As Amazon has grown, eBay has too. Amazon has gotten to such a point that eBay has to take cues from Amazon just to stay as competitive as possible. But there are times when choosing one or the other depends on the circumstances or specific situations. I will try to describe my experiences and why I might choose one over the other when seeking out a product.
Seller's Perspective
Although the brunt of my article will be about buying, selling can be important too. The main concern for the buyer should be what kind of service they are getting, and what kind of fees they have to pay to each respective company.
For eBay, you have two parts to worry about. You not only have to deal with eBay, but will likely process most (if not all) of your transactions through PayPal. So while there are eBay fees that will need to be paid, PayPal will take its cut of the profits as well. In comparison to Amazon, eBay has lower seller fees. However, when including PayPal into the mix, this may amount to similar fees from either company.
Amazon allows you to send your product in so that they can ship it for you. eBay does have this option - now - but unlike Amazon, they have no special Prime account that will allow for express, free shipping. Shipping to a Prime account may not matter if the seller offers free shipping; but if they don't, it is much easier to entice buyers if they have a Prime account and don't have to worry about paying associated extra S&H (shipping and handling ) fees.
eBay can only do so much due to their selling platform, but it is still a good place to sell from. They offer a good ratings system that imbues trust from its customers. Amazon has its reviews, and although this can be quite helpful, sometimes reviews are lumped together for similar products making it confusing as to what a buyer is actually purchasing. In opposition to eBay, Amazon will allow users more writing room to describe if a seller is good or not. (eBay gives a short one-liner is this regard.)
PayPal itself helps bring in buyers as it is (somewhat) a name people can trust. A lot of people have PayPal and do business through it accordingly; so having it as a payment system - even if negligible - can turn a potential buyer into a definite one.
However, unlike eBay, Amazon is purely for selling at a fixed price. There are no auctions to get a lower price than average. eBay does offer Buy It Now, but in addition sellers can also add an offer option, both of which can go alongside the regular auction scheme.
Some people prefer to try their chances at the best deal possible, while others don't want the hassle of sniping or constant checking.
eBay
eBay has been around for a long time now. I used to use it to buy rare or hard-to-get items. My choices were slim with that or Yahoo! Auctions. Eventually, Yahoo! Auctions went by the wayside. Why? I think it was because eBay got most of the attention from sellers. It is purely for selling and buying, while Yahoo! was really know for just its search engine, email and messenger. Knowing that fraudulent dealings seemed to be more rampant on Yahoo! Auctions didn't help either.
Nowadays, eBay seems to be more about making profits than just getting rid of whatever you can for however much you can. Sure, it still has good deals from time-to-time, but with so many buyers (and keen sellers), it's a lot harder to get. At least now eBay has really become a marketplace where pricing is competitive.
Even stores like Newegg or TigerDirect have begun selling on eBay. You can usually find the exact same items on their own stores for the same prices, but they must know that many people go to eBay first and buy there.
Amazon
Amazon has grown to such an extent that government lawsuits have been deployed just to stop it from giving the tremendous bargains it did and still does (there used to be no sales tax for certain states...). As of now, they are the largest online retailer and are spreading into other areas like smartphones, tablets, and TV programming.
Amazon always caught my eye because they had everything! You want a 1 million dollar mech robot, Amazon has it [true]. You need a DSLR, Amazon has it. What about baby lotion or diapers? Amazon has that too.
On top of this, as previously mentioned, they have a Prime account, which it allows consumers to purchase at a yearly rate and take advantage of free 2-day shipping as well as free TV shows and movies. During holidays, Prime users will get some items at a discounted price before users without Prime access. I subscribe to them yearly, even with the new hike in price, just because I use them so much.
Prices
There are many reasons to choose either eBay or Amazon. One of the most obvious is cost. Sometimes eBay has a better deal, and sometimes Amazon does. Both sell used items, although eBay does far more, and both have competitive prices on new items.
Now, I find the newer items usually sell cheaper on eBay than on Amazon. Mainly because eBay will often have people selling their items as opposed to a company. A lot of times people will have the same new product for a bit cheaper on eBay, and because they will add free shipping and no sales tax (unless a storefront like Newegg), buying from eBay may save you a lot of cash depending on the final sale value.
One good secret that people usually don't know is that Amazon has "offers". People do see that there are offers for the same product for less expense, although they often forget that new and refurbished items are normally available along with used prices.
At times I do find good deals on used items on Amazon, but that is seldom. But the secret is that there are sellers who might sell the same product new for the same, lower, or higher price. The key is to drop it into your cart and go to checkout. There you will see if the seller adds sales tax. Many times they don't, so you can actually buy the same product new for less than the Amazon advertised price.
The secret on eBay used to be to buy from a store like Newegg and they would actually have no or less sales tax than from their own site. This would have the added benefit of support not just from eBay and PayPal, but from a large popular store like Newegg too. I believe that they (Newegg) have finally learned about this trick, so prices are now the same across-the-board...
PayPal vs. Amazon Credit
Both PayPal and Amazon offer lines of credit to their customers. The main difference I have learned is that an Amazon line of credit can affect your credit score - positively or negatively - and that PayPal does not. This is a true toss up as I like the idea of not having my credit score affected, but at least on Amazon there should be far more choices to spend credit on.
That aside, both have different ways of charging interest. If you buy an item on Amazon's line of credit you will have no interest payments for 6 months if spending at least $149, or for an entire year if at least $600. eBay gives you 6 months at $99.
The other biggest difference between the two is that PayPal charges an APR of 19.99%, and Amazon charges an APR of 25.99%.
In this arena, it seems like PayPal is the obvious choice. It doesn't affect your credit and you have lower interest rates if applicable. But it really depends on what you're buying and how you're paying. If you buy thousands of dollars worth of items, then Amazon might be the place to choose since you could get at least a year to pay off your debt without interest. However, if you only buy $108 worth of items, then eBay would be the place to buy from in order to get no interest financing.
The choice between them is not as easy as pick one and give it a go. It will depend on what you are looking for, what you can afford, and personal preference.
Abundance
When talking about available stock, Amazon is the clear winner. Amazon usually has a large abundance of individual items, and to reiterate, has just about everything you could need. From groceries to electronics, Amazon has it all.
But if talking about the reverse in terms of rarity and old items, eBay is the winner. Amazon sometimes has old items for sale from users, but most people will be selling them on eBay. eBay is known for rare and old items, and because of that, people know that is the best place to get the best value.
I would say that unless a model of something is still in production, anything over 10 years old is going to be easier to find on eBay. If you're looking for autographs or mint condition issues of comics, eBay is the first place to search.
Support
I have dealt with eBay, PayPal, and Amazon support. And even though each has decent support, I would have to say that ultimately Amazon is leaps and bounds above the other two.
PayPal used to be absolutely horrible. If you got ripped off their response was pretty much, "We can't do anything, sorry". For many years I avoided them after having one such incident. I eventually used their services again because eBay lured me back in.
I ended up having another incident where all my money was taken from my bank account. This time PayPal stepped up to the plate and reimbursed me for everything lost. Since then I have had more faith in the company, and they have helped me get things done a lot more smoothly than before. Is the actual service stellar, no, it is the standard I expect a large company to provide to be considered as having good support.
eBay is a nightmare as of recently. There have been just as many horror stories for them as PayPal's past. They have cleaned up their act a lot, and have implemented policies that are better for both buyers and sellers. They have reimbursed me for non-received or non-working items and have ensured that I am taken care of when such situations occur. That being said, as of this month, I have lost a good amount of trust in their support. To make a long story short, eBay sent me a promotion for a measly $5 if I bought an item more than $20 through their eBay app on my smartphone or tablet. The $5 never appeared as stated and I have been jerked around for 3 hours (so far) proving the email was real, that I followed all the steps, and already being promised a $5 voucher that has yet to arrive (even after waiting twice the amount of time I was told it would take). After almost two weeks and three long hours of repeating myself, they did send me a $5 voucher with no spending requirement...
