I think it is wrong they wouldn't send him another 290, but I can see no rebate at $600. Kinda. Still crap, but corporate usual.
What do you mean, "kinda"? Why would a store refund a customer more than their purchase price?
Let's say you sold something at a garage sale (say, a video card) for $100 and the guy came back the next day and said it didn't work. He then says that the same model will cost $200 on eBay so you need to refund him $200 since you have no replacement to give him. Does that make sense? No.
I can see validity in the complaint that Newegg should've just given him another comparable 290, but thinking Newegg should issue refunds based on "market price" is absurd.
The only problem with Amazon is they don't have as much selection for PC parts. I remember when I bought my motherboard. Newegg had it but amazon didn't. Oh well, I'm not really loyal to any one e-tailer but Amazon has been good for me in the past.
Newegg is also much, much cheaper on many components as well -- in many cases on regular prices and especially on sale prices. When I built my new server last year, I REALLY wanted to get the components from Amazon, but Newegg was far cheaper on many components. Amazon now charges sales tax in Indiana, so Newegg temporarily has an advantage there too (Newegg is building a huge new warehouse in Indianapolis, not far from me, so they too will be charging Indiana sales tax soon).