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Cheap PCs are unlikely this Chrimbo
DEEP THROATS within the PC industry are warning punters that they are unlikely to see significant price cuts on hardware during the Christmas rush this year.
Last year vendors were flogging off everything they could dirt cheap.
That was because the global economic crisis hit during the year-end holiday season in 2008, so channel vendors panicked and slashed PC prices by as much as 70 to 80 per cent to clear out their inventories.
However it is starting to look like PC price reductions during the year-end holidays in 2009 might not range as high.
Digitimes reports that, since the PC market has recently shown signs of recovery, price reductions for the 2009 Winter solstice festival season are expected to reach only 30 to 50 per cent.
We should point out that those prices are what we here in Blighty call the January sales prices rather than the Christmas run-up ones.
In the UK there is a tradition of hiking prices up before Chrimbo and then dropping them again in January to clear off the inventory that didn't sell.
We'd like to know if you're planning on buying a new computer this festive season. Head over to the new poll to let us know your plans for this year. µ
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After another 12 months of misery, jobless rate at 10% in USA and rising towards that in Euroland, I expect prices to drop.
There have to be some retailers that are on their knees desperate for sales even if they lose money on them. Even just to stay afloat for a few months.
Last year Best Buy also had a cheap laptop, but it was not as cheap as this year's $250 price. I believe the Inq even had an article, sorry I can't be bothered to post a link.
Granted, it was in limited numbers to get people excited and you can't even find it on their site now (I had it bookmarked, gone...) but a $250 laptop in mid-november from a major retailor is a good sign that bargains may abound.
There were two things driving last year's Christmas prices. The impending recession scared manufacturers and retailers into dropping prices, and the VAT reduction enticed consumers further to go and buy stuff, even if that 2.5% drop wasn't a great net saving.
However, this year we're looking at the end of the recession, a rise in inflation and VAT going back up in the new year.
This means that manufacturers and retailers aren't so scared and will therefore keep prices up, and consumers feel pressured to go and by before Christmas so that they don't pay the extra VAT.
We had them over a barrel last year, they have us over one this time. Well done you, if you spent all your money on worthwhile stuff back then so that you don't need to buy it now!