I recall one time where eBay just had the dumbest support person I have yet to encounter.
My order came from China. The product did not work as advertised so I attempted to settle it with the seller first. If you have read my articles, you know I don't have much trust in any Chinese product, but I do try nonetheless. Of course they wanted some sort of proof and promised afterwards to send my refund in full. After I had done so, I kept asking for a return address they never gave. So eBay gave it to me instead, and I sent it off to them. When I told them this they asked for the address and said that they didn't use this address, to which I replied that it wasn't my problem, and they would need to take that up with eBay. They then wanted other demands met where I just said, "F*ck this, time to go to the next level." I gave them horrible feedback, elevated the situation, and explained myself numerous times to eBay support.
You would think this would've been bad enough, but that wasn't the end. At one point I realize that because I sent my item back using the local post office (I have no intention spending around $100 on sending anything back to anyone), I have no way to track it back to China. This upsets me because already I know these Chinese people I'm dealing with are liars, and I'm not going to let them pretend the package did not arrive. So I call eBay support, again. This time is when I get the dumbest person working at eBay.
I explain the entire situation over, again. This guy somehow thinks that I will believe him when he literally tells me that they can track my package into China. So I ask him what the special service or program is that they use, and he tells me that he is not allowed to say. I ask him to check it then, and of course all he can see is that it reached the border of the country I sent it from, days ago... I try to explain his stupidity to him by describing how eBay is a big company, but no country, especially not China, is going to allow them any type of control to watch over packages. The guy trying to still push his fake ideas, and I end up just hanging up on him and calling back to get someone else. I get a woman who I explain the situation to yet another time. This time, she gives me back my money because she understands the predicament. I also ask her if they have some secret program to check foreign packages, and she tells me openly that there is no such thing, they merely use the tracking number with whatever service used (if possible).
Even after I had already sent the package and got a refund, the Chinese seller still tried to contact me about giving them positive feedback. I already had my money back, and I didn't trust them, so I ignored them. A few weeks later the package was returned to me because the address eBay had given was wrong. Oh well!
Was their support good? Sometimes. Is it right now? No. Being that eBay seems to help cause more issues than it solves makes me think that they are just trying to avoid incidents in any way possible. I am now considering them as a possible risk in any future purchases if something significant were to happen after-the-fact. And just knowing that you get eBay support idiots who will try to lie to you, as if somehow people like me are as stupid as them, makes me just that much more wary...
Amazon is simply amazing. Anytime I have had to deal with them, I have always ended up satisfied, if not gratified, once my time with support has finished. A quick two examples, that I have written about in the past, are a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone and a X-Men/Wolverine Blu-ray movie collection. For the Galaxy S4, I bought it and brought it overseas to use. Everything was fine until it just suddenly died. I tried restarting, pulling the battery, and anything else that I could, to no avail. I called Amazon and had one day left to return the phone. I explained that I was overseas and was upset that I had to pay for the fees to return it to the USA considering that I bought something advertised as fully functional when it clearly was not. After some yelling on my part, Amazon agreed to reimburse me for any and all shipping fees back to Amazon!
As for the movie collection, Amazon offered a special on the movie collection and I bought it. A month and a day later, they offered the same collection with the newest movie that had just been released. I tried my luck and called Amazon to explain my predicament. They understood and informed me that if I bought the movie, I could call back and have them reimburse me the difference. I did so and they actually gave me more than they should have, making the new movie a little less than $2.
I have plenty of positive stories for Amazon, but I can't recollect any negative ones to share. The same can't be said for eBay or PayPal...
Guarantees
eBay and Amazon both have guarantees to get your money-back. Both require returns to be done within 30 days, and once received, a refund will be issued if the items are DOA (dead-on-arrival), not as stated to be, or having other issues.
I have never had to do this for eBay. Yet, what is good to know, is that even if a seller specifies they do not accept returns, eBay will still honor the guarantee. This is how it should be regardless, but it is good to know eBay is on the right page.
Amazon is great about this. They actually go one step further in that if you get the product and you don't open it, you can still send it back and get your money back! You can only do this with eBay if the buyer explicitly states that you can do so.
Here is a little secret about Amazon most people likely have no idea can be done. Let's say you use your Amazon line of credit to get 6 months of no interest payments. You then realize that one of the items you bought you no longer want or need. If you call Amazon and tell them this, they will allow you to send the product back, but they will not void the 6 months of no interest payments if it brings the total below the amount to allow for special financing!
Again, it's a no brainer that Amazon has better guarantees.
Feedback
From what I have noticed, negative feedback tends to hurt sellers more on eBay more than it does on Amazon.
Even though sellers on either site can be flooded with so much positive feedback that negative feedback seems to all but disappear. And despite the fact that both sites will display a percentage of how "good" each seller is. I find myself more willing to buy from an Amazon seller than an eBay seller of equal "goodness".
Maybe it's because of Amazon's support, but when I see someone who has something like 87% on Amazon, my desire for an item does not waiver much. Instead, I just question if it is the best value. However, on eBay, if I see a seller who has something like 95%, I will look into their seller ratings and try to discern if they are trustworthy enough to buy from. As a reminder, Amazon does offer customers more space to write negative feedback, and being able to learn more about how bad a seller could be still has little affect on my buying decisions in these matters...
Mind you, this is just my preference. On a neutral field, all things being the same, Amazon and eBay offer the same type of feedback displays and manner of ratings.
Outcome
This isn't article isn't so much about which is better overall, but which one is better to go with during certain circumstances. That being said, if I had to use only one for the rest of my life, I would choose Amazon. Sometimes I do pay a premium to buy from Amazon over eBay, but given my history with them I think they deserve my business.
Don't get me wrong, if eBay has the better deal by a large margin, I will use them. If I need something old and/or rare, I'll get it off eBay if it's available. But when push comes to shove, Amazon just offers more at better values.
People know I'm a stickler for support, so that plays a huge role for me. Ignoring that, Amazon just has more items that I want. eBay eventually floods its marketplace with the same items, but often by then I have already paid for it on Amazon. And even though I did mention that eBay usually has the same items for cheaper, there have been numerous times I have found items on eBay going for a lot more than on Amazon!
Other Stores?
There are plenty of other stores to buy goods. I buy a lot of electronics so there are Internet stores like Newegg, Tigerdirect, MWave, Directron, Fry's Electronics, Rakuten (formerly Buy.com), Overstock (& O), etc. to choose from. Are they the best? I'd say no, but they do throw up decent deals every so often.
Why don't I use these stores more often? Well, for example, I have noticed that sometimes a graphics card might be priced $10 cheaper on Amazon over Newegg. I then check Newegg to find that the card in question has a rebate for $10. I don't know if Amazon has a special agreement with some graphics card manufacturers, or if they drop their price of their own accord, but I prefer this strategy. I have done rebates before and on average they take up to 3 months or more. Why do that when I can just get an "instant rebate" from Amazon?
If we're talking about the best deals, and used items, there are also plenty of forums to comb through that will provide amazing prices. However, support is a different story as it is all about trusting individuals given that no protection is generally given.
