To fend off resellers, Zotac will distribute Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and 5090 graphics cards by identifying loyal and active users on its Discord server, an online chatroom that anyone can join.
The “priority access campaign” kicks off today and will run for the next few weeks, with the goal of giving GPU buyers a chance to purchase Zotac’s stock of RTX 5000 units.
“As you may know, the 50-series drop happened, as we all expected: dominated by scalpers and bots,” a Zotac employee named “Bryant” wrote in the announcement, which was posted to the company’s Discord server.
(Credit: Zotac Discord server.)
Indeed, Nvidia’s RTX 5080 and 5090 models have been selling out instantly at Best Buy, Newegg, and other retailers since launching just over a week ago. The supplies have also been exceptionally low, which has led scalpers to sell the GPUs for sometimes 3x the normal price.
In response, Zotac sees an opportunity to filter out resellers and their automated bots by offering the GPUs to loyal users of its Discord server. “We want to reward real gamers and active members by giving you the chance to secure a slot to purchase a ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5080 or 5090 — No bots, no scalpers, just my fellow gamers,” the announcement says.
Zotac is indicating it plans on inviting users based on their online engagement, including contributing to the discussions and completing unknown “challenges.”
“Spam low-effort messages will not count,” Zotac says. “Any cheating, manipulation, or toxic behavior will result in disqualification.”
In a follow-up post, the company indicated it’ll also be using a random number generator to help pick which users receive invites to purchase the GPUs.
To root out potential abuse, Zotac is threatening to dox anyone caught scalping their GPUs if they’re selected through the priority access campaign. “All serial numbers are recorded to track and verify purchases; we will publicly expose you if you’re caught,” the announcement says.
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(Credit: Zotac Discord server)
Bryant has since started two channels in the Discord server meant to distribute a pair of RTX 5080 models to customers. One of the channels is already holding a raffle, which ends today. Interested consumers can click the raffle to enter. Presumably, Zotac will then vet each raffle winner by checking their engagement activity before opening the sales.
The program was received warmly by users in the Discord server. “Thank you to Zotac for at least trying to get actual human customers who intend to use the product directly, a chance,” wrote one consumer.
But in some bad news, Zotac is signaling it has low inventory of the graphics cards. “There are 5x 5080 AMP Extreme INFINITY and 5x 5080 SOLID OC,” Bryant wrote for this current round. “There are currently no 5090’s in stock.”
Others such as Newegg and Nvidia have also used a raffle system or a direct sales program to bypass scalpers, so it’s possible the companies will revive them again as demand for the RTX 5000 GPUs remains exceedingly high.
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
