"A supplier out there will get nervous that they are sitting on considerable supply for an item that has a limited shelf life (with newer cards entering the market) and will make the move to clear out that excess inventory.
"As for the graphics card situation, I would expect prices to come down when it becomes apparent that supply is catching up and that they are readily available," Goldsby says. Thomas Goldsby (opens in new tab), the Haslam Chair of Logistics at the University of Tennessee’s Master's of Science in Supply Chain Management online program (opens in new tab), about this very topic, he told me that there is a drive for retailers to act in this way when it becomes clear that supply is catching up with demand. It's like price tag Jenga: if one retailer drops prices, the rest will likely follow. Though retailers may have little choice if all goes well for GPU supply. I am seeing some glimmers of hope, just as you are. Lead times for GPUs have been so lengthy these past few years, that we heard of retailers ordering far in advance to secure stock. After all these SKUs were likely to have been purchased at a higher cost to the retailer months ago. Though for the extant stock at retailers today these costs are less likely to have an immediate impact. We've also heard directly that GPU manufacturer Asus is "aggressively" dropping prices (opens in new tab) across many of its GPUs. Those increased component costs are reportedly easing now and in the coming months (opens in new tab). Most often, it's the customers who end up footing the bill, but if demand eases off so totally, and supply improves, it may have to be retailers that take the brunt of lowering price tags. Though this is a double-edged sword for most: manufacturers have faced increased prices for key components, and that has been passed onward down the retail chain. With hundreds of graphics cards listed as in stock across multiple major retailers in Western Europe and North America, there is undoubtedly a competitive advantage to the retailers that can drop prices further than others. (Image credit: Overclockers UK) (opens in new tab) Most retailers I checked appear to stock hundreds of graphics cards, though prices are still generally high.
0 kommentar(er)