Reiterate
Again, this is not about who is the best. I am biased as evident by my experiences. And there have been several times that I choose eBay over Amazon. It's all about the best deal you can make. If you're buying an expensive item, is it better to have great support over okay support? If you need a lengthy time to pay off your purchase, are you likely to miss a payment and affect your credit score? Is the price advertised actually going to be less pricey in the other store once taxes and shipping are factored in?
Whatever your reasons are, you'll find that the above information should help determine what the best route is to take. Don't be loyal for the sake of being loyal, be a smart shopper and save money where you can.
Showing posts with label PayPal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PayPal. Show all posts
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
How I Bought a $420 GTX 980!
It all started at the end of last year. Holidays were upon us and my birthday was soon after. I had been reading all about the new NVIDIA GTX 970/980 graphic cards and realized it may be a good time to upgrade from my GTX 680. I went onto eBay and found a newly listed EVGA GTX 780 (maybe a Superclocked?) for a Buy It Now price of $240 with shipping. I was going to have my wife get me the card, but an hour later, it was gone... I was upset on missing the deal, so I set out to find something better for a better price. This took me on a month-and-a-half journey that resulted in the best deal I have made to-date...
My Graphic Card History
For the longest time (or what seemed so) I had a EVGA GTX 480, that would later be accompanied by another in SLI. I was happy with it's performance, and blissfully ignoring its hefty power consumption. By the time I had a GTX 480, the GTX 580 was already out, and my real purpose had been for its use of CUDA cores. Reviews stated that the GTX 580 had some issues and many recommended going with the GTX 480 for the time being. The CUDA core difference was small, and the GTX 480's were obviously better priced (especially used), so that became my first notable high-end card. I believe my first card cost me $300.
A couple of years later the NVIDIA GTX 700 series was brought out. Everyone was clamoring to pick one up, so forums were flooded with enthusiasts selling off what they could, including an abundance of NVIDIA GTX 600 series cards. Of course I considered a GTX 780, but once I realized the GTX 770 was near-identical to the GTX 680, I thought I would go with a GTX 680 instead. This would be less expensive and have a leap in CUDA cores from a GTX 480. So I searched the forums for a decent deal. Most GTX 680's were going for well over $300. If you wanted a good non-reference model, the lowest would run you $340 (if you were lucky). I ended up coming upon a EVGA GTX 680 SC with a backplate. I haggled with the seller until I got him down to $300.
The card has served me well for a little over a year. I have never treated it roughly and have only ran tests for overclocking, never leaving it at those clocks when testing was done. I rarely game, but when I do, it definitely surpasses what my GTX 480 SLI setup could do. I remember playing Crysis 3 and having to turn on V-sync to make it playable with the GTX 480 SLI. On the other hand, the GTX 680 had no problems whatsoever. It is still a great card and I intend to keep it as my primary backup.
Holiday Gifts
I wanted to get something for the holiday and my birthday, as I knew no one else would know what I wanted, letalone get it for me. I toyed around with a variety of different graphic cards I could possibly afford at decent prices:
The first was a GTX 770. I could then put it in SLI with my GTX 680, and have that extra power. The main drawback would be that I would not be able to use SLI for the extra CUDA cores, and even then, it would not give me double the amount of CUDA cores performance for my specific application. It would also not overclock as high as a GTX 770 SLI since the GTX 680 memory just couldn't match it.
The second was a GTX 690. That too could be SLI'd with GTX 680. There were two main drawbacks though. The initial being minor in that it just didn't have a HDMI port if I wanted it to be my primary card. The last being that its power consumption and heat have always been plaguing issues for GTX 690 owners.
The Third was a GTX 780 Ti. It would be a powerhouse of a card to own, and only second to a GTX 980. While power consumption and heat could be a concern, the only one I had was that its pricing (new or used) was still ridiculously high. Some I saw were selling for what you could buy a GTX 980 for!
The final option was a GTX 970. The pricing was great and I had seen reviews where it could hold its own against a GTX 780 Ti depending on the game, and/or if it was overclocked. The only drawback I know of is that apparently numerous GTX 970's/980's are susceptible to coil whine.
Decisions, Decisions
After a long debate with myself, and checking prices on GTX 770's, GTX 970's and GTX 780 Ti's from various people of differing forums, I finally decided to buy a GTX 770. The card was an EVGA with an ACX cooler and included a backplate. I took a chance and the seller was willing to sell it to me for $170 shipped. I checked for weeks afterwards on eBay and forums to see if anything was sold cheaper, but that was the cheapest I was ever able to find.
I finally had another card, and while it wouldn't drastically increase my CUDA cores performance for the application I used, it would help somewhat. And whenever I got a new game, a GTX 770/680 SLI would have no problem dishing out high frame rates.
Then She Walked In
I was generally happy about my purchase. I wouldn't be able to see the GTX 770 and use it for a few months, but once I had it, I had big plans for it.
I had emailed a guy in December about a used Zotac GTX 970 he was selling for $280. He had replied that something had come up with the card and he would not be selling it until he sorted it out. I then bought my GTX 770, celebrated the holidays, and forgot about the GTX 970...
Out of the blue, I get an email from the same guy telling me he has a brand new, unopened EVGA GTX 970 SC he's going to sell, but wanted to offer it to me first before posting it for sale on the forum. He said he was charging only $310. We discussed the card and the reasons to sell for a bit - one being that his other identical card had loud coil whine - and we finally agreed that he would sell it to me for $300 shipped. The payment was as an electronic Amazon gift card!
Are You Serious?
Now I had a GTX 770 in the wings that would never be used nearly as much as the GTX 970. So I decided to sell the GTX 770 on eBay to recoup my losses.
I listed it on eBay for 5 days. The competition for EVGA GTX 770's was stiff as most were Superclocked versions. My only advantage was a backplate and lower price. I expected to get some watchers, and I knew if I had at least 8 I would get at least one bid. I also expected that bid to come within the last 2 days of the auction.
On the last day I finally got my first bid. By this point the watchers were at 16, they maxed out at 18, then dwindled down to 15 (likely losing bidders or people who wanted it cheaper). But then something weird happened...
I watched the initial bidder continuously outbid newcomers. Unexpectedly, I received a message from him. He asked if I would ship to Chile and that he would "of course" pay for the shipping expenses through an additional invoice. I told him that I didn't really want to do that - my auction was only for shipping to the US - but if he paid an additional $10 on top of the shipping expenses, it would be fine. He agreed. At one point he was outbid. He then messaged me again and asked if he could pay me for priority shipping. I gave him the prices (plus $10), and he agreed.
Then he sent me another message stating that I could ship the card to a Florida address because it would be safer. If he won, and I shipped it to Chile, he not only would have paid all the shipping charges, but given me an extra $10! So, I asked if this (Florida) address was his PayPal address and told him I had to send it to the address on the PayPal account. Of course it wasn't, but he asked why I couldn't ship it to Florida. I told him eBay rules stated that it should only be shipped to the address on the PayPal account; but if he wanted me to ignore the rules and ship it to Florida instead, it would still cost him $10 more.
With a little under an hour left, I get yet another message from this bidder. He places an eBay link and quotes a part stating that a confirmed PayPal address is necessary. I begin to write about how I'm assuming all the risk from a bidder who has one positive feedback, not even from the 12 months. And how it's strange when someone wants to bid on an auction that is not for international shipping, then asks a question about it after bidding, then changes their mind for domestic shipping. I even ponder if I should ask why $10 is such a big deal when he was willing to pay almost $50 before... Instead, I just send him a link about a bad experience a past eBay seller had with a person who had an unconfirmed address and still bid, despite the auction explicitly stating otherwise.
