NVIDIA 3000 Series Launch & Micro Center FAQ!

Lucy

Any eta on restocks?

PinoY

Johnny5 said:

Ok, I was first in line at the PA store and got one today. I thought that some info might help everyone deal with the crazy level of demand, so that you don’t waste time or plan poorly. I did a lot of this based on pure motivation and willpower to brute force the line. I saw that people were talking about showing up the night before... so I showed up before that. It’s that simple.

I lined up at 4pm on Wed. 9/16.
2nd party to join line arrived at 6pm. 3rd joined about 5 min later. After that it was a steady trickle throughout the night. Seems like most people planned on arriving between 2am and 10am (store opening time). The point I’m trying to make here is that I managed to be first in line by arriving 18 hrs early. Based on when #2 showed up, it could be argued that you needed to arrive at least 16 hrs early to be first in line.

For this launch, we were told around 8pm that there would be 11 cards confirmed to be available for purchase. The initial batch was 10 x EVGA XC3 ULTRA, and 1 x MSI GAMING X TRIO.

Vouchers were distributed at approx 8am (2 hours before opening). This voucher assures you will get a card, but it must be redeemed by 3pm (in this specific case). You don’t pay for the voucher, you pay when you finally check out. And you need the voucher when you go to the register.

Here is where it gets a little wild. For anyone that showed up in the middle of the night, and then left: sorry to say that if you would have stuck it out, you likely would own a 3080 today because more came in this morning. By the time the store opened, they had an additional 15-20 for sale. That is more than double what was initially received. Kudos to MC for doing everything they could to get as many as possible and as fast as possible. 

Where did these extra cards come from? Well, I can’t say with certainty, but the manager did say that on launch days vendors (Asus, Gigabyte, etc) will try to send as many as they can to a given store, so that they can sell as many as possible. Just like anything, things take time to be made, and sometimes you have to ship a batch before more are finished and ready to go. So it’s not impossible for more to show up on launch day, assuming that more were made and shipped slightly later than the initial batch. However, it is important to realize that MC has no control over this part. They get very last-minute info regarding these last-minute shipments.

Ok, so what’s the conclusion here.
a) most people didn’t get one that showed up intending to
b) most people seriously underestimated the demand, and as such, came to line up way too late 
c) patience is a virtue... in my estimation approx 10 people that waited for 8+ hours (only to give up after the initial vouchers were handed out) could have and would have gotten one if they stuck around. I understand that is a hard choice to make when faced with the odds that you might not get one and that additional vouchers aren’t guaranteed, but because of these vacancies, several people were able to get them that didn’t wait for very long.

All said, it was a fantastic experience and the time flew by. Only one jerk showed up all night, and he was so upset by the line that he immediately left. 

I know this post is probably going to make the next launch line even longer, with more turnout at an earlier time, but if you really want something super new, and best in class, and you want it during a global pandemic where supplies are extremely limited, you must be prepared to do what it takes. And in my case - along with about 25 of the coolest people I’ve ever met - we all won the day. 

Good luck. Happy hunting 

Hi Johnny, I was thinking of heading to the St. Davids location in PA for the 3090 release. How many people were in line by like 6AM that would of got cards? I plan to come around then, I like my sleep and I couldn't pull what you did haha. 

Casey

Any chance we can expect restocks to be posted either here or on the website during this week? A little strange to require in store visits in the DFW area during a pandemic on the off-chance there MIGHT be one... Mostly just sad that NVIDIA gave the board partners such little time to ramp up production to offer even a reasonable amount of stock at launch.

bfed111

Or even a general time they get their shipments in per store would be useful.  I don't want to be driving up there several times a day or calling them every hour just hoping..

TSTonyV

Casey said:

Any chance we can expect restocks to be posted either here or on the website during this week? A little strange to require in store visits in the DFW area during a pandemic on the off-chance there MIGHT be one... Mostly just sad that NVIDIA gave the board partners such little time to ramp up production to offer even a reasonable amount of stock at launch.

Stock will end up on the website at some point, but for now I believe there have been some inaccuracies and it's better to visit your local store. Once we've got this fixed the cards should go back up on the website.

bfed111 said:

Or even a general time they get their shipments in per store would be useful.  I don't want to be driving up there several times a day or calling them every hour just hoping..

