Why are hard drives so expensive now

[postmortemfear]

a few months ago they were cheap i'm talking like 50-70 bucks for 1TB on newegg and now what happened did i miss something. is this a price gouge going on now WTH.

 

[Guest]

Flood in Thailand.

More news on Western Digital's official website: http://www.wdc.com/en/

For example, price of Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB jumped 2.5-3x in Croatia in a matter of 2-3 weeks. That makes me a sad panda.

 

[Guest]

a few months ago they were cheap i'm talking like 50-70 bucks for 1TB on newegg and now what happened did i miss something. is this a price gouge going on now WTH.

I don't mean to be mean but how have you not read about it by now? lol. If you Google "Hard Drives" its bound to come up. But anyways, there was flooding in Thailand and it wiped out 40% of hard drive production for many names like Seagate, Samsung, etc. Trust me, it pisses me off too because I was days away from buying three 1TB HDD's for only $200.... now it'd cost $500-600. The crappy thing is that people thought it'd be all fine within 3-4 months but an interview from a top guy that manages stuff at Seagate said it'd take two years to get prices to normal again, unless people started getting into the hard drive producing market, since it is nice right now. So my guess is over a year. Maybe it's time to start making hard drives in my basement? =D

 

[jetman624]

You can't believe anything they are saying about timelines right now-- they are making a killing on HDs and they don't want to discourage people from purchasing now by saying it will be fixed in a few months. It will be fixed sooner than they are saying.

 

[Hawkeye22]

You can't believe anything they are saying about timelines right now-- they are making a killing on HDs and they don't want to discourage people from purchasing now by saying it will be fixed in a few months. It will be fixed sooner than they are saying.

Possibly later than sooner.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Seagate-HD-Stephen-Luczo-Toshiba-Western-Digital,14039.html

 

[DelroyMonjo]

Supply and Demand.
Grow up, kiddies!

 

[Guest]

ok, for one, if you don't know what supply and demand is, you shouldn't be using a computer.

secondly, I moved it from 2 years to one year for the reason of them trying to profit. But if you'd notice since we have to have everything made in foreign countries, one problem like this ruins pricing for a while.

And lastly, if you think they should be back up and running by now, your an idiot. Not to be a total jerk but most places over there are still 3ft under water. Look at past problems. Katrina, even though it was a hurricane, New Orleans still suffered from problems years after it happened.

 

[postmortemfear]

rofl i didnt even know there was a flood i guess u miss some news when u dump your cable tv to budget in faster internet

ill wait to buy a new harddrive

 

[gjo]

PC's of the future won't have HDD's.. we'll all be charged a subscription fee to some sort of cloud whatchamacallit.. this flood excuse is plausible and that's why they're using it. just like with everything it's really about profit per product/unit.. get ready people Everything is getting more and more expensive. especially hobby stuff and DIY items, they don't want you to be free and they def don't want you thinking for yourselves. the goal is slave labor.. kinda like paying a Thai kid .20c an hour to build a Hard drive... until he drowns.

 

[pro xxx assassin]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/HDD-IDC-shortage-supply-thailand,14232.html

 

[lawl]

ok, for one, if you don't know what supply and demand is, you shouldn't be using a computer.

...your an idiot

If you don't know when and how to use you're and your then you shouldn't be using you're computer.

 

[walrusfoxtrot1]

First off lets all back away from calling people idiots and sayign you don't have the right to use a computer.

Secondly, I believe that enough hard drives are made in India, Indonesia and China that there should be enough supply for prices to come down before too long. However I suspect that we are going to see HDD prices remain high. Why wouldn't a company use any excuse to raise prices?

Thirdly, I belive supply and demand is often used as nothing more then an excuse by companies to raise prices and not have it look like its their fault. I'm not saying there is no such thing but I do believe it is more often then not used as an excuse to raise prices.

 

[Dreaded_Fate]

The clean rooms they used to make the HDD's in are now in six feet of water. All that expensive manufacturing equipment, ruined. Therefore, to get back on track, they increase the prices of the remaining ones.

Simple enough.

 

[Bessboo]

Bring back all manufacturing to the United States and stopping all foreign aid would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

 

[Kleid]

Bring back all manufacturing to the United States and stopping all foreign aid would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

Yeah that's an amazing attitude to have, you moron. "Screw everyone else and save yourselves" "git rid of all the foreigners" makes Americans look bad. The whole reason it's done overseas is because greedy CEOs can get it done way cheaper cause greedy laborers demand to be paid $25/hour just to jam a square block in a square hole. Maybe you should step back and stop expecting the world to be handed to you on a platter for no reason.

