Are hard drive prices coming back down to normal levels?

[hal2kilo]

Oh, please, you had it easy...

I can remember when 5 1/4" floppy drives were over 200 bucks.

(And i walked to school in the snow, uphill, both ways )

I've seen an 8" floppy, but THAT was before my time. There was a computer store that used to be in town that had a 20MB hard drive in a glass case. This thing was about 12" long, 8" wide, and 6" tall as I recall. It was huge. It made MFM drives look tiny.

Oh I worked with the first gen single sided 8 inch Shugarts. I think they were 128k bytes. Hell, ever do a "cats eye" adjustment on one?

 

[cboath]

Nope, that was before my time. Computers were coming with 1 5.25 (with an option for a 2nd! no hard drives then) when I started (i wanna say around 5th grade). 3.5's were for a couple years or more down the road.

I do remember someone where I used to work bringing in a gigantic floppy. It looked about a foot long.

I remember princing 5.25 drives for my Atari (don't laugh!) back then at 299

 

[DesiPower]

Looks like they are almost at the per-tsunami levels. Seeing more and more deals for HDDs, few examples in the below link. Although they are not exactly there but pretty close, how knows... maybe in a month or two it will be back to exactly where they were before. Right now the price per GB if you look at the 1.5 TB or above are almost there!

http://promotions.newegg.com/neemail/latest/index-landing.aspx?cm_sp=emailsub-_-homepage-_-promo

 

[Eeqmcsq]

I've also noticed a few more HDD deals than in the past. I checked a few random HDDs on camelegg.com, and it looks like 2TB HDD prices are about where they were in 2011, around $110 for the cheap end. It will still be a while before they drop to the summer of 2012 levels of $80, which is what I'm waiting for, since I don't "need" new HDDs right now.

 

[groberts101]

yep.. look around a bit and the question need not even be asked.

They can blame those events all they want to for the price gouging that took place.. but if they want to sell drives?.. they'll only be able to charge what the market will bear.

And they seemingly learned that lesson the hard way as consumers started leaning towards using their existing hardware for longer periods of time, holding back on upgrades, and buying more SSD than ever before. Selling fewer drives at higher margins doesn't equate to any more profit than selling more for less in the long run.

 

[taltamir]

Looks like they are almost at the per-tsunami

Maybe so, but its been a while now and technology moved on, we now need more space and drives are larger. So same per GB costs still result in more expense overall

 

[fleshconsumed]

I'll repeat myself, current prices are still way above what we had preflood/preconsolidation. Back then newegg sale prices were $70 for 2TB F4EG, $60 for 2TB Hitachi after rebate. That's $30-35 per TB. Current prices are roughly $43-50 per TB if you exclude one time deal when 3TB seagate went for $110 (that deal was never seen again BTW). So no, the prices are nowhere near close to preflood/preconsolidation prices. And like taltamir has said, times they are a-changing, 2TB isn't cutting it anymore and a year and a half later we should expect bigger hard drives at lower prices, but it isn't happening with only two players (aka Seagate and WD) in town.

 

[Anonemous]

Yea, the pricing hasn't really changed. Bought a 3TB drive 2 years ago for 99$ then got another one (same drive) this month for $129-$30 rebate.

Blackfriday deals were for Seagate 3TB for $99. Could've gone for that one but I prefer getting another of the same (WD) drive.

 

[groberts101]

lol.. "way above".. and "hasn't really changed"?

I don't think the OP needed to be taken so literally as to mean.. "just as low as they had EVER AT ANY TIME dropped to in the past". Average pricing across the board is much more telling over some internet buys or black friday offerings, IMHO.

And it must be a perspective thing then.. because all the prices around me in the retail outlets are dropping more and more by the month. It's been my experience that when you see that happening.. it's pretty obvious that those additional/typical 10-20% savings can be had by those who are willing to deal with hunting, waiting for rebates, and shipping.

Sure they're still up a bit compared to pre-tsunami prices.. but that was just the bubble preparing to inevitably burst anyways... and not to be considered "normal" by any stretch of the imagination. Or did you guys seriously think you'd be buying the "newest models" of 2TB drives for 49 bucks? :hmm:

 

[It's Not Lupus]

Production has been back to normal, but prices are still not the same or lower (e.g. $60 for 1TB, $80 for 2TB, ? for 3TB). Seagate had record profits for some quarter. There's really only two companies left: Western Digital and Seagate. Warranty lengths are shorter. There are no real improvements in capacity.

