Colorful (via MyDrivers) runs a graphics card trade-in program in China for consumers wanting to upgrade to a GeForce RTX 40-series product, which is no stranger to the list of best graphics cards. So if you own a Colorful graphics card and live in China, it's an excellent opportunity to trade your old graphics card.
Unlike the car industry, vendors don't typically run trade-in programs. However, occasionally, they might resort to this tactic to move inventory, especially when sales on the new graphics cards aren't going as projected. Unlike Asus UK's previous trade-in program, Colorful's version offers better value for your old GeForce RTX 20-series (Turing), GeForce GTX 16-series (Turing), or GeForce RTX 30-series (Ampere) graphics cards. It's a pretty extensive list, too, since Colorful accepts up to 16 different models, spanning from the Turing to Ampere lineups.
Colorful also incentivizes owners of iGame Neptune-series graphics cards, the models with an AIO liquid cooler, with an additional $29 in value. Colorful's promotion is strictly limited to Nvidia GeForce trade-ins in contrast to Asus UK, which also includes AMD Radeon graphics cards. The numbers in the total are peak values, so your used Colorful GeForce graphics card may not get the total amount, depending on its condition.
Qualifying GeForce GPU Trade-Ins
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Model
Value (U.S. Dollar)
Value (Yuan)
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti
$1,041
7,200
GeForce RTX 3090
$810
5,600
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
$622
4,300
GeForce RTX 3080
$492
3,400
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
$390
2,700
GeForce RTX 3070
$347
2,400
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti G6X
$332
2,300
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
$260
1,800
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
$253
1,750
GeForce RTX 3060 8GB
$246
1,700
GeForce RTX 3050
$202
1,400
GeForce RTX 2070 Super
$231
1,600
GeForce RTX 2070
$217
1,500
GeForce RTX 2060 Super
$160
1,100
GeForce RTX 2060
$130
900
GeForce GTX 1660 Super
$108
750
Colorful accepts GeForce RTX 3090 Ti models for $1,041, 48% below the Ampere flagship's MSRP. Used GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics cards usually sell between $600 and $1,100 on eBay, so Colorful's proposition is decent. There are good deals even on older models, such as the GeForce RTX 2060, which came out in 2019. Colorful will exchange the Turing graphics card for $217, equivalent to 38% below the MSRP. eBay sellers ask between $150 to $220 for a second-hand GeForce RTX 2060.
Interested buyers must purchase a GeForce RTX 40-series product from Colorful's official store on Chinese retailer JD.com between May 7 and May 21. They have between May 7 to May 31 to send in their used graphics cards. Unfortunately, the owner has to pay the shipping fee. Once the graphics card gets to Colorful's office, the vendor will test it to ensure it works and provide a trade-in value based on its conditions. Colorful will refund the buyer the discounted amount within ten working days after the company receives the used graphics card.
Colorful isn't a popular brand outside of the Chinese market, which is why the company has restricted its promotion to Chinese residents. It would be nice if more vendors started doing trade-in programs since not everyone like to go through the hassle of selling their used graphics card on eBay. Offering consumers a similar or superior valuation for their used graphics cards is an excellent stimulus for convincing consumers to stick with your band and increases the prospect of a potential upgrade.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
When GPU prices started plummeting, last fall, this is not much less than the price I decided I was willing to pay for these cards (new!), if prices kept dropping:
ModelValue (U.S. Dollar)GeForce RTX 3080 Ti$622GeForce RTX 3080$492
Needless to say, I didn't buy anything.
That they feel they can buy used cards for this much, refurbish them, and turn around to sell them at a profit tells us just how far we've come from those days...
Not if you know the typical price differential between the US and China. If you do, then it could be relevant market data.
Not if they aren't offering the trade in discount anywhere but China. Did you bother to read the post, or just come to blindly disagree with the comment for points?
Not if they aren't offering the trade in discount anywhere but China.
Yes, I understood that.
punkncat said:
Did you bother to read the post,
Always. I read 100% of every single article I comment on, and every single post I reply to. Do you?
punkncat said:
or just come to blindly disagree with the comment for points?
Nope. I don't even look at points. Until you mentioned it, it didn't occur to me that points might be awarded for anything other than Best Anwser. Even if it turns out that Likes -> points, it still wouldn't change what and how I post one single bit. I'm not here to be popular and points don't matter to me, as I don't do games.
Instead of getting defensive and snippy, how about you take a second and consider what I said. If a company is paying $X for used GPUs, then it must mean that they can turn around sell them for $X + refurbishment costs + any warranty they provide for the refurbished product + enough profit margin to make it interesting. I find it surprising that they're willing to pay so much, and it makes me wonder why. Are GPUs really that much more expensive, in China? And how much of that is due to taxes & tariffs, because we all know that most GPUs are probably still assembled there.
Unlike presumably yourself, I didn't click on the article with the intention of selling a GPU. I clicked on it out of curiosity.
