part of the daily reviewer business, and makes life SO difficult especially when working with review launch dates under embargo

pregepWinner here folks, wooooohoooooo!!!

At least what I can say is that I'm nothing more and nothing less but blown away with this prize, still can't believe this is true! In all this long lasting GPU crysis, when many of us gamers are in fear for the future of PC gaming, to get a graphics card like this is like a giant cloud pouring rain on a dead-dry desert, it feels so good and it gives me hope PC gaming is still moving forward and one day it will outlive me.

Been a long time lurker here on TPU, no doubt great community made by very helpful members. Sadly but (always those excuses), way too much occupied by my job past more than few years, almost gave up gaming on PC because of lack of free time and never had enough time to register on TPU and give my contribution to this community. I say almost gave up on PC gaming but that's not completely true: made myself, OK, with a "bit" of a help of my lady :), 3 kids, boy + girl + boy, for years now all of them true PC gamers, since they were tall enough to climb up on chair and sit next to me while I was actively gaming on PC years ago, just to watch me while gaming and not many years had passed before we were playing all together. Now I'm the one responsible for maintenance and upgrade of their gaming PCs. All three of them now with way better skills, reflexes and gaming PCs than their (their words, must admit not far away from truth) "rusty gamer dad" has atm. But nevermid that, it never gets boring for me once in a while to sit down next to them while they're competing with other PC gamers online... and just enjoy their skills, honestly can't remember I was ever that fast and these words are coming from a mouth of former Quake 3 Arena player, but as someone said: blood is not water...

Few years close to 50, gamer since I was a poor kid in local arcades back in early 80s, here and there older kids there would gave me to to play few minutes on some of popular arcades and it was a blast for me. Few years later, mid 80s, parents bought my younger brother and me the best present in the world backthen one kid could imagine to have: Commodore 64, can't thank them enouh for that, that "grey fatty" changed our lifes forever. First PC was bough to us by our uncle from L.A. back in 1995, can't thank him enough for that too... and since then the rest what happened tied me forever for PC. Older son this year went to IT college, younger son also has its plan for secondary IT school next year, guess they'll follow my path, can't complain...

Sorry for this wall of text as my first post here but I feel overwhelmed, just had to write all this. No way I'll just write: thank you! ...and just walk away. From now on, at least for a weekend when I have a bit of a free time, I'll try to contribute community on TPU as much as I can with those few decades of PC experience on my back.

This graphics card would be put to a good use, I can assure you that, and I don't want to hear that word that starts with min... that word is forbidden in our home, we're a gamers... Grandkids can't come soon enough for me, once they come it'll be: VR here we come! :D

Huge thanks to TechPowerUp, Asetek and Asus for this monster card, also many thanks to Shawn Sanders from Asetek who was the first one to inform me by e-mail and send congratz about this amazing prize.

Thank you TPU and see you guys on forum, cheers!
Igor

Congrats!!!!!