Best Buy can’t help itself: The retailer is capitalizing on the GPU shortage by forcing interested consumers to pay for a pricey membership program to obtain a PC graphics card.
Best Buy restocked Nvidia’s much sought-after RTX 3000 GPUs today, but you could only buy them if you first subscribed to the Totaltech perks program, which costs $199 a year. The restriction applied to numerous GPUs, including Nvidia’s Founders Edition products, the most affordable PC GPUs in the RTX 3000 series. (Best Buy is the only retailer that offers them.)
It’s the first time Best Buy has placed the Nvidia graphics cards behind the Totaltech membership paywall, according to @CameronRitz, a Twitter user who tracks console and GPU restocks. Now users hoping to own a Founders Edition card have to pay a membership tax to own one, he said.
“I feel like Best Buy is assuming if you’re spending X amount of dollars already on your GPU or PC what’s an extra $200 to you?” @CameronRitz added.
Best Buy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, so it’s unclear if this is a one-time event. But the membership paywalling occurs as many companies have already been cashing in on GPU demand by raising retail prices. For example, Nvidia’s RTX 3070 had a starting cost of $499 in November 2020. But since then, many retailers, including Best Buy, have been selling it for $800 or more.
Prices go even higher if you buy an RTX 3070 from third-party dealers on Amazon or scalpers on eBay, who can charge between $1,000 to $1,200 for the product.
Placing the GPUs behind the Totaltech program is good for Best Buy’s bottom line, but on the plus side, the tactic seems to be preventing bots from buying up all the supplies. Best Buy began restocking the GPUs at 9 a.m. PST, and many of them—including the Founders Edition—were in stock for around an hour before finally selling out. So if you’ve been desperately wanting an RTX 3080 Founders Edition card, paying for a Totaltech membership may have been worth it.
For tips on snagging a GPU without paying too much, check out our guide.
