Do Inflated AMD Radeon GPU Prices Have an Official Sanction?

[btarunr]

Over the past couple of months, inflation in AMD Radeon GPU prices, in part fueled by silicon shortages, and in part by non-gamers (read: crypto-currency miners) buying up graphics cards, have impacted the AMD Radeon brand in the eyes of its target audience - PC gamers and graphics professionals. It was initially believed that market forces are driving the inflation, and that AMD had little to do with the price inflation. We then uncovered a clue that not just end-users, but even retailers are being sold AMD Radeon graphics cards at prices way above AMD's launch SEP. A Tweet by an official AMD Twitter handle shows that inflated AMD Radeon graphics card prices has the company's official sanction.

"@AMDGaming," a verified Twitter handle held by AMD, which promotes the company's products targeted at gamers, such as AMD Radeon graphics cards, and Ryzen processors; posted a promotion in which an XFX branded Radeon RX 570 graphics card, which is being sold at USD $279, including a free coupon for a "Quake Champions" pack free, was made to appear as if at its price, it's a great deal. The RX 570 was launched at USD $169 for the 4 GB variant, and $199 for the 8 GB variant. The XFX Radeon RX 570 4 GB RS (the card being marketed in the Tweet) was launched at $179. The Tweet was met with angry reactions for how blatantly AMD was marketing price-inflated Radeon graphics cards, without actually doing something about taming the prices.



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[Bytales]

How about when Nvidia inflates the MSRP Prices from the get go ?
Geforce 1080 MSRP at Launch ??
For a mid Tier Chip ? Nobody seemed to care.

 

[eidairaman1]

I wouldn't trust someone behind that account because so many have access to it.

 

[Nokiron]

How about when Nvidia inflates the MSRP Prices from the get go ?
Geforce 1080 MSRP at Launch ??
For a mid Tier Chip ? Nobody seemed to care.

You are delusional saying that nobody cared. There was a pretty significant outcry about it, but at least they were upfront about it.

I wouldn't trust someone behind that account because so many have access to it.

That does not really matter does it? They posted it on their Facebook-page aswell with over 1.5 million likes. It's still seen as official.

https://www.facebook.com/AMDGaming/posts/1627347307337750

 

[ZeppMan217]

Geforce 1080 MSRP at Launch ??
For a mid Tier Chip ?

1080 was/is certainly not a mid tier.

 

[dj-electric]

For a mid Tier Chip ? Nobody seemed to care.

This joke is 5 years old by now.

 

[Ruru]

Well, after the toy money craze is over again (when it ends) I hope that the prices settle to some sane level.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Get ready for the AMD employees with 10 posts to swoop in and defend! lol

 

[EarthDog]

How about when Nvidia inflates the MSRP Prices from the get go ?
Geforce 1080 MSRP at Launch ??
For a mid Tier Chip ? Nobody seemed to care.

Sorry, what?

Maybe if there was some competition in the space a higher intial pricepoint would have been lower. But yeah, this was the lrice, period, vs amds bait and switch pricing they didnt tell reviewers about...

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

... sold AMD Radeon graphics cards at prices way about AMD's launch ...

did you mean way above?

anyone searching the prices will find that some are as much as double and a few 3rd party sellers are pricing over $1000 almost 3x the MSRP. Newegg (#Boycott) are pricing cards $200+ or over 50% price increase because (as I was directly told) of demand. This means they are saying "F-EWE AMD!"

 

[Rowsol]

AMD is smoking crack. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Computer parts just keep going up in price. Next we'll have Nvidia marking up their cards because why not.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Sorry, what?

Maybe if there was some competition in the space a higher intial pricepoint would have been lower. But yeah, this was the lrice, period, vs amds bait and switch pricing they didnt tell reviewers about...

You tell me a card is 500 bucks from day one. Sell such card at 500 bucks and its up to me whether I buy it or not is completely legit. All the info is up front for everyone to see. What you charge for a product is up to you. Period. The market will determine its worth in the long run.

