EVGA STEP-UP PROGRAM, ANYONE SUCCESSFUL??

[vtohthree]

I bought an EVGA for this feature amoung others...but when I registered my product and read the rules...it didn't seem that great at all, mainly because..from my understanding, you have to buy the new card directly from EVGA, and it has to be within 90days.

As you all know...it bites to buy it from EVGA for two big reasons(amoung some others):

1.) Prices are outrageous on EVGA's site, you mind as well buy it else-where new at a discounted price.

2.) Even if you wanted to buy it, many cards are out of stock!


discuss..anyone actually trade in their card and was happy with the deal??

otherwise, yeah, evga made a good marketing campaign with this, only to dissappoint the consumers(don't get me wrong, I'd get EVGA anyways for other reasons, but not so much for the step-up program)

 

[LittleNemoNES]

I upgraded my 7800 GT CO for a 7900 GT for free -- well, I paid $18 for shipping but it was worth it and very easy.

 

[TheRyuu]

Happy here. Got 2 7900GT's step up'd from 7800's for $20.

There Customer Support is some of the best IMO.

<--- Happy Camper here

 

[A5]

For cards that sell elsewhere at retail anyway, it's a good way to get a discount.

 

[vtohthree]

edit* just read the posts that were made before I made this post..interesting.

Oh yeah I should've gave the example in my case.... For example, I was unsure between these two cards 6 months ago, the 6800GS and the 7800GT, at the time the prices on online vendors were roughly $200(6800gs) and $300(7800gt). I was struggling to pick between the two when someone brought up this "step up program" concept...and recommended the 6800GS, it made sense, buy the weaker card now, and then use it to reimburse to get the better card later.

BUT, I'd get ripped off and it doesn't make sense!

IE:

total cost of buying a 7800GT initially= $300

total cost of buying a 7800GT through step up = $200 + $230= $430
(and this is the current price too, I believe it would've been more for me at that time)

ON TOP OF THIS... the 7800GT was on backorder back then and STILL IS!!! hence you couldn't take advantage of the program
even if you wanted to!
--------------------------------------
$230 you have to pay in order to get a 7800GT from a 6800GS(in my application, even worse now since 6800GS is worth less than my time of purchase...)
the following 90days after my purchase with rebates(some even instant i believe) the 7800GT ended up being $240 from online vendors, plus you get to
keep your original card, hence you have two, and you could sell the other one(in this case the 6800GS)

Hence...the step up program, overall...is worthless, if anything you lose, and its not a benefit(there maybe some freak incidents, but you get the ultimate point),
like I was saying eariler, just marketing hype, and I still see people posting on the hot deals forums "HOT BECAUSE YOU CAN STEP UP!!" for an evga card...=T

 

[LittleNemoNES]

yeah not all their options are a deal but my case sure was. Thank Nvidia for the lower prices of the 7900 series.

 

[vtohthree]

Originally posted by: gersson
I upgraded my 7800 GT CO for a 7900 GT for free -- well, I paid $18 for shipping but it was worth it and very easy.

WHAT?!?!!?!? haha...yeah I just saw the prices on the EVGA website...yes..in that case, YES..you got a good deal, lol...the 7900GT costs less than the 7800GT from them!!! I am amazed to see they have it for so cheap on their site..amazed...for list price!!!


edit* unfortunately for me, I just bought at the wrong time, the 7900Gt didn't exist within my reachable step-up period..DANG iT! I feel like a sucker now... -_-

 

[TheRyuu]

You pay the difference. If the 6800GS cost $200 and you step uped to the 7800/7900 for $300, then you pay $100+$10 for ground shipping (expensive!).

Overall, in certain cases, the step up program works extreamly well. Evga are slowy but surly completing the step ups.

 

[sindows]

I have to agree with OP, EVGA's tradeup program is marketing genious but doesn't actually save people money.

For instance, suppose you bought a 7800GT before the 7900s came out and you wanted to tradeup. You probably would've paid ~$275 for the 7800 if I remember my prices correclty. Now for the step-up program to work, you have to "trade" your card in for the MSRP of the card you want, which in this case is the 7900gt and the MSRP is $300. That means the owner has to pay $25 to cover the difference in MSRP while also paying ~$10 for shipping. In effect, thats an extra $35 on top of the 275 so the total is $310.

Unless I'm doing something wrong, its not exactlly a good "deal"

 

[Skyhanger]

I got a 7800GT w/ a free mobo for $470 when the deal came out. The 7800GTX and mobo would have cost me $570 at the time.

After thinking about it, I decided to upgrade the card for $80, thus technically saving me $20.

The step-up works fine as intended, expect a 1 day turnaround and 5-day ground shipping once they receive the card... so you might be out of a card for ~2 weeks depending on how you ship it.

If they are out of stock, they will keep you in queue and notify you when it comes back in stock. Just make sure you send in the request before the deadline and you'll be fine.

 

[sodcha0s]

Originally posted by: vtohthree

Originally posted by: gersson
I upgraded my 7800 GT CO for a 7900 GT for free -- well, I paid $18 for shipping but it was worth it and very easy.

