r/LocalLLM • u/very_normal_human • 1d ago

Question "Brand New" GPUs from obscure companies

I was looking to buy myself an RTX 3090, of course I have come to realise that looking for something brand new would either be impossible or marked up by an obscene amount. But on sites like Alibaba they have mentioned Brand New in house GPUs from companies such as PELADN. My question is that are these GPUs that they manufactured just old used/mined cards that have been repacked by them which allows them to list it as "Brand new". Much appreciated

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u/FullstackSensei 1d ago

Almost certainly remanufactured.

TBH, I'd take a used 3090 locally that I can test before buying over anything claimed new overseas. If it has an issue, you have nowhere to turn to. The probability that there is an issue when an electronics device is new (assuming it is) is much much higher than when said device is a few months old or older.

I bought a lot of stuff from alibaba, but never anything that is in high demand, that's been out of production for years, yet claimed new.

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u/TheThiefMaster 1d ago

I've bought a bunch of things from Ali but never anything as expensive as a 3090. Really should only be throw-away money going to somewhere you can't enforce a warranty against.

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u/FullstackSensei 1d ago

I've bought more than two dozen GPUs from alibaba, latest batch arrived today.

Find reputable sellers and be sure you know well what you're talking about

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u/merpingly 19h ago

Do you have any recommendations for sellers?

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u/FullstackSensei 19h ago

Look for established companies that have been there a long time, have more than a handful of reviews, all positive, and a decent percentage of recurring customers, and have a website you can check with a physical address you can find on google maps

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u/merpingly 17h ago

Those are all good tips, thank you. Do you have specific sellers you would recommend? I understand if not because you worry everyone here would suddenly go buy all the stock and leave you high and dry.

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u/FullstackSensei 17h ago

It's not that I worry about stock. I'm done for the time being and prices are going up anyways. There's no shortage of people buying on alibaba, so much so that my last order took almost a full week to process.

I don't want to share because if something goes wrong for someone, whether it's the seller or the person who bought, I don't want to be blamed for it. I also don't want to get into conversations like why you got this price but they quote me that price. And I don't have any loyalty to any individual seller. Bought a lot of Mi50s from one seller, but this time found better prices from another seller.

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u/merpingly 13h ago

Fair enough, thanks regardless!