The graphics card market has changed: the tide of "mining" has receded, the speculation is covered, and the players are watching

Graphics. Figure/IC photo

"It's finally time to consider replacing the graphics card." On March 28, player Liao Hua excitedly said after browsing many online shopping platforms, "I have always wanted to upgrade computer accessories, but due to the high price, I have not dared to start." Now the price of graphics cards is finally starting to return to normal. ”

In recent times, affected by the decline in the virtual currency circle and the decline in the cost of graphics cards, graphics cards that have been speculated to sky-high prices have begun to have a trend of price decline. Not only the price of graphics cards in overseas markets has fallen one after another, but also the news of price reductions in the domestic market.

The graphics card market is changing.

For a time, countless players who have been suffering from high-priced graphics cards for a long time have taken action, hoping to start as soon as possible to make up for the expectations that have been waiting for many years. But at the same time, there are also rational players who analyze that it is still not a good time to buy a graphics card, and placing an order now is undoubtedly to take over the "scalpers" who have previously maliciously premiumed.

"It's time for the graphics card market to calm down." Player Lin Hao said, "Previously, the price of graphics cards was affected by the currency circle, and ordinary players were either unable to pay a high price to buy graphics cards, or became 'leeks' in the eyes of scalpers." At the same time, a large number of bad dealers bought out the hoarded goods, and the malicious premium behavior not only made the player emotionally disgusted, but ultimately hurt the entire industry. ”

After 3 consecutive years of decline, some graphics cards have fallen below the official guidance price

"In the past, a graphics card was only two or three thousand yuan, and then a RTX3070 price was often more than 10,000 yuan, and the price of an RTX3080 was as high as nearly 20,000 yuan, which ordinary player can afford it?" Lin Hao told reporters that he could only continue to use the old card as a last resort, "Friends around him are almost rarely upgraded, and they can meet the basic needs of the game." ”

High-priced graphics cards have been a pain for many players for a long time. At a time when AAA game masterpieces are emerging in an endless stream, players hope to upgrade their graphics cards to experience the highest quality of the game. But in recent years, the price of graphics cards has been rising, and they have to stay away.

According to public information, since 2018, the price of graphics cards has risen for more than 3 consecutive years. This phenomenon was particularly severe after the release of the RTX 30 series graphics cards, which reached a premium of 200% to 300% at the highest.

"After waiting for two years, the price of graphics cards finally has signs of falling." On March 27, Lin Hao sighed, "Finally see the hope of upgrading the computer." ”

According to media reports, the price of graphics cards in overseas markets has shown a downward trend in recent times. The original price of the ASUS RTX 3080 TUF graphics card sold in Australia was 2299 Australian dollars (about 10993 yuan), which fell to 1499 Australian dollars (about 7168 yuan) in one day.

In the German market, the RTX3090 graphics card, which peaked at 3,199 euros (about 22,361 yuan) in May 2021, has now been reduced to 1,999 euros (about 13,973 yuan). Although it is still above the official guide price, it is the lowest price in a year.

In the domestic market, there is also news that many manufacturers will adjust the price of graphics cards. Zhongguancun online data shows that in March 2022, the price of some graphics cards fell to the lowest level in the past two years, and the brand RTX 3080 Ti was even priced lower than the official guidance price. This may mean that the curtain has officially opened on the decline in graphics card prices.

On March 28, the reporter logged on to the second-hand platform search such as idle fish and transfer and found that many merchants were selling graphics cards in large quantities. Most of these prices have fallen below the manufacturer's guidance price. The price sold by a merchant was reduced to "3060 graphics card 2000 yuan, 3070 graphics card 3000 yuan". Some netizens in the message area replied, "Anyway, it is all slag, it is better to be cheaper." ”

The "mining" of the currency circle has receded, and the demand for "miners" to leave the market has declined

In addition to the impact of the epidemic on the production capacity of manufacturers, it is more because of the continuous outbreak of "mining" boom.

The Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter learned that the price of virtual currency led by Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to soar in 2020, attracting many players who hoped to profit from it, and the "mining" boom was blown up in the market. The RTX 30 series graphics card, with its powerful computing power, has naturally become the first choice for miners.

The huge demand from miners has led to the scarcity of graphics cards in the market, and the price has naturally risen. Take an RTX3080 graphics card with an original price of 5499 yuan as an example, its price was once speculated to nearly 20,000 yuan, and the premium was as high as several times.

The reason behind the decline in the price of graphics cards is that on the one hand, the cost of graphics cards has declined with the reduction of GPUs, and on the other hand, it may also be related to the cold virtual currency market.

As early as the end of 2021, affected by many factors such as policies and prices, the boom in the currency circle has gradually cooled, and the price of graphics cards has a trend of price reduction. At the beginning of 2022, the price of virtual currency fell all the way, many miners chose to leave, and the demand for graphics cards in the currency circle market decreased accordingly, further promoting the decline in graphics card prices.

Merchant Yang Jing told reporters that the price of the graphics card fluctuates greatly due to the influence of the currency circle, and the outrageous price makes ordinary players prohibitive, almost all of which are packaged and purchased by miners. "Now that a large number of miners have left the market, it is difficult for anyone to eat such a large amount of goods."

"Now that there are fewer miners, there is no longer a situation where the graphics card was packaged by a large-scale monopoly, and the price will naturally gradually retrace." The long wait was not in vain. Lin Hao said.