I'm hoping for high capacity TLC SSDs put WD and Seagate out of business.

 

[iaco]

lol.. "way above".. and "hasn't really changed"?

I don't think the OP needed to be taken so literally as to mean.. "just as low as they had EVER AT ANY TIME dropped to in the past". Average pricing across the board is much more telling over some internet buys or black friday offerings, IMHO.

And it must be a perspective thing then.. because all the prices around me in the retail outlets are dropping more and more by the month. It's been my experience that when you see that happening.. it's pretty obvious that those additional/typical 10-20% savings can be had by those who are willing to deal with hunting, waiting for rebates, and shipping.

Sure they're still up a bit compared to pre-tsunami prices.. but that was just the bubble preparing to inevitably burst anyways... and not to be considered "normal" by any stretch of the imagination. Or did you guys seriously think you'd be buying the "newest models" of 2TB drives for 49 bucks? :hmm:

Do you even know what you are talking about?

My Samsung 2 TB 5400 rpm cost me $80 and was released more than 2 years ago. The only thing special about it was it didn't fail like other brands, and it was less than $100 several months before the flood.

2 TB drives still cost at least $100. I remember reading that a manufacturer was making record profits after the flood.

So yeah, I expect 2 TB drives to be cheaper.

 

[groberts101]

Do you even know what you are talking about?

My Samsung 2 TB 5400 rpm cost me $80 and was released more than 2 years ago. The only thing special about it was it didn't fail like other brands, and it was less than $100 several months before the flood.

2 TB drives still cost at least $100. I remember reading that a manufacturer was making record profits after the flood.

So yeah, I expect 2 TB drives to be cheaper.

in the order that you asked;

no.. not really.. and I just wait for guys like you to tell me what it is that I actually know despite the number of hard drives I actually own and install for others.

and a 5,900rpm drive was $80 bucks?.. wow!.. what a steal and I must have missed that one.

yep.. you're nearly right there.http://www.microcenter.com/product/...ATA_60Gb-s_35_Internal_Hard_Drive_STBD2000101. Course.. how much was this same drive just 6 months ago? :hmm:

and expect all you want but that means nothing to the mfgrs if we keep lapping up their wares at the obviously more realistic prices these days. Which was my entire point in the above. Prices don't have to reach $69 bucks for a fast 2TB drive before consumers jump back into their shopping carts.

You know what?.. not everyone shops with coupons and looks for rebates these days. Not to say that we don't want to see them drop further.. but who the hell thinks we can get a decently built and stable 2TB HDD at $49 bucks without some sort of tradeoff? Then you guys will be right back on Anandtech bitching about your black friday deals crapping out on you when you only have yourselves to blame for wanting them priced so low to begin with.

As far as I'm concerned.. if I want larger and faster stable raids.. I gotta pay to play. To each his own though.

 

[Smoblikat]

1TB - 60 2TB - 80 3TB - 100

I think those are fair prices, currently all prices are still inflated severely

 

[georgec84]

1TB - 60 2TB - 80 3TB - 100

I think those are fair prices, currently all prices are still inflated severely

Yup, and I think I read sometime ago that production was more or less back to normal. Basically, after the floods, prices rose and people still had to buy hard drives. So the HDD manufacturers probably figured, why go back down to the older prices so quickly?

 

[iaco]

in the order that you asked;

no.. not really.. and I just wait for guys like you to tell me what it is that I actually know despite the number of hard drives I actually own and install for others.

and a 5,900rpm drive was $80 bucks?.. wow!.. what a steal and I must have missed that one.

yep.. you're nearly right there.http://www.microcenter.com/product/...ATA_60Gb-s_35_Internal_Hard_Drive_STBD2000101. Course.. how much was this same drive just 6 months ago? :hmm:

and expect all you want but that means nothing to the mfgrs if we keep lapping up their wares at the obviously more realistic prices these days. Which was my entire point in the above. Prices don't have to reach $69 bucks for a fast 2TB drive before consumers jump back into their shopping carts.

You know what?.. not everyone shops with coupons and looks for rebates these days. Not to say that we don't want to see them drop further..

You linked to a overpriced POS that's on a special (walk-in only and 1 per household). My F4 wasn't a steal. It was $80 for several months, has a 3-year warranty, and is more reliable than anything out there.

but who the hell thinks we can get a decently built and stable 2TB HDD at $49 bucks without some sort of tradeoff?

It's called Moore's law. Doesn't apply to hard drives, but the principle is the same. In fact hard drives have been exceeding Moore's law for a very long time. So I reiterate, prices are inflated.

