AMD Vega 64 $499 Pricing Was Only for Launch

Whether or not the AMD Vega 64 video cards are actually beating NVIDIA offerings in benchmarks, there are still a lot of gamers who want to get their hands on the cards. That demand made the initial launch of the cards sell-out quickly. Word is now surfacing that pricing on those initial launch cards were artificially low thanks to AMD offering some retailers rebates of $100 per card to reach the initial $499 sales price.

Those rebates are expiring reports GamersNexus and as a result of no more rebates, pricing on the Vega 64 parts is jumping up to $600 as margins on these cards are said to be extremely tight. Word on the pricing jump first came from Gibbo at Overclockers and GamersNexus reports that card partners have been reaching out and confirming that Gibbo was correct in his report of rebates expiring.

AMD also allegedly told its board partners which retailers they should sell to for the Vega 64 launch. These partners are apparently the folks that had the rebates offered. The rebates were only valid on the first wave of cards and this is why prices are jumping up at this point. However, some retailers are said to have card “packs” still in stock.

Newegg was reportedly the retailer with the highest allocation having received 60-70 units for the so-called packs during the launch, but a much lower number of stand alone cards. Packs were bundled with other components or items like mainboards and Ryzen processors at Newegg. AMD hasn’t made any official comments about the rebates at this time.