I don't hate Americans. I have a lot of American friends. What I hate is self-centered pigs like you that think you are the masters of the world. And you call yourself a human being. I actually took the time to join this site for the sole purpose of replying here. I honestly can say I hope something horrible happens to you and your property and no one comes to help you. All people like you do is perpetuate ignorance and greed and fewer people like you would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

 

[teddymines]

Yeah that's an amazing attitude to have, you moron. "Screw everyone else and save yourselves" "git rid of all the foreigners" makes Americans look bad. The whole reason it's done overseas is because greedy CEOs can get it done way cheaper cause greedy laborers demand to be paid $25/hour just to jam a square block in a square hole. Maybe you should step back and stop expecting the world to be handed to you on a platter for no reason.

I don't hate Americans. I have a lot of American friends. What I hate is self-centered pigs like you that think you are the masters of the world. And you call yourself a human being. I actually took the time to join this site for the sole purpose of replying here. I honestly can say I hope something horrible happens to you and your property and no one comes to help you. All people like you do is perpetuate ignorance and greed and fewer people like you would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

I agree with bessbo on this on: American companies should manufacture in America provided there is demand for those kinds of products. There is plenty of opportunity for foreign companies to outsource their labor if it makes sense to them. It is a complex subject, but one that shouldn't result in you or anyone wishing harm on another.

Back to the original subject: I had no idea of the flooding either. Maybe it was just a quick mention on the news.

 

[Dustywy]

Check out the link

After the flood there was not much left. Looks like many people and many companies will have to start from scratch.
My heart goes out to them. Japan after the Tsunami and New Orleans after the hurricane. Glad I live in WY

 

[justme_32]

American companies should manufacture in America.

In any way trying to be harsh, no way, just giving my point of view. I think that you mean USA instead of America, America is the continent, from Alaska to Patagonia. Cubans, Mexicans and Argentinians are Americans too.

But the reason why companies from the first world go to manufacture in the third world is just money, more money for them and less costs, also less regulations about being friendly with the environment. Basically many companies get as much as they can from staff in poor countries, generating pollution and earning more money. Just see China, India and other countries, full of rubbish, rivers contaminated, staff committing suicide because of the number of hours they work. Crazy world!.

 

[yourmother_31]

"If you don't know when and how to use you're and your then you shouldn't be using you're computer."
This is certified proof that people are retarded. Here are some examples on how to use "your" and "you're":
You're an idiot if you try to school someone on grammar and then make the exact same grammar mistake in the same sentence.
Your mother would be ashamed.
You're embarrassing yourself.
Your face has egg all over it, go wash up.

Got it?

 

[vdumitru85]

In any way trying to be harsh, no way, just giving my point of view. I think that you mean USA instead of America, America is the continent, from Alaska to Patagonia. Cubans, Mexicans and Argentinians are Americans too.

But the reason why companies from the first world go to manufacture in the third world is just money, more money for them and less costs, also less regulations about being friendly with the environment. Basically many companies get as much as they can from staff in poor countries, generating pollution and earning more money. Just see China, India and other countries, full of rubbish, rivers contaminated, staff committing suicide because of the number of hours they work. Crazy world!.

Of course , companies try to make money, but the question why only 3 companies try to make money from hard drive production, because now are left only : Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba.
Hard drive are now big and the tehnology to make this capacities is not easy to get.
Just hope for bigger capacities and less money.

 

[freestuffplz]

Yeah that's an amazing attitude to have, you moron. "Screw everyone else and save yourselves" "git rid of all the foreigners" makes Americans look bad. The whole reason it's done overseas is because greedy CEOs can get it done way cheaper cause greedy laborers demand to be paid $25/hour just to jam a square block in a square hole. Maybe you should step back and stop expecting the world to be handed to you on a platter for no reason.

I don't hate Americans. I have a lot of American friends. What I hate is self-centered pigs like you that think you are the masters of the world. And you call yourself a human being. I actually took the time to join this site for the sole purpose of replying here. I honestly can say I hope something horrible happens to you and your property and no one comes to help you. All people like you do is perpetuate ignorance and greed and fewer people like you would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

You know what I think? I think everyone in America should have their pay capped at $3 an hour so that I can get loads of free/cheap stuff like 1TB hard drives for $10 a pop.

