4 Computer Parts You Should Avoid Buying From Amazon

Building a PC is one of the most rewarding tech projects you can undertake—it’s like assembling a high-performance puzzle where every piece matters. The satisfaction of booting up a machine you built yourself is unmatched, and often you can save money compared to pre-built systems. Amazon seems like the perfect marketplace for sourcing PC components: vast selection, fast shipping, and easy returns. But beneath that convenient surface lurks a minefield of potential scams and quality issues that could turn your dream build into a nightmare.

As someone who’s been building, upgrading, and repairing PCs for decades, I’ve learned that some components are simply too risky to purchase from Amazon’s marketplace. The current tech landscape is already challenging enough with the RAM crisis driving prices through the roof, and Amazon’s unique problems only compound the issue. From commingling practices that mix legitimate products with counterfeits to sellers exploiting return policies, the risks are real and growing.

Let me walk you through the four computer parts you should think twice about before clicking that “Buy Now” button on Amazon.

RAM

The RAM market is in absolute chaos right now. Major manufacturers like Micron have largely abandoned consumer RAM sales, and AI companies are gobbling up every available memory chip, driving prices to absurd levels. But the real danger on Amazon isn’t just the price—it’s the rampant scamming.

Two major incidents reported by VideoCardz and Guru of 3D revealed customers receiving falsely labeled RAM sticks that actually contained older, slower DDR2 modules instead of the advertised DDR5. These weren’t isolated incidents either. Reddit is filled with stories of people receiving the wrong standard, incorrect sizes, or outright convincing counterfeits.

The commingling practice that Amazon ended on March 31, 2026, was a huge part of the problem. Items with matching barcodes could be shipped from any seller’s inventory, meaning you might get RAM from a seller you’d never trust if you saw their storefront. It was shockingly easy to pass off DDR4 RAM as DDR5 if the packaging looked convincing enough.

If you absolutely must upgrade your RAM now, Amazon should be your absolute last resort. If you do buy from them, test thoroughly and immediately. You deserve what you paid for, especially when you’re paying these insane prices.

GPUs

NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards have been getting worse in recent years—underwhelming “next-gen” cards that remove legacy features, driver issues that would make AI-generated code seem optimized, and increasing hardware defects. It’s never been a better time to buy used or hold onto your current card.

But Amazon’s problems with GPUs go beyond just quality issues. The same commingling nightmare that affected RAM has led to some truly bizarre incidents. One Redditor received a literal paver brick instead of a graphics card, carefully wrapped in anti-static plastic. Others have reported receiving midrange cards stickered as higher-end models, GPUs with missing VRAM, or even bags of rice.

Amazon’s systems have proven so flawed that fake listings persist, and bricks can make it through multiple layers of fraud detection. In a cost-of-living crisis with already unaffordable computing parts, desperate people will exploit any system weakness they can find.

Even if you receive what appears to be the correct GPU and it’s not counterfeit, you have no idea about its condition. It might work perfectly for a few months before dying, or it could catch fire and destroy your entire system. The risk simply isn’t worth it.

Cheap, High-Capacity SSDs

SSDs offer one of the most noticeable performance improvements for gaming and general computing, especially compared to traditional HDDs. But like RAM, the memory crisis has hit SSDs hard, with prices seeing eye-watering markups across the board.

Amazon is rife with SSD scams, but sometimes they’re easier to spot than other components. The golden rule applies: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. When a 16TB SSD costs one-tenth of a genuine Samsung 9100 PRO 8TB SSD, something is very wrong.

Fake listings aside, Reddit is filled with horror stories of scam SSDs. But even legitimate-looking SSDs come with risks on Amazon. SSDs have a limited lifespan, and without testing, you have no idea how much use a drive has seen. Amazon’s practice of reselling returned items as new makes it impossible to know if you’re getting a fresh drive or one that’s been heavily used in someone’s NAS, writing hundreds of gigabytes daily.

The return policies that let people return items up to a year later create opportunities for abuse. Someone could use an NVMe drive extensively, then return it and get a refund, leaving Amazon to resell it as new. If bricks can make it through Amazon’s systems, we doubt employees are checking drives for bad sectors.

microSDs (Especially High-Capacity Ones)

MicroSD cards are incredibly convenient for expanding storage on laptops, handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck OLED, and other devices. But they suffer from similar issues to SSDs, with sellers trying to pass off impossible storage capacities at too-good-to-be-true prices.

Amazon is flooded with microSD scams where cheap cards use software trickery to make your computer think they’re many times larger than they really are. You might only discover the fraud when previously written data becomes corrupted or inaccessible, or when speeds are suspiciously slow.

Stick to big-name brands like SanDisk, Lexar, and Samsung, and look for thoroughly reviewed products. Also, know that the highest-capacity microSD card currently available is 2TB—anything claiming higher capacity is fiction. But as we’ve established, it’s hard to know what you’re getting on Amazon when the previous owner could have returned something entirely different.

Remember that microSD cards use flash memory, just like SSDs, making them susceptible to wearing out. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed my microSD cards seem to die much sooner than dedicated drives. With AI driving memory prices higher, you should be absolutely certain you’re getting a new card if you’re paying premium prices. Amazon can’t even guarantee the actual product, as we’ve established repeatedly.

Be Cautious With Anything Used

When new products are too expensive or unavailable, buying used is a completely viable option. There are plenty of computer parts you can safely buy used without losing sleep. However, Amazon’s “used like new” PC parts come with significant risks.

Amazon’s return process is unreliable, as we’ve discussed extensively. But there’s another issue: it’s much harder to identify problems with computer components than with most other consumer goods. You can have an item that looks flawless externally, only to discover it’s completely non-functional once installed.

CPUs and GPUs contain billions of transistors invisible to the naked eye, making it extremely difficult for consumers to diagnose issues and get timely returns. Problems can be complex and require hours of testing to identify which component is malfunctioning and why. Is your GPU failing or just overheating? Does it need repair or should it be thrown away?

Amazon’s policies unnecessarily complicate this entire process. Buy elsewhere if possible, but if you must use Amazon, prepare yourself for potential headaches and wasted time down the road.

Tags: PC building, computer parts, Amazon scams, RAM crisis, GPU defects, SSD lifespan, microSD fraud, used computer parts, tech scams 2026, hardware reliability, PC upgrade risks, Amazon marketplace issues, memory pricing, graphics card problems, storage device scams

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