WD Hard Drive Prices Likely to Rise Because of Floods in Thailand

lifeinfocuslifeinfocus Registered Users Posts: 1,461 Major grins
edited December 9, 2011 in Digital Darkroom
Because of the floods in Thailand Western Digital hard drive prices will likely be rising. So, if you need a new hard drive shop as soon as possible.

I bought three new drives from Newegg today and compared to Amazon they were quite a bit lower. So maybe the rise in prices has already started.

Phil
http://www.PhilsImaging.com
"You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
Phil

Comments

  • jwwjww Registered Users Posts: 449 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2011
    Good to know! Thanks for the info. I had just bought 3 more myself awhile ago, but always nice to avoid sticker shock when you do need them. ;)
    jww - www.jwwPhotos.com - www.jwwWebDesign.smugmug.com
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited October 27, 2011
    It won't be just WD or Nikon...Apple reported yesterday that they have parts
    that come from the flooded region...I'll bet it drives up all electronics prices....
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • JimKarczewskiJimKarczewski Registered Users Posts: 969 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2011
    Prices on HD are way up. WAY up. I was getting 2TB drives (OEM) for $69 from Fry's and now they are $129. So just a "slight" increase. Good thing I don't need any right this moment!
    Jim Karczewski - http://www.jimkarczewski.com
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2011
    JimKarczewski wrote: »
    Prices on HD are way up. WAY up. I was getting 2TB drives (OEM) for $69 from Fry's and now they are $129. So just a "slight" increase. Good thing I don't need any right this moment!

    I saw 2 TB drives yesterday at $79..this was for Seagate...I think it was Best buy.....
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • lifeinfocuslifeinfocus Registered Users Posts: 1,461 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2011
    The drives I bought were Western Digital Black 7200 rpm and Western Digital Green 5400 RPM, 1 and 2TB drives. These are often priced higher because they are considered to be more reliable and higher quality.

    Phil
    http://www.PhilsImaging.com
    "You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
    Phil
  • Damon016Damon016 Registered Users Posts: 124 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2011
    And I just picked up my WD Book 2tb backup for 149.00 hehe... Good thing I got it when I did, these things are normally pretty astronomical. Prayers to the people in thailand.


    FYI:

    The hard drive market is reacting to the heavy floods in Thailand.

    ZoomPrices for hard drives have jumped by as much as 50 percent within one week, market research firm IHS said. About a quarter of all hard drives are manufactured in Thailand and it appears that all major vendors are affected in some way.

    Western Digital previously said that it may see a revenue decline of about 60 percent in the current quarter and told German publication Golem.de that it will be able to produce only 22 to 26 million drives this quarter, instead of the planned 58 million units. A spokesperson said that WD "currently waits for the factories to dry" to be able to restart its manufacturing tools. What makes matters worse are the usually thin profit margins in the HDD industry, which means that manufacturers typically have only five to seven days of material supply.

    A Seagate manager told CRN India that the company expects and "acute" shortage of drives and that the manufacturer expects prices to increase. However, there was no information how sharp this increase can be. Both WD and Seagate said that the floods in Thailand have created a problem for the industry that will take several quarters to resolve.
  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,245 moderator
    edited November 29, 2011
    I was in Fry's for something else about a week ago and by chance walked through the aisle of the hard drives. I spotted a few prices and thought I was back in 2009 again. They also had a sign every 4 feet explaining that any customer was limited to one hard drive per family through the rest of this year, and they were taking personal information with the sale to make sure the limit was met. Looked to me they were expecting the supply to only get worse for the foreseeable future.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • lifeinfocuslifeinfocus Registered Users Posts: 1,461 Major grins
    edited November 29, 2011
    David_S85 wrote: »
    I was in Fry's for something else about a week ago and by chance walked through the aisle of the hard drives. I spotted a few prices and thought I was back in 2009 again. They also had a sign every 4 feet explaining that any customer was limited to one hard drive per family through the rest of this year, and they were taking personal information with the sale to make sure the limit was met. Looked to me they were expecting the supply to only get worse for the foreseeable future.

    I have read that expect prices to stay high until well into the first quarter 2012.
    http://www.PhilsImaging.com
    "You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
    Phil
  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,245 moderator
    edited November 29, 2011
    700 GB left on my Mac Pro's HD. I have some time to shop around for ~6 months. :D
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • lifeinfocuslifeinfocus Registered Users Posts: 1,461 Major grins
    edited December 9, 2011
    Western Digital resumes production of hard disk drives in Thailand
    Western Digital resumes hard drive manufaturing in Thailand ahead of schedule.

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57335859-92/western-digital-restarts-hard-disk-production/
    http://www.PhilsImaging.com
    "You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
    Phil
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