So, already gone and posted a ticket about it for now, but...
 
In short, bought the card at the end of Oct. before the stocks disappeared. Built the machine it was in, and it worked fine. Didn't see anything wrong with it, but I also didn't start gaming either so it mostly sat at idle with the fans off.
 
After trying to stress some CPU clocks which brought the fans on for a few hours, one of them has a pretty erratic low pitch squeal-like noise at loads. From looking it up, it seems like the bearings are shot. I tried pushing the fan back in to reset the bearings but of course my luck would never allow that to serve as a fix.
 
So now, I have two concerns. One of them is that because the stock of 1080Ti's are gone from retail, I'll just end up with a random refurb off the shelf. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable, but I feel for a card that's a couple of months old and only actually used intensively for a few hours, a refurb that's been used for who knows many hours is a bit of a slap. That, coupled with the fact I always baby my stuff and leave it absolutely flawless, just to get someone's dinged up and crappily cared for old card. I dunno man, that just really rubs me the wrong way. I'd accept it for a card a year+ old, but this new at full price? Bleh.
 
Second concern would be if they had no stock at all and bumped me up to a 2080... they call it equivalent performance, but it also has 3GB less of VRAM, which is a direct downgrade to me because I actually need that VRAM (modding and such). And of course, I can't step up to a 2080Ti because I'm literally *one day* past the period for that. Jesus.
 
Feels like I'm not going to be pleased either way, which sucks. I realise I should've hammered this card when I got it but since it worked just fine and booting up the fans didn't make any weird noises I didn't think about it until it finally happened.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Since it's past 30 days I'm forced to take someone's dinged up recertified unit. It just bugs me because they're always scratched up (had a 1070 back in the day that the memory glitched out on, got a refurb that was scratched up but since it was quite an older card I accepted that) and I'm incredibly OCD about that stuff, making sure my own ones are absolutely flawless.
 
I realise I'm probably just going to be told to pound sand at that, but I'm just frustrated really since I had to recently deal with my mobo dying and now this happens.

Alright, have replied to the ticket for now.

It states "equal or better performance". Even with the reduced VRAM, the 2080 will beat the 1080ti. 
 
We won't know what card you get until the RMA department chooses it. 
 
There are no exceptions to the step-up program. If you miss your entry window by one minute, you can't enter the step-up queue. 

In all likelihood, you would receive a card of the same model. Even if there's no stock of the cards for sale, that doesn't mean that we're completely out of cards for RMA replacement. 

Tephnos, you will get a card that performs just as good if not better than the card you are sending in.  Any other vendor is going to do the same thing.

The summary of this thread appears to be “I want exceptions to things that haven’t happened yet and because they haven’t happened you all suck and I’m taking my ball and going to another field.” How about you see what happens and then talk to EVGA if things aren’t to your satisfaction rather than trying to get people to predict the future?

Tephnos
I figured someone would respond like that.
 
Let me try and break down my perspective here for you:
 
I've submitted a ticket, and the response was pretty much this: RMA the card, and play a dice roll because we have no idea if you will get a 1080Ti or a 2080 back. By the book and their policies, this is perfectly rational and expected and for most users this is fine. When I bought the 1080Ti with one of the main reasons being the higher vram capability, a 2080 will be a downgrade in my situation.
 
To avoid playing a dice roll, I asked if I could just pay the difference and have an exception (due to the unique circumstances and the timing of it) to be bumped up to a 2080ti. Answer was immediate no, never.
 
What is most likely going to happen is I'll get a 1080Ti back. 'So why are you still unhappy?' That's simple - the fact I have to play a dice roll in the first place and suck it up if they only have 2080's left to give me. Even if the RMA process works out in my favour the simple fact I have to go through that chance and hope for the best will leave me disappointed even if it works out for me.
 
This thread is mostly just for me to lay out why I'm disappointed in EVGA because I'd always heard they used to bend over backward for things like this, and not just follow a rote policy on a sheet of paper, never deviating from it. If anyone else happens to come across this and benefits from reading it (such as thinking about buying an EVGA card for the service but realising that it may be not what they expect at all because its mostly the same as any other vendor apparently), then the thread has served its purpose.
 
Being happy at customer service because I won a dice roll just isn't gonna happen.

Hello,
 
I understand that you are concerned about the replacement that could possibly be sent out to you. I will be reaching out to our EU team to see if there is anything we can do, but I cannot make any guarantees for you.
 
-Jacob B.

Tephnos
 
Would EVGA be adverse to me just popping in the 2080 fans if that's all I can get? I realise their design is different but the sizes should be the same, no?

This would not be possible, 2080 fans are redesigned and work different from 10 series card fans. The direction of the fan spin alone could cause heat to build up on the card due to trapped air between the fans. 

Hi,
 
in case of any RMA, we could replace your product within the same model, so it´s on stock for sure - optional you could also handle RMA within your place of purchase,
 
Please get in contact with us back to your open Support Ticket,
 
Markus

Will leave a progress update for anyone coming across the thread.
 
Currently, they're asking the EU warehouse if it is possible to ship just the cooler to me for a swap so that I don't have to go through a £700 holding charge just for a bit of metal. Hopefully that works out.

Lol.. If my RMA is approved i will be more than happy to receive 2080... But i know my luck and it will be 1080ti..

I sincerely hope there will be a happy resolution to your predicament OP. As someone who is also obsessive about the good psysical condition of my parts, I empathize with your situation.

I don't understand those who are criticizing you here. You have explained your case calmly and meticulously, and from the manufacturer's point of view it seems a no-brainer that they must find a way for you to have an 11gb ram gpu in mint conditions (either 1080ti or step-up 2080ti) to keep you happy.

Please do keep us informed.

Just saw this as i  started on a RMA on my 1080ti FTW hybrid (Over heating) =( . 
 
Did any one have any updates for this one ?
Just would like to understand what option would they provide ( if any).
Would I still get a water cooled unit and FTW edition( with FTW being better power performance) ?

What did happen with the VRAM difference ( being on 4 k gaming this kinda help out) ?