D-Link pricing puzzle is an enigma wrapped in a riddle

IN MY column last week, I said the DSM-G600 Wireless G Network Storage Enclosure could be found at local Big Box shelves for around $300.

Silly me. You can find the nifty box, which holds a single 3.5-inch drive and can be connected to a home LAN via Wireless-G and/or Gigabit Ethernet, for around $270 to $300 plus shipping and handling on many (but not all) Interweb sites. Ordering directly from the D-Link website is the most expensive route since they charge $309.99, plus shipping and handling.

However, two weeks ago, the D-Link box started turning up in quantity on the shelf at Big Box outlets for around $169.99. Amazon.com has the same device listed at 169.99 (and free shipping and handling), but you'll note from the screen snapshot this evening (October 24) that the on-line establishments haven't had pricing updates ripple through their databases yet.

To be fair, it looks like Amazon.com is passing through CompUSA's on-line price since a lookup directly through Amazon.com reveals the following.

When I first discovered the price drop two weeks ago at the Best Buy around the corner, I thought either A) I was highly mistaken, and just had the wrong kit or B) Some guy at the store had gone amuck with the label writer and had mistaken a $300 list price box for something much cheaper.

So what is really going on? After all, we're talking an average of $130 difference in pricing; or a rough drop of around 45 per cent from the original "list" of $280-300. This ain't chump change since you can (almost) buy two for the old price of one.

Most likely, Best Buy and/or CompUSA have received favorable arrangements to stock the D-Link device at a lower price because it was sitting on warehouse shelves and it just didn't look as slick or affordable as the NetGear SC101 storage central enclosure. The NetGear toaster only costs $100, holds two 3.5 drives instead of one, but only has a single hardware 10/100 Ethernet port on it, not wireless-G or GigE connections. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but it's not unreasonable to think you could (this week) get $70 out of somebody for the extra electronics and integration. But not a $200 price premium, especially since you can buy a wireless-G router for around $20-40 these days.

Alternatively, D-Link is dropping the price on DSM-G600 across the board and the other vendors want to get rid of as many units as possible at the higher price.

Inquiries to D-Link have been unsuccessful. There's no direct phone number or e-mail address for press inquiries on the corporate website. There's been no response to an e-mail inquiry sent in last week through the corporate website e-mail form. Attempting to call D-Link's offices at Fountain Valley, California resulted in the operator transferring this reporter into customer support, who then tried to transfer the call back to the operator but instead ended up disconnecting the call. µ