It wouldn't exactly be feasible to do this.  Things are changing on the fly and we have no way of knowing for sure. Shipments could be delayed, orders may only be partially fulfilled because of lower than expected supply, etc... I know it doesn't feel great from the customer's end, but it's going to take some time for things to normalize and until then it's really hard for us to give specifics because we don't always have them to give. 

Philly

With any restock, are vouchers going to be given/needed to get a 3080? Or was this just for day 1?

mopyyt

I live 4 hours away. Will u have some in today. So I don't waste my time. Mn store

Johnny5

Vinn said:

Johnny5 said:

For this launch, we were told around 8pm that there would be 11 cards confirmed to be available for purchase. The initial batch was 10 x EVGA XC3 ULTRA, and 1 x MSI GAMING X TRIO.

How much was the EVGA card?  Heard the Brooklyn location was charging $1k for the EVGA....

It came to $816.19 ($769.99 w/ PA 6% sales tax).
Micro Center is a corporate store chain, and they all have the same prices. The only difference would be sales tax, which varies by state. NY is 8.875% if you are in the city, and it would come out to approx $839 w/tax incl.
The card is dope. Loving it. I feel very lucky.

Johnny5

kishinfoulux said:

Johnny5 said:

Ok, I was first in line at the PA store and got one today. I thought that some info might help everyone deal with the crazy level of demand, so that you don’t waste time or plan poorly. I did a lot of this based on pure motivation and willpower to brute force the line. I saw that people were talking about showing up the night before... so I showed up before that. It’s that simple.

I cut some of the text to it's not just some giant thing to scroll through lol.
So the main thing I want to ask is how the hell did you all handle bathroom breaks and other needs like that? And in regards to lining up early like was that interfering with regular customers going in and out? How did you "establish" the waiting line? Congrats by the way!

Thanks! It was really a relief to know at like 4pm the day before that I was going to get one no matter what (unless the shipment didn't show up or something like that). Fun fact: a line isn't a line when its just one person. So be careful when scoping out the next line. If it's just one person, it may not look like anything. I stood near the front door, but far enough away to not impede the customer traffic during normal business hours. I would say maybe 15 ft from the front door. Close enough that ain't nobody getting in front of me, but far enough that I wasn't in anyone's way coming and going.
I must say that when the 2nd and 3rd people showed up together, they were super excited to be second and third, and we all immediately bonded and formed an official line. And now we are both proud parents of a EVGA XC3 ULTRA 3080. Once you have people behind you, its a line.
RE: Bathroom breaks
Well, we actually lucked out because there was a porta potty on site (not for the launch, but for construction workers doing work in the parking lot). But, there would have been other ways. The one thing I think is worth mentioning is that if you are coming to a line because you are legitimately excited to own one, you will probably have a lot in common with the other people standing in line.
Once the line was established, everyone was cool. We all moseyed around. Nobody got up to any shenanigans because everyone was helping support each other. It was a cool weird bonding experience for a lot of the people there. Conversations made the time go faster than it otherwise would have. And like I said, we got up and walked around. Never all at once, but staggered. 
If anyone does end up going to one of these camp out lines, make sure you bring a chair or a cushion and maybe a small cooler w/food and bev. Just enough to get you thru the night. And once the line forms you can just run stuff back and forth from your car as needed (assuming your line is all cool people).

Johnny5

PinoY said:

Johnny5 said:

Ok, I was first in line at the PA store and got one today. I thought that some info might help everyone deal with the cra- 

Hi Johnny, I was thinking of heading to the St. Davids location in PA for the 3090 release. How many people were in line by like 6AM that would of got cards? I plan to come around then, I like my sleep and I couldn't pull what you did haha. 

The 3090 is gonna most likely be a weird one. I don't doubt there will be a line.
Originally, I didn't expect it to have the same level of craze as the 3080 and 3070. But something tells me it will have more, simply due to lack of 3080's + the price gouging in effect + the media coverage of the RTX selling out in seconds. The hype and demand is so much more than its ever been. And with everyone stuck at home, your competition for people with time on their hands is stiff. Also, a bunch of unemployed residents just got $1500 in one lump sum from the FEMA LWA funding. It makes these essentially worth 3K upon purchase (in my estimate, just using 1:2 ratio). I think it is also likely that the supply will be smaller than the 3080 - but again, this is just conjecture. I have no way of knowing any of this. I'm just a guy.
But, I know that several of us from 3080 are planning on going back for the 3090. I don't think I am going to buy one for myself, but I do plan to buy one to use in a custom build that I will then sell as a package. Not to make crazy profit, but because I want to make a high end system, and to have that experience of building it and testing it without having to make the long-haul investment.
Edit: Forgot to answer your question but I would say maybe 30-40 at 6am. Maybe less. There was a mass exodus right around the time the cards started going on sale other places. A lot of people left to go to Best Buy, but I don't think that worked out for many people the way they hoped it would. There was a huge turnover in the early morning. People left and people came back but I don't think the 3090 is going to have people running all over the place because they just learned their lesson. Better to bet on a sure thing and wait, instead of trying to compete with robots.
Every single person in line was on their phones and laptops trying to get cards online, and nobody in the entire line said they got one. At least not anyone within the first 20 people. 

kishinfoulux

Thanks for the replies and all of that info. Much appreciated.

CM_137228

Does anyone know if the Sharonville store will have the 3090 on launch? 

Abom

TSTonyV said:

It wouldn't exactly be feasible to do this.  Things are changing on the fly and we have no way of knowing for sure. Shipments could be delayed, orders may only be partially fulfilled because of lower than expected supply, etc... I know it doesn't feel great from the customer's end, but it's going to take some time for things to normalize and until then it's really hard for us to give specifics because we don't always have them to give. 

What's up with your Dallas location having presold the available cards and letting people stand outside the store until opening just to tell them the cards were presold? Is this SOP for that location?

PinoY

Johnny5 said:

PinoY said:

Johnny5 said:

Ok, I was first in line at the PA store and got one today. I thought that some info might help everyone deal with the cra- 

Hi Johnny, I was thinking of heading to the St. Davids location in PA for the 3090 release. How many people were in line by like 6AM that would of got cards? I plan to come around then, I like my sleep and I couldn't pull what you did haha. 

The 3090 is gonna most likely be a weird one. I don't doubt there will be a line.
Originally, I didn't expect it to have the same level of craze as the 3080 and 3070. But something tells me it will have more, simply due to lack of 3080's + the price gouging in effect + the media coverage of the RTX selling out in seconds. The hype and demand is so much more than its ever been. And with everyone stuck at home, your competition for people with time on their hands is stiff. Also, a bunch of unemployed residents just got $1500 in one lump sum from the FEMA LWA funding. It makes these essentially worth 3K upon purchase (in my estimate, just using 1:2 ratio). I think it is also likely that the supply will be smaller than the 3080 - but again, this is just conjecture. I have no way of knowing any of this. I'm just a guy.
But, I know that several of us from 3080 are planning on going back for the 3090. I don't think I am going to buy one for myself, but I do plan to buy one to use in a custom build that I will then sell as a package. Not to make crazy profit, but because I want to make a high end system, and to have that experience of building it and testing it without having to make the long-haul investment.
Edit: Forgot to answer your question but I would say maybe 30-40 at 6am. Maybe less. There was a mass exodus right around the time the cards started going on sale other places. A lot of people left to go to Best Buy, but I don't think that worked out for many people the way they hoped it would. There was a huge turnover in the early morning. People left and people came back but I don't think the 3090 is going to have people running all over the place because they just learned their lesson. Better to bet on a sure thing and wait, instead of trying to compete with robots.
Every single person in line was on their phones and laptops trying to get cards online, and nobody in the entire line said they got one. At least not anyone within the first 20 people. 

Thanks man! I took off work the next day, so I am going to plan to head down at midnight and hope i'll be one of the first 15-20 haha. I agree with you on the subject of this launch possibly being even worse than last. People now know how early they have to line up and what they have to do to get one of these cards. I am just gonna hope the price will drive them off, since the cards they will be selling will be more than $1500. I am guessing they won't be selling any FEs at launch. Seeing how this went I think people will just pay the price of the 3090 to get this series of cards. 

Coy_S

Any idea why the evga cards were pulled from the online store? Is microcenter still going to be restocking 3080’s right now?