20 minutes go by (with another 20 left on the auction) before I get another reply. The guy mentions the 2006 date, throws a kiddy "LOL", and now says that $10 extra is no problem. In my reply I tell him that I think he's probably a nice guy but explain why it feels weird dealing with him. I then ask for his PayPal address so I can setup an invoice in case he wins.
A few minutes later he responds with two physical addresses and something about using some mail service I've never seen or heard of. Oh, and that USPS "sucks". So I immediately tell him that he probably shouldn't bid because I don't know that service and USPS Priority is the free shipping I am providing in the listing.
3 minutes before the auction ends this guy, who I now assume is a troll, messages me his PayPal email address and that his service is through his account. I'm not sure that it's his intelligence or a language-barrier, so I explain that I only know USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx. I further explain that I will only be using FedEx.
The clock runs down and I get nervous hoping he doesn't make another bid. In the last few seconds, he does, and he wins...
I mean, let's face facts. This guy comes out of nowhere and expects me to meet all his demands just because he needs me to. If you don't have a lot of positive feedback, want a package shipped internationally for a nationwide-only auction, reneg on any agreements we originally made, don't like the deal I followup with, and then ask that I change the provided service I use; you can go f**k yourself! I rather be shorted a few dollars than to go through all this!
So, he promptly pays the auction price, and then messages me on how to send the $10 through PayPal. After a brief explanation, he sends the extra $10. Of course he then asks if I have the box, which I don't (my auction stated to ask questions, but I didn't mean after it was done...).
After all that, and minus PayPal "fees", I ended up with $206.50. That's a total profit of $36.50. This is not including the amount for shipping which would lower it down to around $30.
Just to clear the air, I have no problem shipping overseas. But my auction was for free shipping, so I didn't want to pay $40 or more from my winnings. Doing so would have not only ate all my profits but also had me lose money on the GTX 770!
To conclude, I sold the GTX 770 for a profit but without so much as holding it in my hands...
[Note: I waited to publish this article until this crazy auction ended.]
Wait for It...
I was satisfied with my GTX 970 purchase. Actually, I was extremely happy. I could keep the card and see what it could do, or I could turn around and sell it for a quick $40-$60 profit on eBay.
My mind then began to ponder about something better, but there really wasn't anything in the EVGA GTX 970 line, except for the FTW model. I somewhat wanted a FTW for its baseplate connected to the heatpipes. The GTX 970 SC ACX cooler has a "flaw" where one of the heatpipes does not touch the GPU die. The baseplate would solve this. The FTW also has one extra aluminum heatpipe, where the SC has two full heatpipes and a smaller third.
I ignored that thinking and tried to move on but then the new revision of the SSC version was released. It had three full-sized copper heatpipes that were straightened, a new MOSFET cooling plate, and one of the two 6-pins was now an 8-pin (more power if needed). The first two features were for extra cooling measures and the only review I saw had a higher overclock than any of the FTW reviews I read. The FTW+ would be follow soon... I then began to consider selling the card again. By this time eBay prices had plundered somewhat (after a single week), but I could still make a quick $25-$45 profit. I eventually gave up on wanting to part with my new GTX 970.
My eBay Watch list was filled with GTX 980's in an attempt to gauge their prices. Still too pricey for me, but fun nonetheless to dream about. Just as I had quelled any thought of selling my GTX 970, I decided to ask an eBay seller about his auction for a $600 OBO EVGA GTX 980 SC reference card (which comes with a pre-installed backplate).
My question to him was what was the cheapest price he would sell the card for? He told me $570 because of the free shipping and eBay fees. I replied that I had seen another reference card go for $470 [true], and that right now eBay listings were supposed to be free until today. He mentioned something about not having any knowledge about the promotion. As a short in the dark, I decided to see if he would consider a trade for my unopened GTX 970 and some cash...
Amazingly, he said yes! I haggled him down from $150 to $120, paid him, and he sent the card off to me.
Deal of The Century
Noting the date the deal was made, and comparing to (then) current eBay auction listings, this is by far the best deal I have ever made. I could easily sell this card and make a profit, even though it is used, and despite the fact shipping my card added around $10 to what I spent. However, a backplate costs about $20 on Amazon, and the reference versions all included a backplate. I had planned to get a backplate for the GTX 970, so the offset is comparable.
I also believe that I will be able to get close to what I paid for it ($420) if I decide to sell it around the same time next year. I have found that higher-end card models tend to drop about $100 or more per year on forums. If I sold it on eBay right now, I could make anywhere from $50 profit and up. If I sold it overseas, I could probably make upwards of $100.
$425 Zotac GTX 980
Once I bought the GTX 980, I kept watching eBay auctions to see if any better deals occurred. From the time I bought the card until now, I only saw one auction come close. The auction was for a brand new Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Edition for $425 with shipping. In comparison to what I bought, here are the main differences: 1) The Zotac was brand new. 2) The Zotac has a lower clock speed. 3) Zotac cards can receive a lifetime warranty if registered within 30 days; while EVGA cards can receive a lifetime warranty if registered within 14 days
This may seem like the better deal considering mine is used and does not come with an aftermarket cooler. But, there are a few reasons I want to share that makes me think the opposite.
The Zotac cards come with a standard 2-year warranty. EVGA cards come with a standard 3-year warranty. My card was used, so, at the least, I would have 2 years and 8 months left on the warranty. Both companies offer a global warranty, however, EVGA will actually honor it. Meaning, EVGA doesn't care where the card was bought and Zotac does, which translates to sending a Zotac card back to the original country of purchase for repair or replacement. EVGA allows warranty transfer, Zotac does not (important for reselling). Let's not forget, reference models come with a pre-installed backplate, and for a card this long, I think it is a necessity to avoid PCB flexing.
From what I have read, Zotac offers good support, but I have read a few posts suggesting otherwise. The same can be said of EVGA, but one review I read from Zotac was just too snarky to believe they were the better of the two. In addition, I have read many comments about how Zotac cards seem to be inferior in cooling and speed. Many comments complained of overly hot reference models, including a GTX 980. And this review recommends not even buying the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition (top model). Evidently, the reviewer's [NVIDIA] reference model GTX 980, $60 cheaper, could outdo this model. As icing on the cake, time and time again, I have read how Zotac's OC utility software just doesn't work well or at all. People often have to use MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X instead.
Being that my version is already factory overclocked higher than the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Edition, and that the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition is only about 50Mhz "faster" (armed with the knowledge that the latter version does not seem to do too well when overclocked); I think I got the better deal in dollars, performance, and support.
Advantages of a Used Graphics Card
There are a few advantages to getting a used graphics cards instead of a new one. They are: Knowing how well the card performs [overclocking]; having it already broken in; and coil whine issues.
In terms of my used GTX 980, the seller had no knowledge of its overclocking prowess since he had never pushed it to its limits. This could be seen as a bonus since it would be horrible if he had been "coin mining" with it before. The card can be arguably said to broken in, depending on how many months he actually ran it and what for. That is something I am not privy to. What I do know is that it does not appear to have coil whine. When I asked the seller about this, he responded that he never heard any and that the card was relative quiet for a reference card [design]. This is great news considering how many GTX 970/980's have had this issue, and what a pain it would be to have to RMA once received. In addition, blower fans that come with reference designs are usually fairly loud, but maybe because of the Maxwell architecture it needs less fan RPM's to help with cooling...
