Amazon locked NVIDIA's RTX 50-series GPUs behind a Prime membership — Here are all the cards you can buy right now

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition (front) compared to RTX 5090 Founders Edition (rear)

NVIDIA's RTX 50-series GPUs are now easier to come by for Amazon Prime subscribers. (Image credit: Windows Central | Ben Wilson)

It's no secret that NVIDIA has struggled to keep its latest RTX 50-series GPUs on shelves ever since the first Blackwell cards launched in January 2025.

The struggle is borne from a combination of NVIDIA's own manufacturing schedule and general output (or lack thereof), high demand from regular consumers, and scalpers buying up available stock to resell at a higher price.

Amazon, usually one of the first stops when checking for available RTX 5000 GPUs, has implemented a new measure to combat scalping.

First spotted by AndroidHeadlines, most NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs sold directly from Amazon are now locked behind a Prime subscription requirement.

👉 Where to buy NVIDIA RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs

While you can still buy directly from any third-party retailers without a Prime subscription — usually at a higher price than Amazon would sell at — you'll now see a button suggesting you join Prime rather than the regular buy button if you aren't already a member.

Amazon Prime requirement for RTX 50-series — Not an Amazon Prime member? This is what you'll see when attempting to buy an RTX 50-series GPU. (Image credit: Amazon)

Why did Amazon lock NVIDIA GPUs behind a membership?

Amazon always wants to drive Prime subscriptions any way it can; I'm no huge fan of Amazon, but I admit it's a smart move from a business standpoint.

What about for regular consumers? Amazon's main goal is to combat quick scalping, but it's essentially asking regular buyers to pay it a subscription premium to participate.

Scalpers have been having a grand old time buying up stock immediately just to relist at a higher price.

👉 Where to buy RTX 5070 Ti GPUs

This has led to shortages and high-priced cards sitting around, unsold, teasing those of us who don't want to pay the scalper tax on top of an inflated MSRP.

Digging a bit deeper into current RTX 50-series stock levels at Amazon, it looks like the move is working so far.

I put together this list of NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs currently available at Amazon exclusively to Prime members.

I don't doubt that more of NVIDIA's RTX 50-series GPUs will fall under the Prime requirement as stock comes in, but for now that's what I could find.

Interestingly, it doesn't look like all RTX 50-series GPUs sold directly from Amazon have the Prime requirement.

PNY's RTX 5070 is listed at $699.99 and can be purchased by non-Prime subscribers.

I'm expecting the same treatment to come to AMD's Radeon RX 9000 GPUs. I tried looking for a listing with the same Prime exclusivity, but the scarce options make it difficult.

If you haven't shopped online in the last two decades, Amazon Prime is a subscription-based membership service.

It has millions of members, and it comes with several major perks that make it worth the $14.99/month or $139/year subscription fee.

Subscribers get same-day, one-day, and two-day free shipping as applicable, there are exclusive deals and early access promotions, and you get access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Amazon Photos, Amazon Prime Gaming, and Amazon Prime Reading.

You can add exclusive access to the latest GPUs to that list.

Amazon Prime subscriptions come with a 30-day free trial, and I don't see anything that suggests you can't use the free trial to pick up a new GPU and cancel before you're billed.