Why on earth did HDD get so expensive in 1 month???!!

[robertzoso22]

So i was browsing HDD upgrades for my rig and i had found a Seagate Barracuda 1TB to get next time i got paid. At the time it was priced $64.99, and most of the other HDDs were around the $54-79 range for 1TB. My only question is why they are $120-$150 dollar range on newegg now...and it wasn't rebates because it was only like a $5 rebate. And the instant savings was only like $10. So how on earth, or why is this happening?

Link to Seagate barracuda 1TB now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

 

[jsc]

I noticed the same thing today.

I don't know.

 

[ilysaml]

Oh guys you didn't read the news, the main factories in Thailand was facing floods wich prevented production to function and it will take several quarters to stand up again.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/seagate-wd-hard-disk-drive-thailand-flood,13802.html

 

[densetsu612]

In case you are not aware, many of the HDD manufacturers make their drives from Thailand.
Thailand is currently suffering from massive flooding that has caused factories to suspend the production of hard drives. In some cases, the floods have caused significant damage to factories and significantly impacted parts necessary for building drives. Expect HDD prices to remain high for the next quarter or two.

 

[fzabkar]

Here are some photos of WD's factory:
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2011/11/1/photo-horrific-images-of-flooded-western-digital-factory.aspx

 

[ecantu]

They were just looking for an excuse to run up the declining prices. And luckily they got it.

RAM makers are probably hopinh for a disaster as well so they can increase prices.

 

[dalauder]

+1 fzabkar

Nice pics. I'd imagined it was something less severe looking than that.

 

[lp231]

They were just looking for an excuse to run up the declining prices. And luckily they got it.
RAM makers are probably hopinh for a disaster as well so they can increase prices.

Idiot, GTFO!

 

[thesnappyfingers]

They were just looking for an excuse to run up the declining prices. And luckily they got it.

RAM makers are probably hopinh for a disaster as well so they can increase prices.

You assume RAM manufactures want a flood of epic proportions to destroy countless homes, jobs and peoples lives, so they can make a few extra dollars?

I also think you mean retailers (correct me if I am wrong) not the manufactures, as in the HDD example, the manufactures kind of got screwed...and any additional profit made from the cost hike (which there wont be any as the majority of HDD were already purchased from the manufacture) will more than be offset by the damages to their operations.

Pretty stupid comment to make

 

[nerrawg]

This is bad for everybody apart from manufacturers (as long as they had insurance).

Manufacturers
Manufacturers will not only get the insurance money for their damaged stock, but also the ability to charge more on all new contracts until the supply has met the demands of large OEMs as all of the competition has been effected. Because the insurance should cover the flood damage (if they were smart) their overhead should remain the same on their products, so the increased prices directly equivocate to increased revenues. Manufacturers that failed to take out the right insurance coverage might find them selves both figuratively and literally under water as the competition will be able to cut costs faster once production ramps up.

Retailers and Us
Large system builders like Dell, Acer, HP etc. will still be placing similar orders, meaning that manufacturing demand will remain same as before - only supply is effected. Prices have more than doubled now (UK) so nobody who doesn't absolutely have to is buying a HDD over here, I would assume this is the same everywhere. This means that demand among individual consumers is down and that E-tailers and retailers selling to individuals will be operating with the expectation of lowered gross revenues because of this lowered demand. Naturally they will transfer this cost to the consumer and attempt to negate the loss in revenues by further increasing prices. Needless to say the unlucky few customers buying HDDs for the next few months are going to pay hard.

The Future Prices
I don't fear costs being unnecessarily high for too long though, once production ramps up again, competition to get contracts and orders from the big OEMs are going to drive down prices once the supply shortage is over. As a small time system builder/enthusiast your best bet is just to wait this one out if you can.

 

[compman_23]

Anyone that falls for this is just plain stupid. If this were true, there would be a shortage of hard drives. There is absolutely NO shortage of hard drives on the market. There are plenty of them in stock everywhere you go, but now the prices are ridiculous! This is nothing more than collusion by the companies, because computer parts aren't making a lot of money. If anyone disagrees, then simply look at the good old supply and demand. There is NO shortage at all, so there should be NO price increase at all. I hope the justice department looks into this price gouging. The only way we can stop this, short of an investigation, is to NOT buy them at these criminal prices. I'm not buying a hard drive that is supposed to be $60. for $159. just to make them rich.
Again, it's amazing how you can buy all you want if you pay their inflated prices.............Not me!!!!!!!

 

[dkreasoner]

Anyone that falls for this is just plain stupid. If this were true, there would be a shortage of hard drives. There is absolutely NO shortage of hard drives on the market. There are plenty of them in stock everywhere you go, but now the prices are ridiculous! This is nothing more than collusion by the companies, because computer parts aren't making a lot of money. If anyone disagrees, then simply look at the good old supply and demand. There is NO shortage at all, so there should be NO price increase at all. I hope the justice department looks into this price gouging. The only way we can stop this, short of an investigation, is to NOT buy them at these criminal prices. I'm not buying a hard drive that is supposed to be $60. for $159. just to make them rich.
Again, it's amazing how you can buy all you want if you pay their inflated prices.............Not me!!!!!!!

I guess is always feels better to blame somebody for your woes, but this blame is misplaced. There is no such thing as price collusion in an open competiive market. As price goes up, the demand for all commodities go down (economics 101). As the price of hard drives increases the price of computers, some people who would have bought computers (or hard drives) hold off on their purchase. As demand falls, eventually prices will soften to the point of no profit. In a competitive market, prices are set just above the point of profit (because they have to compete with other producers of the same product). Once companies are able to produce hard drives in high volume, they will push them out to take advantage of pricing. Once they do that, the prices will fall again to the level just above profit.

I want new hard drive to build my server but (like you )I will wait until prices soften. That is why there are drives for sale. You and I can wait it out.

 

[JPHL]

if you really understood the idea behind supply and demand you would know that they raise prices till the number of people willing to buy drives at that price matches the number of drives. so of course you could buy them at the market price. you get shortages when for some reason the product is below market price such as when the wii came out. stores were contractually obligated to sell it at $250 which was well below the market price. now if they had been able to raise prices up to $600(just a guess on what the market price would have been) for the first couple months and then slowly fall to $250 there would not have been a shortage

 

[vdumitru85]

349 lei=100$ is it expensive for a ssd of 60 GB ? I did not buy it, to get speed. But I will buy once a 2 TB harddrive. Now I did not buy it, I used a 1 TB old one, before the flood of Thai.
Not speed is what I want, I want storage.