Piedball

Will anything be at sharonville monday

GreenHat

I heard asus Rog Strix wont be available until tomorrow anyone else know?

Ragnarocker

Also at St. David, got here at 6:00 am Monday, 5th in line today.  We’re not forming a physical line, we’ve all shaken hands on waiting it out in our cars rather than freezing.  Wish me luck. 

CrimsonRelic

Wow, already in line? Crazy. So who's ready to sit through the tropical storm in Houston for their 3090?

cucuchu

Ragnarocker said:

Also at St. David, got here at 6:00 am Monday, 5th in line today.  We’re not forming a physical line, we’ve all shaken hands on waiting it out in our cars rather than freezing.  Wish me luck. 

Is this a line for the 3090 releasing in 73 hours (Thursday morning) and you are waiting in your car for 73 hours??? Or is this for possible 3080 restock.

kishinfoulux

cucuchu said:

Ragnarocker said:

Also at St. David, got here at 6:00 am Monday, 5th in line today.  We’re not forming a physical line, we’ve all shaken hands on waiting it out in our cars rather than freezing.  Wish me luck. 

Is this a line for the 3090 releasing in 73 hours (Thursday morning) and you are waiting in your car for 73 hours??? Or is this for possible 3080 restock.

I'm assuming anyone waiting now is hoping for a 3080 restock, although there may be some outliers camping super early for the 3090.

CrimsonRelic

So some Microcenters were giving the vouchers out after close the night before launch and some were waiting until before the store opened in the morning?

 Why isn't there a nation-wide rule for this across stores? We just have to get lucky enough to have a nice store manager?

molarry

I find it hard to believe anybody is camping out right now for the 3090 we're still days away. And if you are that's pretty pathetic. Most posts may be trying to deter people from going down on launch. Take what's posted here with a grain of salt.

T_C

Will MicroCenter be handing out vouchers again for the 3090?

T_C

CrimsonRelic said:

So some Microcenters were giving the vouchers out after close the night before launch and some were waiting until before the store opened in the morning?

 Why isn't there a nation-wide rule for this across stores? We just have to get lucky enough to have a nice store manager?

It isn’t a nice store manager.  It is a store manager that violated Nvidia’s release rules. He also made the company look like a liar. Managers that don’t follow policy make the rest of the managers and company look bad and puts MC in a difficult position with venders.  Especially as ones as sticky as NVIDIA.

Ragnarocker

No jokes.  There were 20 people in line at door opening (10am).  Everyone waited until 12pm - when they said the last drop could potentially come in - and nothing.  It was kind of discerning too, the first 3 people in line all came together, pretty sure they were just there to scalp.  Everyone else was talking tech and they were just making sure they had their spot in the line.  This was the St.  David's store in PA.  There were another few people who were in line to get one that were recognized by other people who had already purchased one the prior week.  For the most part, everyone was friendly and was respectful of one another's spot in the line, but I hate to see scalpers winning out here.  I'm willing to pay up to 1000 dollars for a 3080 gpu, yet for some reason or other, these guys think they can get as much as what a 3090 is going to sell for.  All in all, I'm rather disappointed with this entire release, and none of it is Microcenter's fault.  In reality, they're doing more than anyone in terms of combating bots by only allowing in store purchases.  Too bad they can't also enforce people not buying multiple cards over multiple days for a while or something, or actually enforce the 1 per household limit for families coming together to scalp cards

Abom

I was told today by several reps at the Houston location that stock of 3080 GPUs won't be in for 8 weeks.

SpecTron

To the folks planning on waiting out for the 3090, what time do you guys plan on getting there? I got work so I was hoping around 7pm. Wanted to get the scope to see if I should try to get off a little earlier

CrimsonRelic

Abom said:

I was told today by several reps at the Houston location that stock of 3080 GPUs won't be in for 8 weeks.

Well, I hope I'm lucky enough to get a 3090 there. I wonder why a city as big Houston isn't getting shipments like some other cities.

EvanH

I am excited for the 3090 launch. I want an EVGA card for sure. I am assuming it will cost $1700 - $1800 for the EVGA card. I plan to go the night before a bit before close and hope to be in the top 10. I also hope they mention stock they have or are expecting so we can know what to expect.