Tell me you are going to sell something at 500 bucks, tell the market reviewers that it will be 500 bucks and they estimate its worth before release misleading potential investors. Release said product at 1000 dollars after the fact is what we like to call a bait and switch and that's EXACTLY what AMD did.

Ill make a prediction here also. 10 bucks says they are going to be sued by shareholders very soon for misleading. If I worked for AMD right about now I would be looking for a new job as I wouldn't want my reputation to be tied to such a shabby business practice. This is coming from someone who's been under FBI investigation TWICE!

 

[_Flare]

Now, Nvidia needs to do zero to push AMD out of the Shops where Gamers buy.
No need for dubious marketing tricks.
AMD-RTG goes suicide in the Gaming -Sector... but not a honorable.

finally raping the grave of ATi... very sad.

 

[birdie]

Another perfect storm in a teacup

Sorry to interrupt everyone here but let me remind you that people don't game using AMD GPUs.

They just don't.

Say what you want about "skewed" Steam stats but Steam is the only reliable and broad enough representation of gaming preferences. Leave your theories as to why NVIDIA owners are on Steam and AMD aren't to yourself.

Actually I'm happy that AMD products are sold above MSPR/ESPR - it means their GPUs are in high demand. Maybe just maybe they'll get enough money to polish the next GPU arch better and release a product which is actually competitive.

Companies exist to earn profits. AMD has found a new niche for its products and I commend them for that.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Another perfect storm in a teacup

Sorry to interrupt everyone here but let me remind you that people don't game using AMD GPUs.

They just don't.

Say what you want about "skewed" Steam stats but Steam is the only reliable and broad enough representation of gaming preferences. Leave your theories as to why NVIDIA owner are on Steam and AMD aren't to yourself.

Actually I'm happy that AMD products are sold above MSPR/ESPR - it means their GPUs are in high demand. Maybe just maybe they'll get enough money to polish the next GPU arch better and release a product which is actually competitive.

Why be competitive when people will pay inflated prices for their (AMD) cards?

Also 20% of the market is no small share and that's what AMD holds according to that link you sent.

 

[qubit]

Yeah gads, for-profit Big Corporation milks the market for all its worth - shock!

Frankly, I'm not surprised that AMD would pull a stunt like this. Nothing nice about it, for sure, but it proves that they're not the warm, cuddly, fuzzy underdog that AMD fanboys have been bleating on about for years.

Whether it's AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, Volkswagen, <insert company name here> etc, they're all the same. It's all about what they can get away with to maximise that bottom line. End. Right now, AMD cards are really good for mining, so AMD is milking it for all its worth, simple as that. If it includes dirty tricks like bait'n'switch, then so be it.

 

[EarthDog]

Im still waiting to actually see how good these are at mining... 43 mh/s with a lot more power and outgoing costs leads to a much longer ROI vs a 480/580 etc. Not sure how that makes them great at it...

...can some explain the part im missing?

 

[iO]

Yea but what are they supposed to do, recommend Nvidia cards because their own are way too expensive right now?

PS: concluding that those shitty prices are sanctioned by AMD through a single tweet from a promo account seems a bit far-fetched...

 

[Dimi]

2 weeks ago i was lucky to snag myself a gigabyte 1070 mini for 359$ on newegg. Still 30$ more than what i saw them go for 4 months ago but oh well.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

AMD has lost their touch in staying as the "affordable" name for builders who are on a budget. Guess that era is over... Not gonna pity AMD loyalists or those who work for them... they took the short end of the stick anyways..

 

[dj-electric]

AMD has lost their touch in staying as the "affordable" name for builders who are on a budget. Guess that era is over... Not gonna pity AMD loyalists or those who work for them... they took the short end of the stick anyways..

