First of all, we actually think that Micro Center is one of the best places to source computer hardware for cheap. Their bundle deals in particular never fail to impress, especially if you’re looking to put together a fresh build without breaking the bank. However, recent reports reveal less-than-stellar value when it comes to their trade-in program, at least for GPUs.
If you’re looking to upgrade your graphics card and thought about a trade-in, maybe Micro Center isn’t the best place to do so. One user has pointed out that when trading in their flagship RTX 4090, they would only offer around $700. Sure, that’s a decent sum of cash, but not for something like the 4090 (the current best graphics card available).
ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4090 OC
GPU
AD102
CUDA cores
16,384
VRAM
24GB GDDR6X
Memory bus
384-bit
Bandwidth
1,008 GB/sec
Base clock
2235 MHz
Boost clock
2610 MHz
Micro Center offers just $700 for an RTX 4090 trade-in
This news comes from a reader of Wccftech, that decided to look up the trade-in value of their MSI Gaming Trio RTX 4090 graphics card. For reference, Micro Center is selling the card for $1,939.99, but the trade-in value was deemed to be just $699.95. That’s only 36% of the cost you’d be paying for a new model. Sure, there are other factors to think about when valuing something that is pre-owned such as a usage and condition, but just less than $700 is hard to justify.
Back when we put out our RTX 4090 review, a sufficient amount of time after the card initially released, we still noted that it carries a huge price tag. Nothing else has come close to toppling it, so there really isn’t any competition at this level. Even though it carries a $1,599 MSRP, you’ll still struggle to find a custom AIB at this price given past GPU shortages and the AI chip boom – and it’s been out for a year and a half.
How does that compare to other retailers?
A quick comparison with another retailer, Newegg, was done to see how their trade-in offer looked. They were much more generous, with an estimated value of $1,500 (though this is before quality is taken into account). Still, it looks like you should stay away from Micro Center if you want to trade in an RTX 4090 and earn some cash.
That being said, this does only reflects a single user’s experience, so other graphics cards may net you a better return – just be sure to check how much your GPU is actually worth before you trade-in.