WHAT?!?!!?!? haha...yeah I just saw the prices on the EVGA website...yes..in that case, YES..you got a good deal, lol...the 7900GT costs less than the 7800GT from them!!! I am amazed to see they have it for so cheap on their site..amazed...for list price!!!


edit* unfortunately for me, I just bought at the wrong time, the 7900Gt didn't exist within my reachable step-up period..DANG iT! I feel like a sucker now... -_-

Hmmmm, so if the 7900GT costs less than the 7800GT CO plus $18 shipping then basically he overpaid for the 7900GT, right?

 

[Skyhanger]

Originally posted by: vtohthree

Originally posted by: gersson
I upgraded my 7800 GT CO for a 7900 GT for free -- well, I paid $18 for shipping but it was worth it and very easy.

edit* unfortunately for me, I just bought at the wrong time, the 7900Gt didn't exist within my reachable step-up period..DANG iT! I feel like a sucker now... -_-

Just put in a step-up request and if the card you want is out of stock, they'll put you in queue.

When the stuff comes back in stock, they'll notify you and you can send in your old card.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: sindows
I have to agree with OP, EVGA's tradeup program is marketing genious but doesn't actually save people money.

For instance, suppose you bought a 7800GT before the 7900s came out and you wanted to tradeup. You probably would've paid ~$275 for the 7800 if I remember my prices correclty. Now for the step-up program to work, you have to "trade" your card in for the MSRP of the card you want, which in this case is the 7900gt and the MSRP is $300. That means the owner has to pay $25 to cover the difference in MSRP while also paying ~$10 for shipping. In effect, thats an extra $35 on top of the 275 so the total is $310.

Unless I'm doing something wrong, its not exactlly a good "deal"

No, you are not doing anything wrong. But you should take the alternative into account!

The alternative is that you buy a 7900GT from a retailer and sell your 7800GT on ebay. If you think you can do better that way, you can. But, very likely, you cannot. Do you think you can sell a used 7800GT for $275.00 now? You probably have to wait for rebates to come if you find a good deal on 7900GT. You have to spend on ebay and paypal. You will never be sure how much you can sell your 7800 for. This all takes time and luck to some extent.

This is just an alternative. It is meant to give you an assurance that just in case a new generation of cards come out right after you buy a new card, and your new card is depreciated, you can recover.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s

Originally posted by: vtohthree

Originally posted by: gersson
I upgraded my 7800 GT CO for a 7900 GT for free -- well, I paid $18 for shipping but it was worth it and very easy.

WHAT?!?!!?!? haha...yeah I just saw the prices on the EVGA website...yes..in that case, YES..you got a good deal, lol...the 7900GT costs less than the 7800GT from them!!! I am amazed to see they have it for so cheap on their site..amazed...for list price!!!


edit* unfortunately for me, I just bought at the wrong time, the 7900Gt didn't exist within my reachable step-up period..DANG iT! I feel like a sucker now... -_-

Hmmmm, so if the 7900GT costs less than the 7800GT CO plus $18 shipping then basically he overpaid for the 7900GT, right?

Yeah, I really did! about $12 overpaid ;-)

Funny thing is I was gonna sell it to my friend for $150 (thank god he's such a damn cheapskate!)

BTW, I used my step up on the very last day cos it didnt occur to me that I was still eligible -- lucky me!

 

[Ryan Norton]

Yeah... I went from 7800GTX to 7900GTX via stepup. The only money I lost on my 7800 was $20 and shipping, because I paid $459 at Newegg and it was $439 when I stepped up. The only alternative to obtain a 7900GTX was for me to buy the cheapest 7900GTX retail and then attempt to sell my 7800GTX... I doubt I could have gotten more than $300 for a used card. EVGA overlooks the "used"ness of the returning card. Ironically the EVGA MSRP for the 7900 I got, $499, is cheaper than the $509 Newegg sells it for, so it's almost like I gained there =^)

That said, it took a REALLY long time... I think I was in the queue for about six weeks. It took them one business day from receiving my emailed invoice to approve it, and two business days with my 7800GTX before my replacement card was shipped.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: vtohthree

Originally posted by: gersson
I upgraded my 7800 GT CO for a 7900 GT for free -- well, I paid $18 for shipping but it was worth it and very easy.

WHAT?!?!!?!? haha...yeah I just saw the prices on the EVGA website...yes..in that case, YES..you got a good deal, lol...the 7900GT costs less than the 7800GT from them!!! I am amazed to see they have it for so cheap on their site..amazed...for list price!!!


edit* unfortunately for me, I just bought at the wrong time, the 7900Gt didn't exist within my reachable step-up period..DANG iT! I feel like a sucker now... -_-

IMO...the 7900GT is not that much better than a 7800GT. For those that were able to upgrade for ~$20 it's a good deal. But I wouldn't pay >$30 to upgrade from a 7800GT to a 7900GT.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

sure it is. The 7900 GT is like a 7800 GTX so its worth it.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Budarow

IMO...the 7900GT is not that much better than a 7800GT. For those that were able to upgrade for ~$20 it's a good deal. But I wouldn't pay >$30 to upgrade from a 7800GT to a 7900GT.

I damned well would

My 7800GT is overclocked so it performs almost as fast as a 7900GT, so common sense says that to upgrade it to the 7900GT would be a waste of time and money. Untill you remember that you can overclock the 7900GT even further.

 

[The Dome]

My 7900gt is in "pending" for shipping...bah