Why have SSD prices not really dropped in 2017?

[bluepheonix1]

Why have SSD prices on name brand SATA SSDs not really dropped in 2017?

I have been watching the price of the "Samsung 850 PRO - 512GB - 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD" for about a year now on Camel Camel Camel and the price remains relatively steady.

There has been a $20 increase from last time this year until now. What gives? I thought tech was supposed to get cheaper as time goes on.

 

[Hardware Brad]

Memory chip shortages all year. RAM and SSD prices went up for awhile and stayed there. I can't remember if it was some sort of flood, or fire. But manufacturing plants shut down.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

There pricing has to do with the flash memory shortage. Because flash memory has become so successful in the enterprise market and mobile phone market they cant manufacture enough of it. So when supply is low and demand is high, prices go up.

 

[USAFRet]

Read this from Dec 2016:
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/240531-ssd-pricewatch-ssd-prices-expected-jump-quarter-thanks-limited-nand-supply-surging-demand

And this:
http://www.pcgamer.com/ssd-prices-could-see-a-steep-decline-in-2018/

 

[Solandri]

I wouldn't exactly call 2017 prices high. if you look at the long-term trend (switch the timeframe to 2010-2017):

http://www.flashbay.com/support/faq/NAND-flash

you'll see there's a pretty consistent downward trend in prices with two exceptions: 2012 and late 2015/early 2016. There was a glut of NAND during those times - way more supply than demand. That led to manufacturers selling NAND at below production cost. So it's not really that SSD prices haven't dropped in 2017. It's that SSD prices were too low (below manufacturing cost) in 2016. The current SSD prices are about right, and only seem high when you compare to 2016's unusually low prices. (The price for smaller NAND modules is drifting up because almost nobody makes them anymore.)

If you don't understand why a manufacturer would sell at below production cost, read up on sunk costs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost

I knew a CEO who didn't understand sunk costs and refused to drop the price of the 80286 laptops he was selling below his acquisition cost. As a result, a year later when you could buy a 80386 laptop for $1500, he was still trying to sell his 80286 laptops for $2000. The smarter move would've been to clear out his old 80286 inventory at $1500 a year prior, recouping 75% of his sunk costs. But his braindead decision resulted in him recouping almost none of his sunk costs, and his company ended up having to quit the laptop business.