Buying and selling used PC parts is a time-honored tradition, but it’s rare for a big-box retailer to get in on the action. Newegg is trying just that, offering a trade-in program for graphics cards that will give you credit towards the purchase of a new one. It’s more or less the same model as phone trade-in’s…along with the lack of an option for a cash payout.

In fact, even the mechanism will be familiar to anyone who’s traded in their existing phone to a manufacturer or carrier before. When you buy a new GPU on Newegg, you’ll be given the option to apply to swap in your existing card and deduct the estimated value from the purchase. You’ll see a Preliminary Offer based on precisely what card you have — not all GPUs will be eligible, of course — and if you accept, you’ll get a pre-paid shipping box along with your new graphics card. Take the old one out, toss it in the box, and put it in the mail. Newegg will (presumably) sell it along to someone else.

Take note that unlike trade-in systems for phones and other gadgets, you won’t get credit for your used card until someone at Newegg has evaluated it and determined that it matches the initial description. If the card doesn’t pass Newegg’s inspection, it’ll be sent back to you with free shipping. If everything checks out, the agreed-upon credit will be refunded to you via the same payment method you used for the new card.

Credits range from just $30 for an RX 5500 XT to $561 for an RTX 3090 Ti, according to this list. (A list which, I have to point out, does not include any older GTX cards as seen in the promotional photo). And yes, those are significantly less than you’d get for selling your card yourself. But that’s true for everything from cell phones to cars and Newegg is offering to take away the headache of listings, communication, and delivery. Whether it’s worth it is a question you’ll have to answer for yourself.

Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer

Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.

Recent stories by Michael Crider:

May GeForce be with you: Nvidia made an Admiral Ackbar RTX 4080Nvidia’s ‘Premium AI’ push for PCs claims GPUs rule, NPUs droolGigabyte’s ‘Xtreme Ice’ RTX GPU and motherboard will deck out your PC