One additional advantage for this particular card is that it is EVGA, so the warranty is transferable. Even if it had not been, I asked the seller if he had registered it on the manufacturer's site? To which he replied that he had not, allowing me to be the first person to do so.
Future Plans?
I do have some plans for this card. Of course I want to see what it can do in terms of overclocking. A friend and I will work on it and run tests for a period of a few days to see what its limits are on air.
When we finish that, I intend to add a closed loop cooling solution to the card. One of the benefits to getting a reference card is that you should be able to keep the stock, single fan on the VRAM while adding a closed loop cooling solution (if you know how). This is good because you do not need to rely on individual aftermarket heatsinks to dissipate the heat on the VRAM and hope that it's enough. The EVGA GTX970/980 do not have anything on the VRAM to begin with, which is likely because they are so low in power usage and heat - as is the whole card - that it does not require cooling. But having a stock fan, or any fan, to help is a good measure by any means. I'll be explaining more of my setup in a matter of month's...
Notice Anything?
Throughout this article you may have noticed a few things: 1) I seem to get great discounts. 2) I got at least three of my cards for $300. 3) All my cards are EVGA.
To address my first point, I deal with a lot of people and never give up on my goal if I am rejected or declined. The reason I get great discounts is because I'll be able to tell if I am conversing with someone who is willing to make a deal. I also put a lot of trust in people who are putting faith in me. Sometimes that means sending payments as PayPal gifts to avoid tax, or having to make the first move to establish trust. This can be good, but it can also be very bad. Never go into a situation like this without knowing the consequences if negative. I have been very lucky in this area and have not been screwed over in a long time. As a final thought to wrap-up this point, if I want to ask for a special deal or trade, I don't hesitate to ask. The worst someone can say is no.
The second point is more of a fun fact for me. I bought three great cards all at $300. That seems expensive, but at the times that I purchased them, they were deals. I would always check around and find the lowest price possible, and if I couldn't find a low price, I would find a way to get a low price.
This point may be important to those who value company support as much as I do. I love a good deal, but I also want to buy a brand that has great support. I don't think any other graphics card company has better support than EVGA: If you buy a used card from someone, their warranty is transferable to you. EVGA is an American company, but offers a global warranty. Every time I have ever had to contact them by email I have always got a reply within 24 hours. I am fortunate enough that none of my cards have ever needed to be RMA'd. The only card I had that died did so well after its warranty period. And from perusing threads and posts, many people have also acknowledged that while there could be better cards, EVGA has the best support and support policies, hands down. Just check out their Step-Up Program and see if their competitors have anything similar...
One Card to Rule Them All
In a little over a month I went from a GTX 770, to a GTX 970, to a GTX 980. How many people can say that? How many people can say that and at similar prices? Needless to say, I'm proud of myself!
There is no more room to go up - at least until a GTX 980 Ti 6GB or 8GB variants do appear. But I don't think I'll have any interest in those. I have only one 1080p TV (dedicated to my desktop) and don't intend to upgrade to 4K until I buy a camera that has 4K video recording capabilities. A Ti version may have more CUDA cores, but I don't think the price difference in comparison to what I actually paid will prompt a switch.
The only downside is a personal matter. I have yet to test out any version of the ACX cooler from EVGA. I hear they are fabulous and would like to try one some day. I have now had two that I never even laid eyes upon. The upside, again, is that a closed loop cooling solution should be advantageous with a reference design. For now, I am content with my new EVGA GTX 980 SC. And I am sure I will keep this for another couple years before even contemplating an upgrade of any sort.
My Graphic Card History
For the longest time (or what seemed so) I had a EVGA GTX 480, that would later be accompanied by another in SLI. I was happy with it's performance, and blissfully ignoring its hefty power consumption. By the time I had a GTX 480, the GTX 580 was already out, and my real purpose had been for its use of CUDA cores. Reviews stated that the GTX 580 had some issues and many recommended going with the GTX 480 for the time being. The CUDA core difference was small, and the GTX 480's were obviously better priced (especially used), so that became my first notable high-end card. I believe my first card cost me $300.
A couple of years later the NVIDIA GTX 700 series was brought out. Everyone was clamoring to pick one up, so forums were flooded with enthusiasts selling off what they could, including an abundance of NVIDIA GTX 600 series cards. Of course I considered a GTX 780, but once I realized the GTX 770 was near-identical to the GTX 680, I thought I would go with a GTX 680 instead. This would be less expensive and have a leap in CUDA cores from a GTX 480. So I searched the forums for a decent deal. Most GTX 680's were going for well over $300. If you wanted a good non-reference model, the lowest would run you $340 (if you were lucky). I ended up coming upon a EVGA GTX 680 SC with a backplate. I haggled with the seller until I got him down to $300.
The card has served me well for a little over a year. I have never treated it roughly and have only ran tests for overclocking, never leaving it at those clocks when testing was done. I rarely game, but when I do, it definitely surpasses what my GTX 480 SLI setup could do. I remember playing Crysis 3 and having to turn on V-sync to make it playable with the GTX 480 SLI. On the other hand, the GTX 680 had no problems whatsoever. It is still a great card and I intend to keep it as my primary backup.
Holiday Gifts
I wanted to get something for the holiday and my birthday, as I knew no one else would know what I wanted, letalone get it for me. I toyed around with a variety of different graphic cards I could possibly afford at decent prices:
The first was a GTX 770. I could then put it in SLI with my GTX 680, and have that extra power. The main drawback would be that I would not be able to use SLI for the extra CUDA cores, and even then, it would not give me double the amount of CUDA cores performance for my specific application. It would also not overclock as high as a GTX 770 SLI since the GTX 680 memory just couldn't match it.
The second was a GTX 690. That too could be SLI'd with GTX 680. There were two main drawbacks though. The initial being minor in that it just didn't have a HDMI port if I wanted it to be my primary card. The last being that its power consumption and heat have always been plaguing issues for GTX 690 owners.
The Third was a GTX 780 Ti. It would be a powerhouse of a card to own, and only second to a GTX 980. While power consumption and heat could be a concern, the only one I had was that its pricing (new or used) was still ridiculously high. Some I saw were selling for what you could buy a GTX 980 for!
The final option was a GTX 970. The pricing was great and I had seen reviews where it could hold its own against a GTX 780 Ti depending on the game, and/or if it was overclocked. The only drawback I know of is that apparently numerous GTX 970's/980's are susceptible to coil whine.
Decisions, Decisions
After a long debate with myself, and checking prices on GTX 770's, GTX 970's and GTX 780 Ti's from various people of differing forums, I finally decided to buy a GTX 770. The card was an EVGA with an ACX cooler and included a backplate. I took a chance and the seller was willing to sell it to me for $170 shipped. I checked for weeks afterwards on eBay and forums to see if anything was sold cheaper, but that was the cheapest I was ever able to find.
I finally had another card, and while it wouldn't drastically increase my CUDA cores performance for the application I used, it would help somewhat. And whenever I got a new game, a GTX 770/680 SLI would have no problem dishing out high frame rates.
Then She Walked In
I was generally happy about my purchase. I wouldn't be able to see the GTX 770 and use it for a few months, but once I had it, I had big plans for it.
I had emailed a guy in December about a used Zotac GTX 970 he was selling for $280. He had replied that something had come up with the card and he would not be selling it until he sorted it out. I then bought my GTX 770, celebrated the holidays, and forgot about the GTX 970...
