RTX 5090 Buyer at Micro Center Handed a No-Export Declaration
XORit Editorial · Sources, AI assistance and corrections
In early October 2026, a Micro Center customer said on Reddit that when buying a PowerSpec Ai90 prebuilt computer with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card, he had to show his driver's license and fill out a "Purchaser Declaration." The story was picked up by the specialized press, including Wccftech, citing a post by user u/Krothic. So far this is a single described case, not an official rule for the entire store chain.
What the Declaration Says
The form explicitly mentions the "NO EXPORT" policy: Micro Center, as the document states, will not sell the card to anyone who intends to export, re-export, resell or transfer it outside the United States. By signing, the buyer confirms that he will use the accelerator only for personal or work tasks within the country.
A separate clause concerns liability for the information in the declaration. If the buyer provides inaccurate or misleading information, the seller has the right to refuse the sale or cancel it.
The context explains why the retailer needed such a formality. The RTX 5090 debuted a year earlier at $1,999, but in most regions its price has already exceeded $5,000, and the card is considered the most expensive gaming model on the market. Demand remains very high.
Why This Is Happening
Why the retailer went for such a formality at all, the article's author explains this way: the sale of the RTX 5090 is banned in certain regions, including China, and attempts are being made to curb the export of cards to such regions. The columnist doubts that declarations will stop the gray market: according to him, large batches of hardware reach mainland China in circumvention of the rules, and in laboratories the cards are converted into AI accelerators, for which the chips are removed and placed on their own boards. This is the author's assessment, not a confirmed fact.
Micro Center itself has not yet stated that the requirement applies in all stores. There is no publicly available confirmation of a mass practice, so it is too early to speak of a new norm for the entire chain.
The practical effect is also unconfirmed: it is unknown whether a signature on the declaration will become an obstacle to export or remain a formality at the checkout.
Translation editors: Соловьев В., Пеков А.
Source: wccftech.com ↗