Brazilian electronics and IT distributor Oderço says two pallets of Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics cards worth around $470,000 or R$2.5 million went missing after arriving at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. According to Tom’s Hardware, the company has yet to receive an official explanation and has taken to Instagram to seek answers.
Oderço says it has never faced a case like this in its 38 years in business. With its questions about the shipment still unanswered, the company turned to Instagram to seek an explanation. In its post, Oderço did not provide an arrival date or tracking numbers, nor did it identify who was responsible for handling the pallets at the airport.
The number of missing cards is also unclear. Oderço mentioned two pallets but did not specify how many cards they contained. A Zotac RTX 5090 currently sells for around $8,000 on Amazon, while one Brazilian retailer lists a model for R$3399.99, roughly $6,300.
The missing cards could be worth even more
Based on those retail prices, the shipment’s stated value would be equivalent to roughly 60 to 70 cards. The actual number could be higher because the R$2.5 million figure represents what Oderço paid for the cargo, rather than what it could earn by selling the cards. Distributors typically buy products at wholesale prices, which are lower than retail prices.
RTX 5090 cards began disappearing from online stores in mid-September, and resellers have asked far above their usual retail prices. Rumors have circulated that Nvidia has halted production to prioritize AI hardware, though the company has reportedly denied that the RTX 5090 is being discontinued. Micro Center has also marked the card as “not carried” on its website. With supplies already tight, the disappearance of two pallets is a notable loss.
High-value hardware has attracted thieves before. In California, a crew reportedly rammed security escorts to hijack an AI hardware shipment. Another group stole two trailers marked with the Nvidia logo, only to find sand inside.
Missing shipments are not the only problem facing GPU buyers. Even when a graphics card appears to have arrived, there is no guarantee it is actually in the box. One buyer who paid $1,125 for a high-end Nvidia card became suspicious and asked to open the package at the pickup store, where he discovered that something was wrong with his order. For now, it’s unclear whether the cards were stolen, misplaced or held up by an administrative issue.
Published: Oct 19, 2026 02:00 pm