Out of the blue, I get an email from the same guy telling me he has a brand new, unopened EVGA GTX 970 SC he's going to sell, but wanted to offer it to me first before posting it for sale on the forum. He said he was charging only $310. We discussed the card and the reasons to sell for a bit - one being that his other identical card had loud coil whine - and we finally agreed that he would sell it to me for $300 shipped. The payment was as an electronic Amazon gift card!
Are You Serious?
Now I had a GTX 770 in the wings that would never be used nearly as much as the GTX 970. So I decided to sell the GTX 770 on eBay to recoup my losses.
I listed it on eBay for 5 days. The competition for EVGA GTX 770's was stiff as most were Superclocked versions. My only advantage was a backplate and lower price. I expected to get some watchers, and I knew if I had at least 8 I would get at least one bid. I also expected that bid to come within the last 2 days of the auction.
On the last day I finally got my first bid. By this point the watchers were at 16, they maxed out at 18, then dwindled down to 15 (likely losing bidders or people who wanted it cheaper). But then something weird happened...
I watched the initial bidder continuously outbid newcomers. Unexpectedly, I received a message from him. He asked if I would ship to Chile and that he would "of course" pay for the shipping expenses through an additional invoice. I told him that I didn't really want to do that - my auction was only for shipping to the US - but if he paid an additional $10 on top of the shipping expenses, it would be fine. He agreed. At one point he was outbid. He then messaged me again and asked if he could pay me for priority shipping. I gave him the prices (plus $10), and he agreed.
Then he sent me another message stating that I could ship the card to a Florida address because it would be safer. If he won, and I shipped it to Chile, he not only would have paid all the shipping charges, but given me an extra $10! So, I asked if this (Florida) address was his PayPal address and told him I had to send it to the address on the PayPal account. Of course it wasn't, but he asked why I couldn't ship it to Florida. I told him eBay rules stated that it should only be shipped to the address on the PayPal account; but if he wanted me to ignore the rules and ship it to Florida instead, it would still cost him $10 more.
With a little under an hour left, I get yet another message from this bidder. He places an eBay link and quotes a part stating that a confirmed PayPal address is necessary. I begin to write about how I'm assuming all the risk from a bidder who has one positive feedback, not even from the 12 months. And how it's strange when someone wants to bid on an auction that is not for international shipping, then asks a question about it after bidding, then changes their mind for domestic shipping. I even ponder if I should ask why $10 is such a big deal when he was willing to pay almost $50 before... Instead, I just send him a link about a bad experience a past eBay seller had with a person who had an unconfirmed address and still bid, despite the auction explicitly stating otherwise.
20 minutes go by (with another 20 left on the auction) before I get another reply. The guy mentions the 2006 date, throws a kiddy "LOL", and now says that $10 extra is no problem. In my reply I tell him that I think he's probably a nice guy but explain why it feels weird dealing with him. I then ask for his PayPal address so I can setup an invoice in case he wins.
A few minutes later he responds with two physical addresses and something about using some mail service I've never seen or heard of. Oh, and that USPS "sucks". So I immediately tell him that he probably shouldn't bid because I don't know that service and USPS Priority is the free shipping I am providing in the listing.
3 minutes before the auction ends this guy, who I now assume is a troll, messages me his PayPal email address and that his service is through his account. I'm not sure that it's his intelligence or a language-barrier, so I explain that I only know USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx. I further explain that I will only be using FedEx.
The clock runs down and I get nervous hoping he doesn't make another bid. In the last few seconds, he does, and he wins...
I mean, let's face facts. This guy comes out of nowhere and expects me to meet all his demands just because he needs me to. If you don't have a lot of positive feedback, want a package shipped internationally for a nationwide-only auction, reneg on any agreements we originally made, don't like the deal I followup with, and then ask that I change the provided service I use; you can go f**k yourself! I rather be shorted a few dollars than to go through all this!
So, he promptly pays the auction price, and then messages me on how to send the $10 through PayPal. After a brief explanation, he sends the extra $10. Of course he then asks if I have the box, which I don't (my auction stated to ask questions, but I didn't mean after it was done...).
After all that, and minus PayPal "fees", I ended up with $206.50. That's a total profit of $36.50. This is not including the amount for shipping which would lower it down to around $30.
Just to clear the air, I have no problem shipping overseas. But my auction was for free shipping, so I didn't want to pay $40 or more from my winnings. Doing so would have not only ate all my profits but also had me lose money on the GTX 770!
To conclude, I sold the GTX 770 for a profit but without so much as holding it in my hands...
[Note: I waited to publish this article until this crazy auction ended.]
Wait for It...
I was satisfied with my GTX 970 purchase. Actually, I was extremely happy. I could keep the card and see what it could do, or I could turn around and sell it for a quick $40-$60 profit on eBay.
My mind then began to ponder about something better, but there really wasn't anything in the EVGA GTX 970 line, except for the FTW model. I somewhat wanted a FTW for its baseplate connected to the heatpipes. The GTX 970 SC ACX cooler has a "flaw" where one of the heatpipes does not touch the GPU die. The baseplate would solve this. The FTW also has one extra aluminum heatpipe, where the SC has two full heatpipes and a smaller third.
I ignored that thinking and tried to move on but then the new revision of the SSC version was released. It had three full-sized copper heatpipes that were straightened, a new MOSFET cooling plate, and one of the two 6-pins was now an 8-pin (more power if needed). The first two features were for extra cooling measures and the only review I saw had a higher overclock than any of the FTW reviews I read. The FTW+ would be follow soon... I then began to consider selling the card again. By this time eBay prices had plundered somewhat (after a single week), but I could still make a quick $25-$45 profit. I eventually gave up on wanting to part with my new GTX 970.
My eBay Watch list was filled with GTX 980's in an attempt to gauge their prices. Still too pricey for me, but fun nonetheless to dream about. Just as I had quelled any thought of selling my GTX 970, I decided to ask an eBay seller about his auction for a $600 OBO EVGA GTX 980 SC reference card (which comes with a pre-installed backplate).
My question to him was what was the cheapest price he would sell the card for? He told me $570 because of the free shipping and eBay fees. I replied that I had seen another reference card go for $470 [true], and that right now eBay listings were supposed to be free until today. He mentioned something about not having any knowledge about the promotion. As a short in the dark, I decided to see if he would consider a trade for my unopened GTX 970 and some cash...
Amazingly, he said yes! I haggled him down from $150 to $120, paid him, and he sent the card off to me.
Deal of The Century
Noting the date the deal was made, and comparing to (then) current eBay auction listings, this is by far the best deal I have ever made. I could easily sell this card and make a profit, even though it is used, and despite the fact shipping my card added around $10 to what I spent. However, a backplate costs about $20 on Amazon, and the reference versions all included a backplate. I had planned to get a backplate for the GTX 970, so the offset is comparable.
I also believe that I will be able to get close to what I paid for it ($420) if I decide to sell it around the same time next year. I have found that higher-end card models tend to drop about $100 or more per year on forums. If I sold it on eBay right now, I could make anywhere from $50 profit and up. If I sold it overseas, I could probably make upwards of $100.
$425 Zotac GTX 980
Once I bought the GTX 980, I kept watching eBay auctions to see if any better deals occurred. From the time I bought the card until now, I only saw one auction come close. The auction was for a brand new Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Edition for $425 with shipping. In comparison to what I bought, here are the main differences: 1) The Zotac was brand new. 2) The Zotac has a lower clock speed. 3) Zotac cards can receive a lifetime warranty if registered within 30 days; while EVGA cards can receive a lifetime warranty if registered within 14 days
This may seem like the better deal considering mine is used and does not come with an aftermarket cooler. But, there are a few reasons I want to share that makes me think the opposite.
