I received an email from EVGA support stating that
"Your Step-Up request has been declined because EVGA has been unable to approve the invoice that you have submitted. This may include illegible date of purchase, purchase location, part number, and/or price." It said to contact tech support for more information. I submitted an emailed invoice which I received from the local company, Advantage Computers. When emailing back asking for details, I received this:
"Answered By Matthew H (6/5/2010 8:54:41 AM): Brad,
As the e-mail stated we were unable to verify your serial number, place of purchase, and date of purchase. You can e-mail RMA@evga.com with further inquires as this is all the data I have available to me. It will tell you that the box is unmonitored, but I have forwarded your e-mail to the RMA department."
 
Now the tech support person has changed my purchase date to the year 2000, so it's no longer warrantied, or elligible for the Step Up program. I purchased this card on March 31st, 2010 and registered it towards the end of April, as I realized that the 30 day period was getting close. I purchased it from a local "authorized retailer" called Advantage Computers here in Manassas, VA. I've never had problems with RMA'ing a BFG, XFX, or OCZ products from this vendor. I also purchased an evga 7600gts from the same retailer, and RMA'ed it with no problems a year or two ago. Now, I am having this problem. I just spent over $1000 prepariing my computer for an upgrade to a gtx 480 and now, I am short. I upgraded to a corsair 850hx, an i7 930, and evga x58. Only to find that I have no purpose for it now. I have 2x evga gtx280's and was going to upgrade one, and use the other as a PHYSX card.
 
Sorry for the rant/ramble, just extremely disappointed with evga's customer serivce. I'm being told that my serial number cant be verified, and the place/price of purchase can't be verified either. It would have been so much simpler to have returned these items, if I hadn't been waiting for over a month to get to the top of the step up queue. Now, i've had the product(s) for over 60 days, and can no longer return the items to the retailer. I spent over $500 on this card, because it had the EVGA logo on it. I had a BFG 9800GTX prior, but due to the praise of EVGA's customer service I was not afraid to spend the money, as I thought to be able to step up the card down the road, making this a sound investment. Since the service rep voided my warranty, I have a 3lb paperweight sitting on my desk now.
 
Now I remember why i've been in the AMD game so long...
 
~Brad~

contact shane it may of been a glitch

always remember crap happens dont get pissed solve it in a calm and logical manner

call up evga at 1-888-881(or 880)-evga

im sure they will help you sort this out

btw im curious you purchased your mobo when? the 31st?

and exactly what day did you register it?

No, I didn't purchase the mobo on the 31st, and I didn't register it yet. It's been sitting for 2 weeks now, got it from newegg.com. I got the video card the gtx280 on March 31st from my local retailer.

Sorry, the GTX 280 is what i'm trying to Step up, no the motherboard, if that was your confusion. I purchased the motherboard just over 2 weeks ago.

I purchased a GTX 280 on March 31st, 2010, and when I look at "My Products" it now says 3/31/2000 and says that it's inelligible for step up, as the 90 days has passed, and that it's out of warranty also. I will try to reach Shane then, and hopefully have this resolved. Thanks for the heads up as to where to go.
 
Edit: I registered the card on April 28th, 2010.

I know, lol I was like WTH?? Not sure why it would be changed though, unless someone did it? Because thursday the date was fine until I got that email stating it was declined.

I wouldnt worry about it. EVGA takes care of ppl. Just stay in contact with support and get that PM into ShaneD.

My Ninja work is done here. Peace out.....

pm shane in this thread
http://forums.evga.com/tm.aspx?m=403181

but its the weekend so he may not respond till monday

your best bet is to pm shane and just wait it may be a glitch that seems to of effected another person too

=D

np =D

enjoy your evga stuffs oh and tell shane to send me a evga case =P

Again, thanks for all the input, message has been sent to Shane.

EVGA has serial number bar codes for every GPU they sell.  If you look at your card's S/N sticker its quite obvious.  Their shipping manifests have all the S/Ns in a pallette that gets shipped to any distributor or retailer, so they know exactly where their cards go and who ultimately sells them.

This bar code system provides protection for both EVGA and the retailer/distributors in cases where fraud or theft might be involved.  For EVGA it protects against fraudulent warranty claims and for retailers it provides protection against product/price switching where someone buys first when available but then tries to return it later once purchased cheaper elsewhere.  Protection against theft is obvious as any card that was lost in the channel and then popped up when someone tried to register it would probably be forwarded to the local authorities or the FBI with interstate commerce to track down who stole the goods and where.     

Sorry OP, but it sounds like you're trying to get a free step-up from a GTX 280 you claim you purchased in the last few months for $500.  A bit too convenient I'd say, can't really say EVGA is at fault here for denying your step-up given its probably fraudulent with a fabricated invoice.  You should be more angry at yourself for buying a 2 year old card for $250 more than MSRP.

bradsheetz,

Brad,  I will review the case and give you a call in a little while to assist you and find out the confusion.

Thank you
Joe Darwin
714-528-4500 x118

The card was priced at over $500. I was sold the card by the owner of the store, he claimed it was the best available at the time for the money, and sold me on the lifetime warranty, and ability to step up. The owner is now claiming that he doesn't have an invoice in his system. When I went to the store today, I was told he wont be back until thursday. They also have an ASUS 8800GT for sale for $260 right now on the shelf os maybe the prices are a bit high? I'll get back to you asap Mr. Darwin, i'm not at home right now, and don't have a phone with me. I was told by Steve Crow to get it sorted with the owner of the store, and then it could be taken care of.

bradsheetz,

Thank you for the time ont he phone today.  Please work with me on your case.

Look forward to assisting you directly to bring this to a close.

Thank you,
Joe Darwin