Newegg vs. Gamers Nexus Controversy

Overview

Newegg vs. Gamers Nexus refers to the name of a controversy and conflict between the online tech retailer Newegg and the product review YouTube channel Gamers Nexus. The controversy originated over Newegg reportedly refusing returns of products bought on its marketplace that were undamaged, claiming they were returned broken, and took place on Twitter and YouTube over a period of one month in February 2022 when a resolution was reached that resulted in a policy change at the retailer. The event sparked numerous memes on Reddit and other sites during mid-February 2022, many featuring Steve Burke, editor-in-chief of Gamers Nexus.

Background

In late January 2022, Gamers Nexus, a prominent YouTube channel with millions of subscribers that reviews technology and computer hardware, stated that they ordered a motherboard from the company Newegg, an online distributor and retailer of new and used goods. By the time the motherboard arrived at Gamers Nexus, it was reportedly no longer needed, as a workaround was found, so the box was relabeled and shipped back as part of the return process without ever being opened. Despite the item being returned in the box it was shipped in, still untouched, the return process was denied, with Newegg claiming the product was returned broken. The ensuing process of arguing and going back and forth with several support staff was recorded and turned into a YouTube^[1] video by Gamers Nexus, which was posted on February 1st, 2022. This video sparked the onset of the controversy between Gamers Nexus and Newegg, gaining over 1 million views in 16 days (shown below).

Throughout the video, Steve Burke of Gamers Nexus mentioned several emails and YouTube comments that the channel would receive from people claiming to have horrible service from Newegg, with those interactions shown on the screen multiple times. Those few interactions that were highlighted were claimed to be only a small part of a much larger iceberg by users expressing issues with Newegg.

Online Reaction

Many more continued to share their negative experiences with Newegg in the following days after the initial video from Gamers Nexus on February 1st, 2022, turning the video into a catalyst for a much larger force of people to band together against the company. The anti-Newegg sentiment reached a boiling point on February 10th, when Gamers Nexus uploaded another video,^[2] one which detailed further interactions with Newegg and showed that the product was reportedly defective before it was even sold to Burke and that Newegg had written proof of its defectiveness, earning 1.2 million views in a week (shown below).

After the video dropped, others began to speak up as well on their negative experiences with the retailer's returns, including the YouTuber UFD Tech, who made his own video detailing how Newegg tried to ruin a charity stream and "screwed over the channel," which he uploaded^[3] on February 12th, gaining over 400,000 views in five days (shown below).

Newegg Return Policy Update

Since the initial videos by the two YouTubers, Newegg changed its customer service policy as the controversy continued growing in mid-February 2022. On February 14th, the Newegg Twitter account^[4] posted the update to its customer service policy, which states that they will begin to accept open box returns on items that they claim were accidentally sold instead of disposed of as e-waste (shown below).

This policy change was seen to many as a decisive victory by the gaming community and fans of Gamers Nexus, helping to elevate Burke to an iconic role as one who would take down and fight against corrupt or bad computer company practices, as seen in the Reddit^[5] post by Accurate-Record-3870 (shown below).

Various Reactions

Search Interest

External References