The Zotac cards come with a standard 2-year warranty. EVGA cards come with a standard 3-year warranty. My card was used, so, at the least, I would have 2 years and 8 months left on the warranty. Both companies offer a global warranty, however, EVGA will actually honor it. Meaning, EVGA doesn't care where the card was bought and Zotac does, which translates to sending a Zotac card back to the original country of purchase for repair or replacement. EVGA allows warranty transfer, Zotac does not (important for reselling). Let's not forget, reference models come with a pre-installed backplate, and for a card this long, I think it is a necessity to avoid PCB flexing.
From what I have read, Zotac offers good support, but I have read a few posts suggesting otherwise. The same can be said of EVGA, but one review I read from Zotac was just too snarky to believe they were the better of the two. In addition, I have read many comments about how Zotac cards seem to be inferior in cooling and speed. Many comments complained of overly hot reference models, including a GTX 980. And this review recommends not even buying the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition (top model). Evidently, the reviewer's [NVIDIA] reference model GTX 980, $60 cheaper, could outdo this model. As icing on the cake, time and time again, I have read how Zotac's OC utility software just doesn't work well or at all. People often have to use MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X instead.
Being that my version is already factory overclocked higher than the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Edition, and that the Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition is only about 50Mhz "faster" (armed with the knowledge that the latter version does not seem to do too well when overclocked); I think I got the better deal in dollars, performance, and support.
Advantages of a Used Graphics Card
There are a few advantages to getting a used graphics cards instead of a new one. They are: Knowing how well the card performs [overclocking]; having it already broken in; and coil whine issues.
In terms of my used GTX 980, the seller had no knowledge of its overclocking prowess since he had never pushed it to its limits. This could be seen as a bonus since it would be horrible if he had been "coin mining" with it before. The card can be arguably said to broken in, depending on how many months he actually ran it and what for. That is something I am not privy to. What I do know is that it does not appear to have coil whine. When I asked the seller about this, he responded that he never heard any and that the card was relative quiet for a reference card [design]. This is great news considering how many GTX 970/980's have had this issue, and what a pain it would be to have to RMA once received. In addition, blower fans that come with reference designs are usually fairly loud, but maybe because of the Maxwell architecture it needs less fan RPM's to help with cooling...
One additional advantage for this particular card is that it is EVGA, so the warranty is transferable. Even if it had not been, I asked the seller if he had registered it on the manufacturer's site? To which he replied that he had not, allowing me to be the first person to do so.
Future Plans?
I do have some plans for this card. Of course I want to see what it can do in terms of overclocking. A friend and I will work on it and run tests for a period of a few days to see what its limits are on air.
When we finish that, I intend to add a closed loop cooling solution to the card. One of the benefits to getting a reference card is that you should be able to keep the stock, single fan on the VRAM while adding a closed loop cooling solution (if you know how). This is good because you do not need to rely on individual aftermarket heatsinks to dissipate the heat on the VRAM and hope that it's enough. The EVGA GTX970/980 do not have anything on the VRAM to begin with, which is likely because they are so low in power usage and heat - as is the whole card - that it does not require cooling. But having a stock fan, or any fan, to help is a good measure by any means. I'll be explaining more of my setup in a matter of month's...
Notice Anything?
Throughout this article you may have noticed a few things: 1) I seem to get great discounts. 2) I got at least three of my cards for $300. 3) All my cards are EVGA.
To address my first point, I deal with a lot of people and never give up on my goal if I am rejected or declined. The reason I get great discounts is because I'll be able to tell if I am conversing with someone who is willing to make a deal. I also put a lot of trust in people who are putting faith in me. Sometimes that means sending payments as PayPal gifts to avoid tax, or having to make the first move to establish trust. This can be good, but it can also be very bad. Never go into a situation like this without knowing the consequences if negative. I have been very lucky in this area and have not been screwed over in a long time. As a final thought to wrap-up this point, if I want to ask for a special deal or trade, I don't hesitate to ask. The worst someone can say is no.
The second point is more of a fun fact for me. I bought three great cards all at $300. That seems expensive, but at the times that I purchased them, they were deals. I would always check around and find the lowest price possible, and if I couldn't find a low price, I would find a way to get a low price.
This point may be important to those who value company support as much as I do. I love a good deal, but I also want to buy a brand that has great support. I don't think any other graphics card company has better support than EVGA: If you buy a used card from someone, their warranty is transferable to you. EVGA is an American company, but offers a global warranty. Every time I have ever had to contact them by email I have always got a reply within 24 hours. I am fortunate enough that none of my cards have ever needed to be RMA'd. The only card I had that died did so well after its warranty period. And from perusing threads and posts, many people have also acknowledged that while there could be better cards, EVGA has the best support and support policies, hands down. Just check out their Step-Up Program and see if their competitors have anything similar...
One Card to Rule Them All
In a little over a month I went from a GTX 770, to a GTX 970, to a GTX 980. How many people can say that? How many people can say that and at similar prices? Needless to say, I'm proud of myself!
There is no more room to go up - at least until a GTX 980 Ti 6GB or 8GB variants do appear. But I don't think I'll have any interest in those. I have only one 1080p TV (dedicated to my desktop) and don't intend to upgrade to 4K until I buy a camera that has 4K video recording capabilities. A Ti version may have more CUDA cores, but I don't think the price difference in comparison to what I actually paid will prompt a switch.
The only downside is a personal matter. I have yet to test out any version of the ACX cooler from EVGA. I hear they are fabulous and would like to try one some day. I have now had two that I never even laid eyes upon. The upside, again, is that a closed loop cooling solution should be advantageous with a reference design. For now, I am content with my new EVGA GTX 980 SC. And I am sure I will keep this for another couple years before even contemplating an upgrade of any sort.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
How to Legally Cheat Amazon/Newegg out of Sales Tax - A Tax Evasion Story
I have used Amazon for years, and with my Amazon Prime account, I get most of my items in 2 days! Sure, there have been some cruddy items that needed to be returned, and even some mistakes on Amazon side (as the other mistakes were from Amazon sellers). But they have always been great on support and I've been able to get what I needed or wanted.
Across the Ocean
I have been working overseas for the last couple years. The last time I was in California there was no Amazon sales tax worries. While I have been overseas most of my purchases went to a friend in Florida, so no sales tax. It hasn't been until now that the sales tax is going to start affecting me. I no longer have my connection in Florida, and I found that the other states I might ship to would still be charged.
Why I Even Bothered
When I go to Amazon or Newegg, or any of the other reputable places to purchase products, it is because I am looking for the lowest deal. Furthermore, I tend to buy PC parts or technological devices and these places are the best for competitive pricing.
This time it was for the AMD FX 9-series. I have been wanting one since I heard about it, but I do have restraint, so I've been biding my time until the price has dropped to something more affordable. Well, it finally did and the hour it did I thought I would go ahead and buy the AMD FX 9590 from NewEgg since it was cheapest. I wouldn't even get the CPU until next year when I flew back to the states, but what really bothered me was I was being charged sales tax, which I wasn't used to. I started searching for promo codes to help alleviate the additional cost from sales tax. I tried a few things before giving up and going to bed.
The next day I checked Amazon's prices, and sure enough, they had dropped to match NewEgg. However, the harsh reality of sales tax was still present. I then found a NewEgg discount for MasterPass (a special Mastercard checkout option) that would make the item even cheaper than if there were no sales tax! Overnight, NewEgg being the *******s they are, decided to add a free (unwanted) game when purchasing the AMD FX 9590. Because of this I would get the message that the promo code was invalid as it could not be used on special deals...