The card speculators on the edge of the cliff: the low price of the second-hand platform is not asked

"I never expected graphics cards to crash so fast before." Ye Fei, who runs a hardware sales business, sighed incomparably, "Now I want to throw out the hoarded goods in my hands as soon as possible, even if the loss point does not matter." Otherwise, it is likely that the longer it drags on, the worse the loss. ”

In 2021, affected by the soaring price of graphics cards, Ye Fei smashed 2 million into the market. At a price of one or two thousand yuan more expensive than the official guide price, he won hundreds of RTX30 series graphics cards of various models, and planned to sell them to the market after the price increase.

During that time, the graphics card in Ye Fei's hand did not worry about sales at all. Many miners have called to ask for purchases, and even the goods have been booked before they arrive, taking advantage of this opportunity ye Fei to earn hundreds of thousands.

"I made money, I definitely wanted to make more, and then I gradually got a little bit on the top." Stimulated by huge profits, Ye Fei decided to re-bet on this road, not only using all the funds in his hands to buy graphics cards, but also borrowing more than 1 million yuan from relatives and friends around him, all of which were pledged.

Recently, Ye Fei found that the goods in his hands could not be sold, and what worried him even more was that the graphics card market seemed to be changing. As we all know, the price of graphics cards rises or falls depends on the trend of the currency circle market, which may change at any time. Nowadays, with the virtual currency cold, the price of graphics cards has dropped significantly.

After some inquiry, Ye Fei found that the price reduction trend has become a foregone conclusion, and the miner friends who have cooperated before have withdrawn from the coin circle, and many peers are peddling graphics cards at low prices. After several thoughts, Ye Fei also decided to get rid of his hand as soon as possible. But what I didn't expect was that the graphics cards that were previously robbed by the market are now rarely bought, and no one consults even if they are hung on the second-hand platform at a low price.

"Looking at the hundreds of graphics card stocks in the storeroom now is a headache. Every day, advertising and reducing prices everywhere, I hope that someone will buy the goods. Ye Fei said. There are many graphics card merchants who have a similar situation with Ye Fei. When the market is cold, they hope to sell as soon as possible to return funds as soon as possible.

"There was no market logic behind the soaring price of graphics cards, and it was purely to see the trend of the currency circle." Now that the currency circle is cold, a large number of goods are bound to flow to the market at normal prices. Regular players definitely choose to buy from official hands. Then these mark-up graphics cards can only be digested by the middlemen themselves, and it is likely that the capital chain will be broken and the losses will be heavy. Yang Jing said.

Players who keep waiting: Now is not a good time to start

"The graphics card market really needs to cool down." Liao Hua, a player who pays attention to the latest trend of graphics card prices every day, told reporters that for the arrival of this moment, countless gamers have been waiting for many days.

On March 28, the reporter noticed in Baidu's "Graphics Card Bar" that many players were engaged in a heated discussion on the price reduction of graphics cards.

A netizen told reporters that now is the "end of JS, and so on the party's carnival." ”。 The so-called "JS" refers to the dealers who maliciously speculate on the price of the graphics card, while the "wait party" is an ordinary player who waits and sees the price of the graphics card for a long time, but has not placed an order for a long time. In their view, it is the malicious speculation of hardware dealers that has led to the previous market price becoming more and more deformed.

According to media reports, many netizens have spontaneously launched a boycott to scalpers before. Many players without graphics cards "void peddle" a large number of original price graphics cards on the second-hand platform, hoping that the platform will squeeze the high-priced cards of the middlemen to the bottom of the display page according to the algorithm so that the other party will not get enough exposure and it is difficult to complete the transaction.

For the decline in the price of graphics cards, a large number of low-cost graphics cards have re-emerged in the market, and many players have expressed their willingness not to buy. Some netizens even excitedly said that buying a graphics card now is undoubtedly to take over the "scalper", "before it was up for more than a year, it was ridiculed every day." Now that feng shui is taking turns, the market has come to the side of ordinary consumers, and it is hoped that they will increase their efforts to continue to fall. ”

Liao Hua analyzed that the reason why most players are in the "wait-and-see" stage today is that on the one hand, it is difficult to ensure that the price of graphics cards will not continue to fall, and it is not the best stage to buy now; on the other hand, because most of the graphics cards on the market are likely to be second-hand "mining cards". These graphics cards that have been used for a long time to mine virtual currency have certain quality problems, and even the possibility of scrapping the card is not ruled out.

The reporter's investigation found that it is indeed not the time to buy a graphics card. According to 3D Center data, Nvidia's RTX3000 GPU is still 41% higher than the manufacturer's suggested retail price, and AMD's RX6000 graphics card is also 35% higher than the manufacturer's suggested price.

Netizen "Moore Coffee" told reporters, "Anyway, I have waited for such a long time, and I am not in a hurry for this time and a half." In this case, it is the dealer who is anxious, not the ordinary player. Big deal to wait a while. ”

"Graphics cards are essentially designed for graphics, not for speculation." Lin Hao also said that in the past few years, the price of graphics cards affected by the currency circle has soared, only dealers, scalpers and miners have profited, while ordinary players are either unable to pay high prices to buy graphics cards, or become "leeks" in the eyes of scalpers, "a large number of bad dealers buy out goods, malicious premium, this behavior not only makes players emotionally disgusted, but ultimately hurts the entire industry." ”

(Yang Jing and Ye Fei are pseudonyms in the text)

Beijing News shell financial reporter Qin Che Editor Xu Chao Proofreading Jia Ning