Last week, we reported that NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 is all set to launch on the 25th of February but we also saw various retailers list the card for pre-orders, & some users even getting their hands on the cards weeks prior to launch.
By Hassan Mujtaba
Now we have received information that an official dealer of Palit graphics cards based in Pakistan, known as ZAH Computers, is openly selling RTX 3060 cards at outrageously high prices.
Pakistani Dealers Break The NDA, Openly Sells NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Graphics Cards Weeks Prior To Launch at Scalped Prices
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card is supposed to feature a starting MSRP of $329 US but we know that MSRP’s don’t mean much nowadays. However, ZAH Computers, an official dealer (AU Technologies as the main distributor) of Palit graphics cards based in Pakistan, is selling the GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card a whole 16 days prior to the official retail availability of these cards.
Usually, South Asian retailers and distributors don’t care much about official NDA’s and we are seeing this to be the case over here. To top it off, this Palit GeForce RTX 3060 custom variant has been priced by the same retailer at an outrageous $750 US or 120,000 PKR (Pakistani Rupees). To put things into perspective, that’s more than twice the MSRP.
The dealer goes on to justify the prices by blaming the high customs duties and import prices for this card which simply put are excuses that these distributors and dealers are known to hide behind and have been doing so for quite a while now.
The other thing is that these prices won’t just come down when the official launch happens on the 25th of February. Unlike preliminary pre-order prices in EU & US markets, the Pakistani prices are going to remain intact and will only go up considering the rising inflation and the ever-dropping value of the PKR compared to USD.
We have been told that this ZAH Computers has sold multiple units and are easily available to buyers who are willing to pay the scaled prices. With the same amount of money, you can get NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3070 or if lucky, even an RTX 3080 graphics card but that’s the price you have to pay for living in an entirely unregulated market place.
While NVIDIA is unable to take any action on the current scalping situation, we hope that at least distributors such as these are dealt with some stricter actions considering that they are officially partnered with Palit who happens to be a big AIB partner of NVIDIA in the region.
Originally published at Wccf tech