HD prices soar...

FYI…

Soaring hard-drive prices
- http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/what-…-prices/#story2
2011-11-17 - "Floods in Thailand — and an ensuing worldwide purchasing panic — have pushed the price of hard drives to nosebleed heights and left us all with fewer choices… the cost of hard drives is spiking, as if you were investing in the gold market. For example, 1TB drives are up to three times more expensive than they were just a month ago… Just one month ago, that Seagate drive sold for U.S. $54.99. As of Nov. 10, it had jumped to $149.99. To add insult to injury, Newegg limits purchases to one of these drives…"

- http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2…damages-seagate
Nov 21 2011 - "… Western Digital has been ordered to pay $525m by an arbitrator regarding claims made by rival storage outfit Seagate. Seagate alleged that Western Digital and one of Seagate's former employees had misappropriated confidential information and trade secrets. The arbitrator in the case rendered the award of $525m against Western Digital, an assessment that Western Digital claims lacks any basis in law… Western Digital and Seagate recently announced that they will buy Hitachi GST and Samsung's hard drive operations, respectively. The moves will see the two firms duking it out, with Toshiba a very distant third place. The fact that Coyne mentioned the Hitachi GST merger shows how important it is for the firm to complete the deal. If it falls through and Seagate completes its purchase of Samsung's hard drive division, Western Digital might be left at a disadvantage for competing with Seagate. At present the hard disk drive industry has been reeling from the devastating floods in Thailand. With suppliers being forced to shutter factories, disk drive prices have increased sharply…"

- https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/922…_in_arbitration
November 21, 2011 - "… Western Digital held a 32% market share in worldwide hard drive unit shipments during the second quarter this year, while Seagate held a 31% share, according to iSuppli…"
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Disk drive prices swell 5% every DAY in floods aftermath
- http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2011/11/2…_drive_pricing/
25 November 2011

2011-11-17 - "Floods in Thailand — and an ensuing worldwide purchasing panic — have pushed the price of hard drives to nosebleed heights and left us all with fewer choices… the cost of hard drives is spiking, as if you were investing in the gold market

It's good to see where the West's priorities lie.
The human tragedy the floods caused? Perish the thought, it's the cost of hard drives that hurt

… good to see where the West's priorities lie.

What is it that makes you think no one realizes the human consequences of the flood there? Of course everyone is fully aware of that, and the HD cost increase is just an aside. If you'd like to start a thread about what is or isn't being done to assist the human side of the equation, go right ahead.

- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/11/177239.htm
November 16, 2011

- http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/document…-2011-10-13.htm
13-10-2011

- http://thailand-business-news.com/business…d-entrepreneurs
Nov 30, 2011

… 'just to get started.

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I have heard (many times) that Americans just don't get most Australian or English humor. It does seem to be a spot-on observation

George Bernard Shaw:
"England and America are two countries separated by a common language."
- http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/897.html

… possibly a few other things, too.

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Re my hard drive prices comment: Sometimes there is a need to bury emotion under humour. Main context of Aust. and British humour and examples: Irony: Sometimes you need to bury humour under humor. Sarcasm: Why are American sit-coms full of canned laughter? So Americans will know when to laugh. Self-deprecation (shared by Americans to a degree): "Hello, my name is Al Gore and I used to be the next president of the United States.”

Thanks for this thread WebMaster. I was shocked by the outrageous prices as I was prepared to buy a new 3tb internal for about 119.99 and then saw the lowest price go to 259.99 and up to 399.99 which I found to be insane. Do you guys have any idea when the prices will go down? I still want to buy that 3tb and a 3tb internal too later this year, but at lower prices. Please let me know when the prices will be heading down so that I can have an idea. Thanks.

… any idea when the prices will go down?

Right now (and in recent history), it seems to me that there is alot of gouging going on. Of course the sellers say it's all "supply and demand". The only voice of sanity I've seen in any of it - is here:
- http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1888514
January 5, 2012 - "… "Thailand has been a major hub for hard-drive manufacturing, both for finished goods and components," Mr. Gordon said. "We estimate the supply of hard drives will be reduced by as much as 25 percent (and possibly more) during the next six to nine months. Rebuilding the destroyed manufacturing facilities will also take time and the effects of this will continue to ripple throughout 2012 and very likely into 2013…"

- http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1893523
January 11, 2012 - "… Hard-disk drive (HDD) shortages triggered by the October 2011 floods in Thailand had a limited impact on fourth-quarter PC shipments and prices. However, Gartner analysts said a major impact will be felt, and this is expected to materialize in the first half of 2012, and potentially continue throughout 2012. These shortages will temporarily lower PC shipment growth during 2012…"

…and don't shoot the messenger.

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I'm back WebMaster. And I won't shoot the messenger. I'm just glad to know what is going on. Thanks for filling me in. Hopefully the prices will drop by Jan 2013 you think?