Nvidia Takes On Scalpers By Offering RTX 5090, 5080 Founders Edition GPUs To Loyal Users

Nvidia Corporation‘s NVDA new GPUs are so popular that they sold out and saw scalpers sell the products for huge profits after loyal fans camped out in tents outside stores.

The company has enacted a new plan to give its loyal users first access to "Founders Edition" graphics cards.

What Happened: Nvidia is fighting off scalpers by offering priority access to its new Founders Edition RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards.

The method is similar to what the company did for the RTX 4090 with the Verified Priority Access program, as reported by The Verge.

The move follows sellouts of the new GPUs, leaving loyal fans facing low inventory and limited supply.

Nvidia has a form on its website for eligible loyal users, which is different than its past method of pre-selecting eligible users for priority access.

Eligible users must create an Nvidia account before Feb. 1 and choose between an RTX 5090 and an RTX 5080. Nvidia uses an algorithm to check the purchaser's use of the Nvidia app and GeForce Experience to determine loyal use and weed out potential scalpers.

The invites for eligible users who filled out the forms will roll out next week. Nvidia did not say how many GPUs will be allocated to the program.

"We know it's challenging to purchase a GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics card. Today we're introducing Verified Priority Access for the GeForce RTX 50 Series. It will give a limited number of verified GeForce gamers & creators in the United States the opportunity to purchase one," Nvidia's website says.

Read Also: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Calls AI A ‘Miracle,’ Say It ‘Can’t Do 100% Of Our Jobs’

Why It's Important: Demand has been both a blessing and a challenge for Nvidia in recent years. While its GPUs and other products are highly sought after by consumers and businesses, supply shortages have made them difficult to obtain.

The newest RTX 50 series GPUs were unveiled at CES 2025 by CEO Jensen Huang.

Making sure customers have accounts and are actively using the products is likely a great way to limit product scalping and could put less pressure on Nvidia to release more supply of the RTX 50 series GPUs.

NVDA Price Action: Nvidia stock closed at $140.09 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $66.25 to $153.13. Nvidia stock is up 101% over the last year with shares up only 0.9% year-to-date in 2025.

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