GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Purchased, Receives Water Bottle Instead

Purchasing a graphics card in 2026 should arguably be considered a risky endeavor. A prime example of this comes from Russia, involving the purchase of a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. According to reports, this graphics card was bought from Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer. It was there that a gamer paid approximately 1,000 euros (at the current exchange rate) for their new graphics card. While this retailer is very popular, it's also known for scams, making it a case where caution is indeed the better part of valor.

Specifically, the individual decided to record the unboxing of the graphics card. Initially, everything seemed to be in order. The box was in perfect condition and even protected by plastic. However, upon opening it, they were met with a surprise. They hadn't bought a new GPU for 1,000 euros, but rather the most expensive 1.5 or 2-liter bottle of water in the world. Fortunately, the entire incident was captured on video, providing proof for their claim.

Expected a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, Found a Bottle of Water Instead

The video was published on X by the account @oldValkyrie. As we anticipated, the recording begins when the pickup point employee themselves hands the package directly to the buyer, who inspects the box and shows its identifiers before breaking the seal.

At first glance, the outer box appeared intact and properly sealed. However, upon removing the Gigabyte packaging and opening the inner box, a plastic bottle filled with water was found occupying the space where the GPU should have been. This makes it impossible to determine when the RTX 5070 Ti disappeared. It could be a fraudulent return that was resold, tampering during distribution, or a package prepared this way before reaching the warehouse. We've seen this happen before on Amazon Spain and other stores and countries. The idea of a full water bottle is to match the weight of the GPU. This is how stores are deceived when a sealed product is returned.

At the time of writing, it has not been publicly confirmed whether Wildberries immediately agreed to replace the item with another GPU or refunded the buyer. What is recorded is that the package was delivered by an employee and opened within the premises, with the process recorded by both the buyer and, presumably, the store's security cameras. This would make it much more difficult to accuse the buyer of replacing the graphics card themselves after receiving it, especially since this store does not allow returns once the package has been opened.

Video Goes Viral with Jokes About "Liquid Cooling"

The post has already surpassed 650 replies, and the most popular reaction has been to take the situation with humor. One of the most shared comments, with nearly 1,800 likes, simply states, "liquid cooling included," turning the bottle into the supposed water-cooling system of an imaginary GeForce RTX 5070 Ti "Russia Edition."

Beyond the jokes, numerous Russian users highlight that opening the package at the pickup point was the right decision. As explained in the replies, once the factory seal is broken, it might not be possible to directly refuse certain products, forcing the buyer to take them and later process a claim. Without a complete unboxing video, the platform or seller could claim that the bottle was introduced later. Therefore, many consider opening high-cost purchases on camera to be the best possible protection.

The comments also include criticism of the Wildberries store, particularly regarding the difficulties some buyers claim to have encountered when processing returns. However, others recall that similar frauds can also occur on competing platforms in the country, such as Ozon. The author of the post maintains that the video is real, that the affected person is a friend of her husband, and that she received his authorization to share it. In the absence of an official explanation, one of the most repeated theories is that another customer may have previously kept the RTX 5070 Ti, returned the box with a bottle, and the package ended up back on sale without its contents being properly checked. We've seen this before with various GPUs and even RAM.