 

[Grizzly907LA]

Bring back all manufacturing to the United States and stopping all foreign aid would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

I agree. Rollback these laws that allow American Corporations to send manufacturing off to third world countries like Thailand and China. Onshore them. The American people have lost out because of globalization. Slap a tariff on goods imported from China and other third countries and/or insist on true fare trade policies. It wouldn't matter if you pay someone twenty five dollars a hour to work in a green room when the rest of the country is making decent money because we have a manufacturing base. Rollback to the job killing tree hugger laws that do NOTHING to protect the environment but instead kill jobs.

 

[Grizzly907LA]

Yeah that's an amazing attitude to have, you moron. "Screw everyone else and save yourselves" "git rid of all the foreigners" makes Americans look bad. The whole reason it's done overseas is because greedy CEOs can get it done way cheaper cause greedy laborers demand to be paid $25/hour just to jam a square block in a square hole. Maybe you should step back and stop expecting the world to be handed to you on a platter for no reason.

I don't hate Americans. I have a lot of American friends. What I hate is self-centered pigs like you that think you are the masters of the world. And you call yourself a human being. I actually took the time to join this site for the sole purpose of replying here. I honestly can say I hope something horrible happens to you and your property and no one comes to help you. All people like you do is perpetuate ignorance and greed and fewer people like you would be a good start at solving these types of problems.

I say cease all foreign aid, send the illegals back to where they came from, and resurrect our manufacturing base. Charity begins at home moron. Americans need to take care of Americans first! We had a great country when we were paying people twenty dollars a hour to put a square block into a square hole. The treasonous federal government that's bankster run has sold out our country and sent its wealth and manufacturing to China and other third world countries. And I agree SCREW EVERYONE ELSE!!!! America first. F the rest of the world. That was the attitude our first president and greatest General had-George Washington. By the way screw you.

 

[neilAlivE]

This thread is hysterical. People are arguing that the way to ensure cheaper drives is to have them made in the US. Do you not think that if they could make them cheaper here they wouldn't? The savings would be profit. The exact reason they (and many other things) are made overseas is that production costs are much lower, and companies can obtain a profit while remaining extremely cost competitive. I'm with the guy above...take an economics class. I"m sure the Khan Academy has some free ones!

 

[anthonypero]

I know I'm pretty late to this party, but a few things:

1) People arguing about supply and demand... Its real simple. Supply and demand IS artificial inflation of price. Companies DO use it as an excuse to raise prices. And they should. If there are three hungry guys and only one cheeseburger to be had, guess what? Somebody is making a good deal of money on that cheeseburger. Its not that YOU can't get the hard drive. It's the supply chain. The people purchasing the hard drives from the manufacturer (Amazon, Newegg, etc...) can only get so many, and they bid on them. Then they pass that increased price on to you. That is called capitalism. It's just how it works. The only other way to do it is to regulate the price via government, and to regulate who can get how many via vouchers, etc. But guess what. In THAT system Amazon and Newegg (well, their wholesalers) pay the government officials to allow them to buy more. The only ones who get them are the ones who line pockets... and then Amazon and newegg pass THAT increase in price off to you. Either way... supply, meet demand.

2) While I'm all for increasing jobs for Americans, being an American myself... none of these companies ARE American companies. They are global companies, and they pay tariffs and everything else to import in to the US. Secondly, if they WERE american companies, moving the jobs back to the US wouldn't decrease the price, which is the point of this thread. It would triple them, at least. Even if the jobs were minimum wage, it will still double the price of manufacturing hard disks. I'm quite happy to allow outsourcing of computer parts. It keeps costs ridiculously low. The dollar is worth less now than at any time in my lifetime... yet PCs and laptops (Macs notwithstanding) are LOWER than at any time in my lifetime. As much as 25% of the cost of when I first started purchasing computers. This is a direct result of outsourcing. If you want to go back to $2000 for a "budget" computer, be my guest. How many Americans will lose their jobs then, when businesses can't afford to pay them because their computers cost 4 times as much?

3) Yes, we here in the United States realize that "America" encompasses all of North and South America (America is not a continent either, genius, it's two continents). But guess what? We've been calling ourselves "Americans" since before the United States existed. So has Europe. In reference to the British colonies that became the US. We're not planning on stopping anytime soon.