Are we paying too much for new technology?

..or are we paying a line of greedy fat cats?

Published on December 26, 2006 By adnauseam In Pure Technology

Are we paying too much for new technology?

I know Joeuserâ€™s are much more savvy than I am when it comes to new technology. Iâ€™d appreciate your input on some of my thoughts. I studied electronics as a hobby course some 15 years ago but I am no expert on the latest gadgets to appear on the market.

I recently bought an HD TV and paid the price of a good second hand car for it. Before buying I checked out 3 models :
Panasonic (Japan-set made in China): 26â€
Benq (Taiwan-set made in China): 26â€
Philips (Holland-set made in China): 26â€

All at $1200 apiece. All with basically the same features and with built in DVI plug socket. I chose the Philips because we have faith in the brand.

Now, with my limited electronics knowledge I know that inside the set there is a board with some significant chipping and a pretty fancy LCD tube that will give me High Definition resolution , and an enjoyable viewing experience BUT why am I paying so much for electronics soldered together in China by underpaid workers AND is this tube so much more different than the TFT LCD screen in my 4 year old laptop? Am I really paying a high price just for the research and development and the pretty picture?

I enjoyed Bakerstreetâ€™s article on PS2 vs PS 3 and thought Iâ€™d tell you that the Middle East price at the moment varies between an excessive $1500 to $1800 â€“no kidding. The middle men take a lot here but isnâ€™t the PS3 overpriced already?

To sum up: I think that weâ€™re paying less for R&D than we think and more to the (Chinese and other) middle men? What do JU techies think?

Comments

adnauseam

on Dec 26, 2006

Apologies for the symbols that appear when I cut and paste. Don't know why my PC does that!

bakerstreet

on Dec 26, 2006

Yeah, I think we are paying a lot more than we need to, but that's how it works with new technology. Look at video cards, for instance. It's no accident that the newest video card is hundreds of dollars more expensive than it will be a couple of months later.

Many would say that the eventual drop will be because a newer and better card has come out, but that is rarely so. People will simply pay a lot more to get something before other people get it, I think. You can wait 6 months and get a video card for hundreds less, and still have the best available.

But... there's the problem. Sure, the businesses decide to charge that, but they couldn't if we didn't pay it. If they were charging more than the market would pay, they'd go broke. So if you want to blame people for the high cost, blame people that pay it.

If they didn't, the companies would accept making less profit. Why should they, though, when they KNOW people will fall all over themselves to pay high to get it now?

P.S. Thanks for the compliment.

greywar

on Dec 26, 2006

Well part of the reason for the price is demand. You were willing to pay it (and plently of others were too) ergo that is the price. No one buys at that price point? It falls.

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