Nvidia Posts RTX 3080 FAQ: Bot Wars, Unprecedented Demand, and Increasing Supply

GeForce RTX 3080
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

After a brief apology last week over the launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, Nvidia has now posted a longer explanation of what has gone on behind the scenes during the launch, and how it is dealing with bots and scalpers in an FAQ on its site, as well as a further apology.

The FAQ mentions that Nvidia itself has canceled "hundreds" of orders made by bots. While they may have received confirmation emails, the company claims to have stopped them before they shipped.

Nvidia claims to have "behind-the-scenes security measures" for its store that it found to work fine for previous GPU launches. Now, the company says it has been working to put CAPTCHA in place and will continue to monitor sales manually.

Of course, not all cards were sold directly through Nvidia. The GPU maker wrote that demand was greater than anticipated, and that "We and our partners underestimated it." But the company said it had a typical level of supply for a GPU launch, and is recommending that those who want an RTX 3080 don't buy them from resellers who are "attempting to take advantage of the current situation."

Nvidia recommends that those who want an RTX 3080 use its own product finder to keep tabs on stock at third-party retailers. But as recently as this weekend, some would-be buyers have been open sourcing their own bots to compete with scalpers in an attempt to fight fire with fire.

There's more information about the launch, including record traffic to retailers, the state of CEO Jensen Huang's inbox and issues with its own "Notify Me" emails at the FAQ

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

  • hotaru.hino
    At least there was some solace that getting an order in didn't mean you got a card. So whoever managed to order a dozen is (hopefully) crying they're only getting one, if it was honored at all.
    Reply
  • magnusb
    What a joke. There hasn't been a single GPU visible since launch day.
    Reply
  • helper800
    magnusb said:
    What a joke. There hasn't been a single GPU visible since launch day.
    I just saw an add to cart on bestbuy for the 3080 Gigabyte eagle card today at around 10am pacific. I was also able to snag a special order on the 18th for the 3080 MSI Gaming Trio which over the phone I was told would ship on the 24th and be in my hands by Oct 2nd. That was from Provantage by the way. It is certainly hard to get but not impossible.

    Proof: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1se8Re0sOy-bbwZNnW9T7LDtrXJlGyI1G/view?usp=sharing
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Ofcourse They Are produsing more. The capasity just can not full fill the demand for moths!
    but Sooner or later the demand will decline and you can see these in Local store around the world at their Local msrp or near that. That may be Late in The spring though.
    Reply