NewEgg BS
The title might suggest I have taken a liking to NewEgg. This could not be farther from the truth as I presently refrain from typing obscenities to explain my hate towards them. I have bought from them in the past, but an incident last year made me decide there was no reason to buy from them anymore.
There had been this great deal from NewEgg where they were selling the Samsung 840 500GB SSD (new at the time) for about $175!!! Of course I wanted it, and my father wanted one as well to upgrade his new Alienware laptop. I signed up for their special credit line and went ahead and attempted to make us an order. But my attempts kept getting rejected...
I later called NewEgg and a lady gave me an excuse that I can't recall. When she told me there was no hesitation to think, so I believed her. The deal was still available at this time. A little bit later I called the credit line company to cancel, since I seldom used NewEgg. I mentioned the excuse to the lady and she explained that it was completely untrue. It was just a matter of me being in a different country, which a call to them would've fixed! Of course, by this time, the deal was over, and I still have yet to find a deal even remotely close for the Samsung 840 500GB. Needless to say, I said **** you to NewEgg that day, and stuck with Amazon.
Amazon Goodness
Again, the title would mislead you to believe that I no longer like Amazon. Far from it. I love Amazon and find them to almost always have the best deals available. I still use them, and they still give great deals! Here is one reason why I'll stick with them:
Last year I purchased a Verizon Galaxy S4 while overseas. I didn't want to wait for the international version to drop in price, and found a decent deal from Amazon. I ordered it, waited for it, and immediately began to play with it when it arrived. A week later, it died. I was livid. I talked with Amazon for a refund from the seller because it was under the 30-day return policy. They wanted me to pay for shipping, which is about $100 from a reputable carrier (and the safest way to go), but with a raised voice and obvious logic I got them to agree to reimburse my shipping costs in writing. Let me repeat that, Amazon ignored their policy of only paying for shipping within the USA and reimbursed my shipping costs from a different country!
That is why I love Amazon and will continue to use them.
Tax Evasion
So, the trick here requires a few things:
NewEgg is one company, it does not sell for others or people, unlike Amazon. This is probably why they are an eBay seller. That's right, they sell the same products on eBay! I am able to buy the same AMD FX 9590 from their website for the same price. I don't get the free game, but I also don't get the sales tax!
What about free shipping? They offer that too! Of course, right now I can get free 3-day shipping from their website, but considering I won't be picking up this product until next year, it doesn't matter.
CA, NJ or TN Customers
If you can't wait for someone in a different state to bring over your eBay purchases, you can still save money by shipping to someone in a different state and have them ship to CA, NJ, or TJ.
There are really only two situations where it would be better to just bite the sales tax bullet:
Techno Matter or Techno Fodder?
If you managed to get through this article you might wonder how this relates to technology? Specifically, not so much, but broadly I would say that we are talking about three companies that are purely digital in interaction. A cheat, indeed, but so is the point of this article!
To find out how to cheat the system legally, click here.
Across the Ocean
I have been working overseas for the last couple years. The last time I was in California there was no Amazon sales tax worries. While I have been overseas most of my purchases went to a friend in Florida, so no sales tax. It hasn't been until now that the sales tax is going to start affecting me. I no longer have my connection in Florida, and I found that the other states I might ship to would still be charged.
Why I Even Bothered
When I go to Amazon or Newegg, or any of the other reputable places to purchase products, it is because I am looking for the lowest deal. Furthermore, I tend to buy PC parts or technological devices and these places are the best for competitive pricing.
This time it was for the AMD FX 9-series. I have been wanting one since I heard about it, but I do have restraint, so I've been biding my time until the price has dropped to something more affordable. Well, it finally did and the hour it did I thought I would go ahead and buy the AMD FX 9590 from NewEgg since it was cheapest. I wouldn't even get the CPU until next year when I flew back to the states, but what really bothered me was I was being charged sales tax, which I wasn't used to. I started searching for promo codes to help alleviate the additional cost from sales tax. I tried a few things before giving up and going to bed.
The next day I checked Amazon's prices, and sure enough, they had dropped to match NewEgg. However, the harsh reality of sales tax was still present. I then found a NewEgg discount for MasterPass (a special Mastercard checkout option) that would make the item even cheaper than if there were no sales tax! Overnight, NewEgg being the *******s they are, decided to add a free (unwanted) game when purchasing the AMD FX 9590. Because of this I would get the message that the promo code was invalid as it could not be used on special deals...
NewEgg BS
The title might suggest I have taken a liking to NewEgg. This could not be farther from the truth as I presently refrain from typing obscenities to explain my hate towards them. I have bought from them in the past, but an incident last year made me decide there was no reason to buy from them anymore.
There had been this great deal from NewEgg where they were selling the Samsung 840 500GB SSD (new at the time) for about $175!!! Of course I wanted it, and my father wanted one as well to upgrade his new Alienware laptop. I signed up for their special credit line and went ahead and attempted to make us an order. But my attempts kept getting rejected...
I later called NewEgg and a lady gave me an excuse that I can't recall. When she told me there was no hesitation to think, so I believed her. The deal was still available at this time. A little bit later I called the credit line company to cancel, since I seldom used NewEgg. I mentioned the excuse to the lady and she explained that it was completely untrue. It was just a matter of me being in a different country, which a call to them would've fixed! Of course, by this time, the deal was over, and I still have yet to find a deal even remotely close for the Samsung 840 500GB. Needless to say, I said **** you to NewEgg that day, and stuck with Amazon.
Amazon Goodness
Again, the title would mislead you to believe that I no longer like Amazon. Far from it. I love Amazon and find them to almost always have the best deals available. I still use them, and they still give great deals! Here is one reason why I'll stick with them:
Last year I purchased a Verizon Galaxy S4 while overseas. I didn't want to wait for the international version to drop in price, and found a decent deal from Amazon. I ordered it, waited for it, and immediately began to play with it when it arrived. A week later, it died. I was livid. I talked with Amazon for a refund from the seller because it was under the 30-day return policy. They wanted me to pay for shipping, which is about $100 from a reputable carrier (and the safest way to go), but with a raised voice and obvious logic I got them to agree to reimburse my shipping costs in writing. Let me repeat that, Amazon ignored their policy of only paying for shipping within the USA and reimbursed my shipping costs from a different country!
That is why I love Amazon and will continue to use them.
Tax Evasion
So, the trick here requires a few things:
- eBay Account
- Reside (or know someone) in a state that is not CA, NJ or TN
NewEgg is one company, it does not sell for others or people, unlike Amazon. This is probably why they are an eBay seller. That's right, they sell the same products on eBay! I am able to buy the same AMD FX 9590 from their website for the same price. I don't get the free game, but I also don't get the sales tax!
What about free shipping? They offer that too! Of course, right now I can get free 3-day shipping from their website, but considering I won't be picking up this product until next year, it doesn't matter.
CA, NJ or TN Customers
If you can't wait for someone in a different state to bring over your eBay purchases, you can still save money by shipping to someone in a different state and have them ship to CA, NJ, or TJ.
There are really only two situations where it would be better to just bite the sales tax bullet:
- You buy an inexpensive item.
- You buy a heavy or bulky item that will have high shipping costs.
Techno Matter or Techno Fodder?
If you managed to get through this article you might wonder how this relates to technology? Specifically, not so much, but broadly I would say that we are talking about three companies that are purely digital in interaction. A cheat, indeed, but so is the point of this article!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)