You have to respect ryzen though. Some chips bring incredible value to some types of users

 

[Kaotik]

Seriously what the f is up with TPU news? Do you do any actual research on the matters?
There is literally nothing AMD can do about the prices, after AIB buys the chips or even full cards from AMD, it's out of their hands - they can set MSRPs, but no-one has to follow them, and there's nothing AMD (or any other company) can do about it.

Only way to actually prevent this would be stop selling GPUs to AIBs (yes, prices are inflated already coming from AIBs) and make and sell all the cards yourself, which is really just not an option.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Why be competitive when retards will pay inflated prices for their (AMD) junk cards?

Also 20% of the market is no small share and that's what AMD holds according to that link you sent.

Some believed the 680 and all nvidias top end cards to have been just as inflated for years , im one of them.
Lot of drama and hype about Amd pricing today , yet afaik nvidias cards are almost always dearer, so Amd should continue to sell low and have the price jacked up by shops anyway, I said months ago I would rather Amd upped the price and earned the money then some shop keeper.
At least it might get invested in rnd instead of a house in malta.
I get your hating Amd at the moment and your points are reasonable but the market has decided the prices not Amd ,it seams Amd might have smartened up to just how many shop keepers are getting rich now.

I would at this point appreciate your words more if they were also lambasting shopkeepers personally ,their a key part of this problem.

And finally if you think all amds cards are junk ,fine.
So why care what they sell for ,you weren't buying one.
And before mining picked up nvidia were already gouging ,if the price of the 1070-1080 wasn't already so inflated beyond BOM and reason ,miners would have bought them ,they ARE the efficiency mining kings.
But no ,nvidias inflated prices drove miners to buy the polaris cards and here we are, full feckin circle.

 

[john_]

Can someone show me if this info was posted on TechPowerUp?
NVIDIA Graphics Cards To See Price Increases Starting This Month Due To Memory Shortages
or are we back into the old habit of attacking AMD and ONLY AMD?

I can already see the reply. Digitimes is NOT a reliable source, a tweet from someone working on marketing on the other hand, is proof of AMD's sinister business plans.

For a mid Tier Chip ?

That sells as a hi end.

You tell me a card is 500 bucks from day one. Sell such card at 500 bucks and its up to me whether I buy it or not is completely legit. All the info is up front for everyone to see. What you charge for a product is up to you. Period. The market will determine its worth in the long run.

Tell me you are going to sell something at 500 bucks, tell the market reviewers that it will be 500 bucks and they estimate its worth before release misleading potential investors. Release said product at 1000 dollars after the fact is what we like to call a bait and switch and that's EXACTLY what AMD did.

Sell me a card with it's correct specs, not specs that make it look better than it really is, more future proof than it really is.

Sell me ONE card under ONE model number, not THREE totally different cards.

Ill make a prediction here also. 10 bucks says they are going to be sued by shareholders very soon for misleading. If I worked for AMD right about now I would be looking for a new job as I wouldn't want my reputation to be tied to such a shabby business practice. This is coming from someone who's been under FBI investigation TWICE!

Yes I bet you would love to work for Nvidia, if not already. Honest guys...

 

[Raevenlord]

Can someone show me if this info was posted on TechPowerUp?
NVIDIA Graphics Cards To See Price Increases Starting This Month Due To Memory Shortages
or are we back into the old habit of attacking AMD and ONLY AMD?

I can already see the reply. Digitimes is NOT a reliable source, a tweet from someone working on marketing on the other hand, is proof of AMD's sinister business plans.

https://www.techpowerup.com/236201/...0-in-august-could-affect-graphics-card-prices

All graphics cards, not just NVIDIA. Sorry if we didn't opt for the clickbait article.

It would read so much better if we had used NVIDIA and green images, wouldn't it?

This article here is strictly about an AMD tweet - an official channel by all means, irrespective of who is running it. If it wasn't official, people wouldn't be losing jobs over some tweets/facebook posts like they do.

See the difference?