The Nvidia RTX 3000-series stock situation is not getting any better. Manufacturers such as MSI are scalping their items through online retailers.
Eagle-eyed PC builders noticed that MSI is jacking up their products under a different name. The eBay listings for the Nvidia cards are under Starlit Partner.
A Redditor posted his observation, noting that Starlit Partner is selling MSI products.
Upon closer inspection, the eBay seller page says, “we work closely with the manufacturer on assuring the quality of E-tail experience and expect to bring customers an all-new shopping option on eBay.”
Selling products under a different name
There is already a massive problem with scalpers boosting the RTX prices. These sellers often use bots to buy stocks and sell it at exorbitant prices immediately.
For instance, the RTX 3080 retails for US$699, but scalpers are selling it for more than a thousand. Gamers who are desperate for a graphics card are then forced to buy overpriced cards.
Having scalpers are unavoidable. But what is worse is having a company hoard and sell products via a scalper account.
This is currently the case with Starlit Partner. It is selling an RTX 3080 for more than $1,300.
The Redditor posted a link to Starlit Partner’s trademark. This revealed that MSI Computer Corp. owns the trademark of Starlit Partner.
MSI clarifies the situation
MSI has confirmed that Starlit Partner is under its wing. However, the computer manufacturer allows only the selling of refurbished or excess inventory.
That being said, it should not be able to resell the company’s current RTX 3000 series products.
Regarding Starlit Partner/eBay: pic.twitter.com/QqRDBNRdVa
— MSI Gaming USA (@msiUSA) October 7, 2020
“We have conducted an investigation and found out that an error allowed them access to the inventory they were not permitted to handle,” added the company.
The company stated that Starlit Partner should contact individuals who purchased the products. There will be two options. EIther a full refund upon return or a partial refund of the excess amount paid.
MSI stated that it is enforcing stricter rules to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.
Images [1], [2] used courtesy of MSI