Blu-ray player prices rise and now averagely at $400

[xboxboi]

haha - i am sure FOX, Disney, and especially Warner are THRILLED at this development

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37085/113/

Pricewatch - In the past week we have seen an interesting trend with Blu-ray Disc player prices. All four of the BD devices we have been tracking all year are now retailing for around $400.

Some of the players came down from well over $400, while the price of others went up. It appears pretty clear that $400 is the current resting place for Blu-ray players.

When the above data is charted on a graph, the observation is stunning. Despite rampant price differences between the four players since January, they are all practically at the exact same price point. The only product shown here that is out of place is the LG BH200, which is a combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player.

[Stormkeep]

Personally, I don't really care.

If someone can't afford $400.00 for a player then they weren't going to be buying movies either, which means they aren't really an important driving force at this stage of adoption.

The discount aisle is that way ---------->

<------ Movie fans can go this way, where the people who actually are willing to pay more for better technology shop.

Prices will come down, over TIME. As in slowly over several years. Cheap skates will have to wait, and I don't particularly care about the fact that they will have to wait. They are not Me.

HD DVD's artificially low prices created an unrealistic expectation in some people. That strategy didn't work for Toshiba for a win even, showing it was a stupid move on their part. You wan't cheaper player prices NOW, well, sorry, Toshiba isn't subsidizing your high def viewing needs any more. Pony up, or wait, you choose.

[ChayesFSS]

popcornhour for $199?

Extra 200 bucks will get you quite a few unlimited months on giganews...seems like a smarter deal, unless you're a fanboi

[Woody]

Averagely? Don't hear that word often.

Kudos to OP.

I like it.

[bfellow]

Originally Posted by Stormkeep

Personally, I don't really care.

If someone can't afford $400.00 for a player then they weren't going to be buying movies either, which means they aren't really an important driving force at this stage of adoption.

The discount aisle is that way ---------->

<------ Movie fans can go this way, where the people who actually are willing to pay more for better technology shop.

Prices will come down, over TIME. As in slowly over several years. Cheap skates will have to wait, and I don't particularly care about the fact that they will have to wait. They are not Me.

HD DVD's artificially low prices created an unrealistic expectation in some people. That strategy didn't work for Toshiba for a win even, showing it was a stupid move on their part. You wan't cheaper player prices NOW, well, sorry, Toshiba isn't subsidizing your high def viewing needs any more. Pony up, or wait, you choose.

Well excuse me for your elitist views. I think the BDA should allow cheaper Chinese BD player clones in the market for more widespread adoption.

[ericpizzapie]

Everything's going up in our economy, starts w/ gas and trickles down to novelty items as people are spending less and less companies have to make up for it and they raise their prices.

[PresaDog]

The cost of shipping goods has gone up quite a bit as carriers are charging fuel surcharges. Everything is going up in price from Food to electronic goods. Hell the price of grain has gone up so much that Sams clubs and Costco is some states are limiting the amount of Rice you can buy.

[cooper1010]

Originally Posted by PresaDog

The cost of shipping goods has gone up quite a bit as carriers are charging fuel surcharges. Everything is going up in price from Food to electronic goods. Hell the price of grain has gone up so much that Sams clubs and Costco is some states are limiting the amount of Rice you can buy.

if only we could eat hddvd players...

[ack_bak]

I think it is a combination of:
- The death of HD DVD
- Higher demand for Blu-Ray players resulting in less discounts (supply and demand)
- The beginning of January still has carryover sales from the holidays
- The weak dollar and the rising cost of goods/oil prices

I do hope that Blu-Ray player prices will fall over by the end of this summer so that more people can enjoy it. But if the demand is high and the supply is low, I would not expect prices to drop too far below MSRP.

[dvdman]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

I think it is a combination of:
- The death of HD DVD
- Higher demand for Blu-Ray players resulting in less discounts (supply and demand)
- The beginning of January still has carryover sales from the holidays
- The weak dollar and the rising cost of goods/oil prices

I do hope that Blu-Ray player prices will fall over by the end of this summer so that more people can enjoy it. But if the demand is high and the supply is low, I would not expect prices to drop too far below MSRP.

Higher demand has nothing to do it with it everything else you posted
probably does especially the weak dollar and rising costs.

[Phane]

The best price I can get a Wii for on Pricegrabber is $324.50. Does that mean Nintendo is pricegouging?

[rogue_nine82]

Name me one American company that makes a BD Player. (I am probably showing my ignorance on this issue, phillips maybe?) But the point I am trying to make is that the falling dollar probably has a lot to do with these prices going up. I honestly don't think higher demand (is there any evidence of there being higher demand?) has anything to do with it. Add to the fact that you have gotten rid of the one competitor that was driving down prices, (perhaps artificially) and you lose all the downward pressure to drop prices.

Its funny how all the BD prices are around the same price. It also invites conspiracy theorists to postualte about price fixing or perhaps cartel activity going on. Most likely it is none of those, just the falling dollar and the fact that these companies know that they need to stay around the cost of the PS3 to stay competitive.

[crazzeto]

Originally Posted by Phane

The best price I can get a Wii for on Pricegrabber is $324.50. Does that mean Nintendo is pricegouging?

No... it means retailers are pricegouging hard to find merchandise, same as they always do.

yeeeow!!! boy do I feel extreamly fortunate to have just miandered into Target last labor day and notice they had just stocked Wii's and despite never having seriously considered purchasing one picked one up anyway knowing I'd be lucky to see one on the shelves ever again this console generation...

I'd say this was the best "impulse buy" I've ever made in my life, I can't tell you how much play my Wii gets when I have friends over. It's an excellent little system. Lately it's been Stanely cup playoffs followed by excite bike

[Rino13]

Originally Posted by dvdman

Higher demand has nothing to do it with it everything else you posted
probably does especially the weak dollar and rising costs.

Higher demand has a lot to do with it. I work for a Home theatre store and we are sold out of every blu-ray player atm, except for the samsung players wich no one wants. Even the $1000 Elite blu-ray player is sold out. I was talking to a panasonic Rep and he told me all the manufactures did not think Toshiba would fold so quickly and did not anticipate the surge in blu-ray player sales, so they are all behind in production.

[MrBig]

In case you haven't noticed, everything is getting more expensive. Did anyone think it wouldn't since most every consumer product is trucked into stores and diesel is way over $4 a gallon? Forget the price of gas, look at diesel costs.