Little DRAMer boy
Anyone who has shopped for memory in the last couple of months will know that prices have soared since September, but word on the Asian street is that costs are about to come down for Christmas.
Two months ago, you could probably purchase 4GB DDR2-800 for about $40, but now those self-same products today cost more than double that, in the region of $90. While this is good news for DRAM vendors, who are finally seeing light at the end of a cold, dark, tunnel, it's a tad on the pricey side for consumers.
The Taiwanese rumour mill, however, reckons memory prices are in for a slashing next month, as the festive season gets in full swing, and seasonal demand pricing takes its toll.
Korean memory makers could also have an effect on pricing as, for the most part, they seem to have made it through the crisis in better condition than their Taiwanese rivals, and are likely to want to take advantage of their cost competitiveness by lowering prices and boosting their shipments.
There had been earlier fears that Korean companies could drive prices up in an attempt to prevent the Taiwanese government from bailing out its failing memory makers, but that deal fell through.
Director of marketing at Patriot Memory, Erick Ackerson, told HEXUS his firm does "anticipate some softening" when it comes to pricing, noting that memory "has been selling well" recently which has padded company pockets enough to make them feel more comfortable.
But coming up towards the end of the year, where system builders and customers alike have often made all their purchases, Ackerson said "a lot of chips in the channel are going to go unused, so people will want to get rid of them," typically by slashing prices.
Ackerson said his firm would, of course, do its utmost to remain "competitive on price," but said it would not "compete dollar for dollar, penny for penny with vendors in Taiwan." Still, he conceded, "if there's a shift, we'll go with it."
