A Reddit user says he paid 1,200 dollars for a brand-new RTX 5080 GPU and instead ended up unboxing four rocks – and after an internal review, Best Buy has now told him he will get neither a refund nor a replacement. As reported by VideoCardz, the buyer ordered an ASUS TUF RTX 5080 on November 25 and received the shipment three days later, only to notice immediately that something was off.
According to his comments online, the GPU arrived with the shipping label stuck directly onto the retail GPU box, with no brown outer carton covering it. The seal also appeared previously opened. When he tore it open, four rocks were sitting where the expensive graphics card and accessories should have been.
The buyer says he contacted customer service immediately and was initially assured that a replacement was coming. Days later, however, he received an email informing him that the company’s investigation found no fault and that neither a refund nor another card would be issued.
I ordered a GPU through BestBuy on 11/25 and when I received it on 11/28 I was blown away by how irresponsibly this thing was shipped. The shipping labels just slapped on the retail packaging, no generic brown box to conceal the item, the seal clearly tampered with…and there they were, four rocks where my GPU should be. I filed a claim through customer service within the hour of receiving the package and was assured a replacement was on the way. Here we are now on Tuesday 12/2 and I receive an email now stating that BestBuy will not be replacing or refunding my $1,200 purchase after their “investigation”.
— GnarDead r/pcmasterrace
Many Reddit users responded by saying the shipping method essentially encouraged theft. Expensive components like new RTX 50-series cards are very often targeted, especially during high-volume sale periods like Black Friday. Without a generic shipping box, anyone handling the package knows exactly what is inside.
Members of the PC-building community also pointed out that some brands use packaging that cannot be reopened without tearing the box, which makes tampering easier to prove. They also highlighted a common precaution: always record unboxings of expensive hardware. While that does not always guarantee resolution with banks or retailers, it can be strong documentation if legal escalation becomes necessary.
There is no public evidence that the customer was not involved in swapping out the unit, but the situation still struck many as believable, especially since similar cases occur every major sale season. Many commenters shared accounts of missing accessories, swapped product serial numbers, or boxes weighted to mimic the original item.
While it is unclear whether the buyer will pursue a chargeback or small-claims filing, the story quickly gained traction online as yet another example of how vulnerable high-priced tech shipments can be when not packaged securely. The community reaction largely criticized the retailer’s shipping practices, arguing that negligence at that stage made the outcome almost inevitable.
