Ordered a brand new one from ebuyer uk, but when i opened the box the yellow sticker was already peeled off. i'm a bit worried this might be a return of someone else which would pee me off since i paid so much for it. what do you reckon keep or return?

It's worth mentioning that I've now had 3x 20 series EVGA GPUs. On all of them, that warranty sticker on the back plate (I think that's what you are talking about) was crooked and easily moved or barely hanging on while peeling up on one or both sides. I think it's just more of an indication of someone rushing to slap those stickers on, more than anything else. I wouldn't worry about that. Especially if the card works as intended.  

^Gotcha! Yeah, I'd be more concerned if the EVGA tape on each side of the box was cut open and/or re-applied. 

But, so long as the card acts as it should and registers with EVGA, I wouldn't put any additional thought into it. 

A tampered sticker on the anti-static bag would be of concerned as it tells me its been open.  I would get a hold of EVGA EU and see where the warranty sits since it would have already started and making this purchase a 2nd hand warranty.  If it is, I would return it for a full refund, assuming you payed full MSRP or you could decide to keep it and register it as your own but I still think it will be as a second hand status.  The thing is you don't know if it was returned and why it was returned if it was i.e bad OCer, issues with the GPU, etc.

AsimY
Im going to take it out tommorow and test it out, if it meets the advertised specs and can register it as new ill most likely keep. card is in pretty good condition cant see any dust and had all the wrapping on the shroud. would be sad to see the 1080ti go though which in my opinion is a much better looking gpu (especially the lighted back plate)

Just hold on to the 1080ti till you get yourself dialed in with the 2080 Ti before you let it go.

eventually decided to keep, spoke to evga who said its never been registered. registered it as new and purchased extended warranty. covered by EVGA warranty if anything goes wrong so why not. 

Hello AsimY, 
 
 
I can further look into this for you in regards to the warranty and legitimacy of the card. Please email me at tnguyen@evga.com with an image of the front and back of the card alongside with the serial number.
 
 
Regards,
Thomas N. 

AsimY
eventually decided to keep, spoke to evga who said its never been registered. registered it as new and purchased extended warranty. covered by EVGA warranty if anything goes wrong so why not. 

EVGATech_ThomasN
Hello AsimY, 
 
 
I can further look into this for you in regards to the warranty and legitimacy of the card. Please email me at tnguyen@evga.com with an image of the front and back of the card alongside with the serial number.
 
 
Regards,
Thomas N. 
 
sure, im going to give my pc a clean tommorow when i do ill take the gpu out and take a few pics