What's up with the video card prices?

ibex333

ibex333

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 30, 2007
Messages
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Its a "buyers market right now". This means if you want to sell, it is you who is desperate, you are the one who is forced to lower your prices to stay afloat. The buyer can afford to wait for a better deal. Many people are out of work. Covid-19 is raging. In general the standard of living in United States is lower than it was before, and people are generally poorer.

Despite this, somehow the prices are going up! A piece of crap GTX 1080 which is heavily outdated is around $300! People want well over $200 for a GTX 1070 which is much slower...

Is there something I am missing? About 3 years ago, I bought a GTX 1080 for $250 and I didn't even have to put any afford into finding it at this price!

What the hell is going on?
 
ibex333 said:
Its a "buyers market right now". This means if you want to sell, it is you who is desperate, you are the one who is forced to lower your prices to stay afloat.
Click to expand...
This is not the definition of a 'buyer's market'. If I have a product no one wants, then I must lower my price to attract a potential buyer. This would be a buyer's market. If I have a product everyone wants, then I can raise my price because demand exceeds supply. This would be a sellers market.
 
Beyond all that, COVID has done quite a bit of things to disrupt the market. It's put people out of work, some permanently some temporarily, that includes manufacturing jobs at places like Samsung and TSMC. With so many people now moving from an office job site, to in-home working, it's also upped the demand for computers, and everything associated with them. Combine that increased demand with the lower manufacturing output and you have a prime SELLERS market. Then there's those folks like my cousin with 3 kids. He's had his own gaming computer throughout the years, kids never had one. Occasionally they'd jump on his when he wsan't using it. Now with COVID and far fewer activities the kids are able to participate in, he's shopping for gaming PC's as Christmas gifts. I'm sure he's not the only one, so add another factor to the increasing demand that was never there before.

It's not just computers. One of my other hobbies is motor sports (ATV's, Side by Sides, etc) and those have been affected too. Inventory is tight and prices are high. Pre-Covid I could to the bike shop, get exactly what I wanted for under MSRP. Now? Forget about it. Good chance they won't have exactly what you want so you have to make due with what they do have, and a discount? GTFO... You're going to pay MSRP + ADM. Don't want to pay that much? Sure, you can find a used one if you're willing to roll the dice on how well it was taken care of or how much it was abused. Even then, you're going to pay about he same price as what a new one would have cost you Pre-COVID if you had some negotiating skills.
 
Covid has been around pretty much a full year. Three months ago prices were probably the lowest I'd seen on last gen products.

Then rtx 3000 launches with not nearly enough product and the new consoles launch. People realized with bots they can buyout all the stock and store them in warehouses to control the market value and double to triple their money. Everyone else that wants a video card but not going to pay a scalper and can't get one at retail now has to pay inflated prices on the used market.
Also the value of the USD is crashing, making the same things "cost" more.
 
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