[duncanawoods]

It's a puzzle to me why companies like nvidia didn't just raise prices and instead left both customers and profit to the dirty world of scalpers.

I guess it's "brand damage" but I feel there would be something more fair and honest if in times of tight supply they ran their own ebay-like store and auctioned them off. It wouldn't feel like a price hike and prices could automatically settle as supply/demand reaches parity.

[cronix]

Some, like this MSI subsidary, were actually selling on ebay at scalper prices.

> MSI has admitted that one of its subsidiaries has been selling RTX 3080 graphics cards on eBay at almost double the MSRP.

> The controversy first appeared on Reddit, where users accused MSI of scalping its own RTX 3080 graphics cards on eBay under the name Starlit Partner. Since, it’s been confirmed in a Justia Trademarks listing that Starlit Partner operates under MSI Computer Corp and was first set up in 2016.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/msi-subsidiary-gets-caught...

[duncanawoods]

That feels a like a partner dipping into the scalper world whereas you want the top level companies to set out something more transparent.

[zsmi]

> It's a puzzle to me why companies like nvidia didn't just raise prices

They did. There have been at least three major prices increases which rocked entire industries.

There have been reports of people paying 30x the usual price.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3133901/europe...

[duncanawoods]

Understandable but it didn't seem to happen like this in commercial GPU sales.

[freemint]

Because there is no run for commercial grade GPUs from miners or gamers stuck indoor.

[cinntaile]

They probably did, the only cards they produce under the Nvidia brand are the Founders Edition cards and those are sold for MSRP. Everything else is made by their partners and those cards increased in price.

[duncanawoods]

Yes, soon after posting I realised I was referring to Asus/MSI/Palit etc. rather than Nvidia. It means either two levels of auction or the Nvidia chip sale is a % of the end unit sale.

[cptskippy]

> Palit

I've never heard of this brand, are they big in regions outside North America? Or do they function as an ODM for other brands?

[duncanawoods]

It's a Taiwanese company around since the 90s. They may be more Europe focused with a German office. I've never heard a US reviewer mention them but in the UK, they offer cards cheaper than the other brands. Beyond that, I don't know much about them. I've bought a couple of their cards and never had an issue so they get a thumbs up from me for N=2.

[aidenn0]

I know them from their KalmX line, which is passively cooled.

[solatic]

To over simplify, let's say that you have 100 people in the market: 90 people who can afford $100 per card and 10 people who can afford $200 per card. In typical times, you charge $100 per card and sell 100 cards, earning $10,000 in revenue.

Now you have a chip shortage, and you can only produce 50 cards. If you charge $200/card, you only sell 10 cards, earning $2,000 in revenue. If you charge $100/card, you'll sell all 50 cards, and earn $5,000 in revenue. So it can still make sense to keep the price lower if it makes you more revenue overall.

[AussieWog93]

>To over simplify

What you've described is nothing like a real market. Where are the people in your model who are happy to pay $110? $120? If there are 10 who'd buy it at $200, and 100 who'd buy it at $100, surely there'd be 50 who'd buy it at $130 or so.

That ignores the social aspect entirely, too. How many who were originally willing to pay $100 will later pay $200 when they see others pay that amount for the item and it becomes scarce?