XFX Closes Down Online Stores In China After Seizure Of Mislabeled GPUs

XFX is having a tough few days in China due to the recent controversy involving a mislabeled GPU shipment.

In response to the issue, the AMD AIB (add-in board partner) has closed down its online stores in the country. This includes both its Chinese website and its e-commerce page on TMall, according to DotESports. As of this writing, the online stores have been closed for days, though there's no indication that XFX is directly involved in the problem.

That "problem" refers to over 5,800 pieces of AMD graphics cards worth over $3 million. Said to be a bunch of RX 6700 XTs, the GPUs reportedly featured mislabeled specifications.

According to Chinese authorities, this is a common way for companies to lower the import tax on products they bring in, reports VideoCardz. In layman's terms, this is basically a tax evasion attempt.

But if it is true that the company wants to skirt around the import tax laws, they would've been able to earn more profit from selling the cards. That's because with lower import tax comes lower prices, writes WCCFTech.

The shipment containing a total of 5,840 graphics cards was seized right during China's intense crackdown on crypto mining, which could mean that PC gamers there might finally get a fair shake, writes Tom's Hardware. That's because XFX has allegedly already figured in some shady dealings with crypto miners in the past, more so during the early days of the pandemic.

XFX's Shady Dealings

VideoCardz reported way back in 2020 that the very same company was rumored to be directly selling to crypto miners. This was posted as a rumor in the MyDrivers forums, which directly implicates XFX.

The rumors say that the company has sold most of its stocks of RX 580 8GB, RX 590 8GB, and RX 5600 XT/5700 XT graphics cards directly to miners instead of retailers. But while this rumor was never officially confirmed, there were multiple sightings of said cards online being resold as mining cards. Not just in China, mind you, but other places in the world like Dubai, as shown in this video:

Is AMD Doing Something With This?

As of now, AMD has not issued a comment on the issue. XFX's California HQ has also not issued its own statement on the matter, making this a developing story. But this could have major implications on XFX moving forward.

If it is confirmed that XFX China deliberately mislabeled the GPU shipment to skirt around import tax laws, that is a criminal offense. This might put the company's entire Chinese branch out of business. But this isn't even the first time that a graphics card shipment has been seized with a similar irregularity.

As per the original VideoCardz report, around 150,000 used and brand-new GPUs have been imported the same way into China in the past.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce