If you happened to have bought a GeForce GTX 280 card when it released for US $649, you'd probably be extremely disgruntled, with people paying as low as $499 for the same thing now, and just weeks after release. Such changes in the tech-industry even cause major legal trouble for card vendors when such customers sue them in this regard. Ironically, the role of NVIDIA is limited to dictating prices, the partners have to bear the brunt of such awkward situations. XFX is the first partner to have announced a cash-back scheme for people who purchased their GTX 200 series products at their old (high) prices.

Says XFX: "Being the first to do anything is a rewarding experience. And now, if you were one of the first to purchase one of our XFX GeForce GTX 280 or GeForce GTX 260 graphics cards, there's another potential reward in your future-cold hard cash.

Sudden changes in the market have caused the price for the XFX GeForce GTX 280 and the XFX GeForce GTX 260 to drop. As a result, we want to thank you for your continued loyalty and for believing in the XFX brand. And, to show our commitment to you, we are issuing up to $120 CASH BACK to customers who purchased one of these cards between June 16, 2008 and July 11, 2008. The actual amount of cash back will be determined based on the model purchased, as well as the date and price of the purchase."

The efforts of XFX at this point are commendable, though as customers of non-XFX GeForce GTX 200 series cards, you must expect your card vendor to put up such a scheme. Details of availing this scheme are provided here.