NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Cards Reportedly Already Being Sold On Second Hand Market

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is still days away from its official launch, yet by the power of capitalism, the card has already begun appearing on an online retail store that caters to a second hand market. The good news, depending on your view, is that the cards only being in Belarusian site called Onliner.

One particular seller is offering up three Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC cards for 2800 Belarusian Rubles, which comes up to approximately RM4370 per card. Yes, you read that right; that is the price the seller is charging for one card, and not all three of them.

In addition to the price, the seller says that one of the cards in the list had already been opened up for the purpose of “verification”. By that statement alone, it is highly likely that the seller wanted to test the card out for mining purposes and see how much NVIDIA had limited its prowess as a cryptominer.

To quickly recap: last week, NVIDIA announced that it would be launching cryptomining specific GPUs, known officially as CMP, to address the ongoing and sordid GPU mining issue. At the same time, the GPU maker also announced that it will limit the RTX 3060‘s hashrate as a mining GPU, in an effort to deter miners and scalpers from scooping up what little stock of the card there is, or will be at launch.

We’ve mentioned before that buying a graphics card that was previously used for mining is usually a bad idea. Not all miners reveal the current state of the card at sale; they can tell you that it was used for mining, but what they would be reluctant to disclose to you is just how long the card was used for that purpose.

That leads us nicely into another piece of good news. Whether the seller did it on purpose or is unaware of their action, one of the pictures clearly shows the serial number of all three cards. This alone would make it easier for Gigabyte to find out where the card is sold, and to whom it was sold.

Secondhand clothes no longer unfashionable, as designer labels embrace the trend

Vestiaire Collective, which has been offering luxury secondhand pieces for several years now, is going even further with the new programme, which calls upon the biggest fashion houses to get involved. 

Secondhand is increasingly seen as the future of fashion, or at least as one of the solutions being considered by brands and consumers alike to reduce their impact on the planet.

Pre-owned luxury fashion marketplace Vestiaire Collective has now partnered with Alexander McQueen to launch the "Brand Approved" programme, designed to give a second life to designer pieces.

Secondhand platforms are more than ever on the rise, driven by the desire of everyone to consume in a more responsible, conscious and thoughtful manner.

Read more: Even in Malaysia, fashion goes 'green': why is sustainability so trendy now?

Slowly but surely, quality is replacing quantity, while materials, and even more so their origin, now appear as one of the essential criteria for buying a ready-to-wear piece.

Vestiaire Collective, which has been offering luxury secondhand pieces for several years now, is going even further with the new programme, which calls upon the biggest fashion houses to get involved.

In fact, Alexander McQueen is the first to assert its positioning in favour of more responsible fashion. As of Feb 16, customers of the secondhand platform will be able to find pieces from the British brand, coming straight – or nearly – from the closets of its most loyal customers.

Designer pieces at lower costs

In addition to promoting more responsible fashion, this new programme will allow a greater number of people to purchase luxury pieces at a more affordable price.

The concept is simple. The Alexander McQueen fashion house will be reaching out to its clients to offer them the opportunity to sell the clothing and accessories they no longer use.

These will be appraised, evaluated and authenticated by the brand itself, and then customers will be given a voucher – corresponding to the amount of the buy-back price – that they can use in a selection of boutiques.

Read more: Malaysian designer takes his battle for sustainable fashion to the ocean

Vestiaire Collective will take charge of the pieces in the operation, which will be tagged with an NFC label intended to certify their authenticity. They will then be offered for sale on the secondhand fashion platform, as well as on the application, under the "Brand Approved" tab.

"Alexander McQueen is committed to a move towards circular practice, both in the design studio and in the development of new business models," commented Emmanuel Gintzburger, CEO of Alexander McQueen.

"We are confident that our customers will be equally excited to take part in an initiative that challenges a linear economy and sets a new and more sustainable standard for the future. We hope many houses will follow because to have impact-at-scale, we need to act collectively."