And, because I'm irritated, I'll go an extra mile, here. These AIBs that are selling for their "MSRPs"...for the third time, produce them. Let's visit a few we discussed, then stroll down the PCPP.
That PNY just ninja edited last night as the only card anyone could find at MSRP via Wal-Mart? Sold out at that price. Up to $1409 from them.
+$210.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/PNY-Nvid...Fan-Graphics-Card-GPU/1164737143?athbdg=L1100
Sure, if you're in the know, you can get it for $1229 from Antonline direct currently. Still
+$30 above where Newegg and Wal-Mart priced matching the reference MSRP when they had it in stock. And the exact same card is $1299 from Antonline via eBay,
+$100, so you better get it direct. Because, most importantly, as an indicator of general market activity, they don't demonstrate market behavior as meaningfully as PCPP. Antonline is a big outfit, but still small in comparison to the major retailers.
That Zotac Trinity OC I originally highlighted as the only card to be going for the $1199 MSRP a day and a half ago? Out of stock. Now $1339 from Amazon is the cheapest in stock price.
+$140. You could go outside PCPP for antonline's eBay price, but that's still $1299.
+$100.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vC...orce-rtx-4080-16-gb-video-card-zt-d40810j-10p
Next cheapest available. Zotac Gaming Trinity. The lower version. Out-of-stock pricing shows it was originally $1199. Best in-stock? $1339 from Amazon. Also
+$140.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/J2...orce-rtx-4080-16-gb-video-card-zt-d40810d-10p
Next cheapest available: MSI Gaming X Trio. Shown with a
placeholder price at Wal-Mart of $1225 from its official link redirect at MSI, but not in stock. Cheapest in-stock?
$1309 from B&H. Wait, no, PCPP lied. Out of stock there. Cheapest in-stock is $1499 from Amazon.
+$275.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/PL...orce-rtx-4080-16-gb-video-card-zt-d40810b-10p
Next cheapest? Gigabyte Eagle OC. $1229 originally (as it is on Antonline). Cheapest in-stock $1329 from Amazon.
+$100.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dz...x-4080-16-gb-video-card-gv-n4080eagle-oc-16gd
So it's not until you're up to the ASUS TUF Gaming OC that we see a card in-stock from major retailers for the same price from the manufacturer directly: $1399. We're already $200 above MSRP.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7F...4080-16-gb-video-card-tuf-rtx4080-o16g-gaming
That last card brings us to something else everyone should be aware of. It ties into what I said earlier about AIBs no longer declaring prices at launch for their boards with the last generation, and also how AIB variants fluctuate in price. Because while most carry a premium, this depends on the market and the card itself, even for the price the partner itself tries to set. You'll notice they price the same lines with a greater premium for the more expensive cards? Why? It's not about the cost of production.
It's about what consumers are willing to pay. Look at this old Tom's Hardware review for the ASUS ROG Strix OC variant of the RTX 2080 Super.
https://www.tomshardware.com/review...r-oc-review-premium-card-with-a-premium-price
The RTX 2080 Super's MSRP was $699. A +$90 premium.
Look at the ROG Strix OC variant of the RTX 4080:
https://rog.asus.com/us/graphics-cards/graphics-cards/rog-strix/rog-strix-rtx4080-o16g-gaming-model/
It's currently $1549 from them directly. That's a whopping +$350 premium.
The takeaway? We don't know the distribution price of AIBs. Clearly there is buffer room for profit. Expect their prices to change if required to adapt to the market. Also don't presume to know the profit of unofficial resellers on places like eBay who are selling them off. All you know is they are selling 4080 cards well, well above the 4080 MSRP. If the 4080 was selling so poorly, that wouldn't be the case. We know that because as soon as GPUs age, and fall out of demand, even the AIBs will fall below the reference MSRP.