Then you guys will be right back on Anandtech bitching about your black friday deals crapping out on you when you only have yourselves to blame for wanting them priced so low to begin with.

As far as I'm concerned.. if I want larger and faster stable raids.. I gotta pay to play. To each his own though.

Samsung made a tidy profit with the money I gave them and they made a great, reliable product. WD sells a comparable drive for a hundred dollars more 2 years after the F4. Don't be deluded. They're making a huge profit and AMD would love have to have the margins WD is having.

 

[zephyrprime]

Define normal. A 3TB Barracuda can be snagged for $120 which amounts to $0.04/GB...yes, that is 4 cents per GB. I never recall a 100GB hdd costing $4 or a 500GB having a price tag of $20, or a 1TB at $40...do you? I'd say we have a new and very much improved normal.

one handed clap.

 

[styrafoam]

The 7200rpm 1TB spinpoint was the default hdd i used for builds pre tsunami. I remember pretty clearly that it could always be had for $55, it would dip into the $40 on sale. Without digging for promos $55 on newegg currently lets you pick from a 500 gig toshiba and a 250 samsung.

 

[BladeVenom]

Seagate and WD have been raking in the money the last year and half. http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/2184604/seagate-western-digital-wait-click-death

Maybe it's time to start storing everything on SSDs.

 

[dawp]

what happen to tweakboy? I see a quoted post of his but even doing a search for the username brings up nothing.

 

[fleshconsumed]

in the order that you asked;

no.. not really.. and I just wait for guys like you to tell me what it is that I actually know despite the number of hard drives I actually own and install for others.

and a 5,900rpm drive was $80 bucks?.. wow!.. what a steal and I must have missed that one.

yep.. you're nearly right there.http://www.microcenter.com/product/...ATA_60Gb-s_35_Internal_Hard_Drive_STBD2000101. Course.. how much was this same drive just 6 months ago? :hmm:

and expect all you want but that means nothing to the mfgrs if we keep lapping up their wares at the obviously more realistic prices these days. Which was my entire point in the above. Prices don't have to reach $69 bucks for a fast 2TB drive before consumers jump back into their shopping carts.

You know what?.. not everyone shops with coupons and looks for rebates these days. Not to say that we don't want to see them drop further.. but who the hell thinks we can get a decently built and stable 2TB HDD at $49 bucks without some sort of tradeoff? Then you guys will be right back on Anandtech bitching about your black friday deals crapping out on you when you only have yourselves to blame for wanting them priced so low to begin with.

As far as I'm concerned.. if I want larger and faster stable raids.. I gotta pay to play. To each his own though.

I just checked my newegg order history. I purchased Hitachi 2TB 5K3000 on 5/24/2011 for 69.99 shipped (yes, it was a sales price, but those sales happened every month if not more often). It also had $10 MIR on top of that bringing price down to $60. So yeah, nearly two years later I would expect a 2TB drive to cost $50.

Now, I do realize that prices won't come down just because we bitch here about it on the forums. I also realize that after the consolidation the two players, Seagate and WD have near monopoly on the mechanical hard drive market so there is zero incentive for them to improve and lower prices. However most of the people here are simply pointing out that no, the prices are still way above what they were two years ago, and if we still had 4 manufacturers to choose from, we wouldn't be seeing sky high prices like these with 1 year warranties to boot.

 

[Vinwiesel]

well, black friday had 3TB drives for $90 which was better than anything before

Good point. I remember $89 2T drives being common, and occasional sales or rebates down to $79, so the prices are near what they were. They have just improved their profit margins a little.

At least the new technology is coming, with helium filled drives and HAMR on the way. This should open the door to large capacity 2.5" drives. Cloud, Schmoud, I want all my data and I want it local.

 

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136769

I piad $37 shipped for these WD Blue 500GB HDs a year or two ago. They're now $65, and have a year less warranty. Is that what you consider progress?

 

[georgec84]

^ Exactly.

 

[mikeford]

Back just before the flood you could snag sales of 1TBs for about $50 and 2TBs for around $80.

Yup, I bought my last 2TB Seagate from Tigerdirect for about $80 before the flood, and its just now getting back to that range.

What is invisible to the end user are where most of the costs are to the manufacturer; how many platters, heads, and how mature and mass produced each of the constituent parts are, not how many bytes it holds.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Still a bit more expensive and no Samsung (heh, I bought them before they were considered cool).