Clay instead of RTX 3080 Ti: reader shares proof and photos
A reader contacted us after seeing our recent report about a GPU order that arrived with the wrong model from Amazon. Yes, we cover a lot of these cases, but not all of them. We also can’t help everyone, but we can highlight the most extreme cases and share guidance on how to proceed. Hopefully this has saved some of you from fraudulent purchases. Unfortunately, it didn’t help our reader from Croatia.
According to the email, Marino from Croatia ordered a PNY NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti from a German retailer Notebooksbilliger and paid around 1,300 euros using a company payment card. This did not happen this year, but about 4.5 years ago. Even so, Marino says the case was never resolved, which is why we decided to cover it.
Source: Marino
Marino says the package looked unusual on arrival because the product box was wrapped in nylon. Marino also provided photos and purchase documentation after we asked for proof. The reader says the box contained modeling clay instead of a graphics card. Marino believes the package may have been tampered with earlier in the return chain, and says a prior customer could have returned the box with the wrong contents.
Source: Marino
The documents shared with us suggest the purchase is now more than four years old, which makes a resolution less likely at this stage. Marino says no replacement, refund, or explanation has been provided to this day, despite repeated attempts to contact the retailer and escalation through a lawyer.
We reached out to notebooksbilliger.de for comment. As of January 31, 2026, the company has not responded after more than 24 hours.
We are sharing this report because Marino says the dispute ended without any formal outcome or money returned. For similar purchases, use credit or debit cards and act fast if something is wrong. Request a chargeback from the card issuer if the order is not delivered as described and the seller does not resolve the case. Large retailers often only react once the payment provider is involved.
