A French retailer has started selling defective Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards for €1,499, an unusual move that’s turning heads among PC gamers and hardware enthusiasts watching GPU prices climb yet again.
What makes this listing especially tricky is how little detail is provided about what’s actually wrong with the cards. The retailer describes the problem only in broad terms, suggesting the damage may have happened during shipping or while the product was at a customer’s location. In other words, buyers aren’t getting a clear explanation of whether they’re dealing with a minor physical issue or a serious electronic failure.
There is one key detail, though: the retailer says the graphics cards are complete. That means critical parts like the GPU chip and the graphics memory have not been removed. According to the retailer’s description, these units should have been working before the damage occurred, implying they were likely harmed after leaving normal production and testing conditions.
Still, the biggest risk is uncertainty. Because the retailer has not dismantled or inspected the cards, there’s no reliable way to know what you’re getting until after purchase. One card might need a quick fix, like correcting a simple connector issue or replacing a small damaged component. Another could be effectively unrepairable, with damage to the PCB, power delivery, or memory circuits that would cost more to fix than the savings are worth. For most buyers, that level of guesswork makes the deal hard to justify, especially when €1,499 is still a substantial amount of money for a non-working GPU.
This kind of offer also highlights the pressure currently shaping the PC hardware market. With the ongoing DRAM crunch pushing up costs across the board, everyone from manufacturers to retailers—and even gamers themselves—is being forced to get creative. For some enthusiasts with repair skills, spare parts, and the willingness to gamble, a “damaged but complete” RTX 5090 could be an intriguing project. For the average shopper looking to build or upgrade a gaming PC, it’s more likely to be a risky purchase that could quickly turn into an expensive headache.
As GPU pricing and component shortages continue to influence buying decisions, listings like this are a reminder that not every “discount” is a straightforward bargain—especially when the true condition of the hardware remains a mystery.
