Prices For Various PC Components Have Just Gotten More Expensive/Are Expected to Get More Expensive in the US Due to Tariffs

[williamcll]

Maybe if the States put subsidies to get manufacturers to set shop in the country maybe the tariffs would mean something.

[Cyb3rBlitzX]

Can we talk about the fact that manufactures had to know this was coming? And they essentially created papers launches at a lower price point, to drive up demand and generate a ton of coverage on price to performance. All while knowing that the price would "have" to go up long before the general public would ever have a chance to purchase the product. 

[StDragon]

1 hour ago, Cyb3rBlitzX said:

Can we talk about the fact that manufactures had to know this was coming? And they essentially created papers launches at a lower price point, to drive up demand and generate a ton of coverage on price to performance. All while knowing that the price would "have" to go up long before the general public would ever have a chance to purchase the product. 

Product development and launches are scoped out years in advance. COVID-19 came in like a wrecking ball and screwed up any notion of forecasting.

 

So what exactly effected this? Let's review:

• Supply chain disruption with regards to personnel (labor pool) and logistics.
• 20+% increase in PC HW procurement due to both work-at-home and interests in gaming (people staying home)
• Cyberpunk 2077 generating a huge interest in new GPUs
• Limited supply causing scalping
• Cryptocurrency having a major boom right now. Miners are buying from the scalpers and it still holds an ROI. Good luck finding used 20 series cards, those are way up in price now above their initial MSRP!!!
• Limited fab capacity hurting the global market such as the automotive industry.
  
  What's next? China invades Taiwan? I mean, it can't get worse. Or can it?

[Fnige]

On 1/6/2021 at 8:04 AM, Vitamanic said:

I remember a decade ago when one of the big arguments for PC gaming was that you got more performance for the money in comparison to consoles. You could build a PC for around the price of a PS3 that would outclass it.

 

...now it’s the opposite. Consoles give you sooo much more performance at their price point compared to a gaming PC since components have inflated to such absurd levels. 
 

It’s kind of funny thinking back to when the highest end Nvidia cards released at $400-500 and the top tier Intel consumer chips were $350. You could build the absolute highest spec desktop for around $1,000. These days though? Lol, good luck with that!

 

look hear me out. Xbox (I doubt Sony would do it at all) but with steam. Unless their hardware is very shit. It be too bad for a system

[Dracarris]

So do we know how this will affect prices in other parts of the world than USA-land, e.g., Europe? No tariffs there (I guess, stuff is manufactured and assembled in far east?), but if Asus and the like argue with increased assembly and international shipping prices, well, are we still going to see sth from it?

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Dracarris said:

from it?

Those costs only exist in the US. If I recall the money exchanges hands when the product gets to the US border. 

[thechinchinsong]

If you really take a look at it, its the perfect time to introduce policies like this during such a tumultuous time. Once other factors like Covid supply chain disruption, scalping, and crypto mining either die down or are normalized for, tariffs and economic policies used to encourage more ethical production (and probably other motivations) can remain while public opinion will just be happy to even be able to buy something for a 25% percent markup versus a 100% or higher markup. 

[Donut417]

36 minutes ago, thechinchinsong said:

conomic policies used to encourage more ethical production

Not sure where you have been, these tariffs are Trump and Xi Jinping having a pissing contest. I has nothing to do with "Ethics", it has all to do with China not bending to the US's will. If companies cant produce in China they will move on to the next country with cheap labor. Because people honestly believed if they tariffed goods from China it would bring jobs back to the US. That wont happen, when companies can just switch to the next county with cheap labor. There are so many to choose from. If push comes to shove they can product stuff in Mexico and at least have cheaper labor and the free trade agreement. Production will NEVER return to the US unless the government really starts cracking down on companies and thats not likely to ever happen. 

[StDragon]

7 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Production will NEVER return to the US unless the government really starts cracking down on companies and thats not likely to ever happen. 

Sadly, I agree with you, but not for the reason you think. The reason production for some products will never return is due to environmental regulations and the cost to comply with them.

 

Consumers in western nations haven't a clue as to how much pollution and toxic waste disposal fraud goes on in various 3rd world nations.

 

The name of this phenomenon is called 'cost externalization'. 

[Donut417]

4 minutes ago, StDragon said:

Consumers in western nations haven't a clue as to how much pollution and toxic waste disposal fraud goes on in various 3rd world nations.

They do know or have an idea. It just if its not happening in their backyard they dont care. All the average consumer cares about is availability and price. Outside of that they dont care how its produced, who produced it and the costs associated with production. 

[WhitetailAni]

Here's hoping my PCIe cards from China don't cost more.

[Donut417]

3 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

Here's hoping my PCIe cards from China don't cost more.

If you're in the US, then they most likely will. I know a few companies got exemptions and I think some companies might have moved production. But most companies will have to deal with paying the tariff. Then that will be added on to the price. 

[WhitetailAni]

Just now, Donut417 said:

If you're in the US, then they most likely will. I know a few companies got exemptions and I think some companies might have moved production. But most companies will have to deal with paying the tariff. Then that will be added on to the price. 

Yay...
That sucks.
I have one question:
Why?

[thechinchinsong]

10 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Not sure where you have been, these tariffs are Trump and Xi Jinping having a pissing contest. I has nothing to do with "Ethics", it has all to do with China not bending to the US's will. If companies cant produce in China they will move on to the next country with cheap labor. Because people honestly believed if they tariffed goods from China it would bring jobs back to the US. That wont happen, when companies can just switch to the next county with cheap labor. There are so many to choose from. If push comes to shove they can product stuff in Mexico and at least have cheaper labor and the free trade agreement. Production will NEVER return to the US unless the government really starts cracking down on companies and thats not likely to ever happen. 

I probably should've used quotes as well when I wrote "ethical", but yeah it's "ethics" on the surface with big side of "other motivations". I'm not a fan of Trump's tariffs in the slightest either, but from what I've seen, future US administrations have to at least entertain the idea of economic measures to spar with China. Yes, of course the US wants China to bend to its will. The US wants every country in the world to bend to it's will, and it's done a damn good job of it for the past 40 years, for better or for worse. What I'm saying is that at least for the many products that are still imported from China will probably still have a price impact due to the need to pressure China, even after Covid/scalper related problems disappear. Even if companies move to manufacture in countries other than China, the price of moving entire supply chains and factories will keep prices inflated, if only temporarily.

[Donut417]

7 minutes ago, thechinchinsong said:

S administrations have to at least entertain the idea of economic measures to spar with China.

Tariffs are made to protect domestic industries. So what industries are we protecting? All the tariffs are doing is hurting citizens. Because companies have done the math. Its cheaper not to produce products in the US, regardless of tariffs. All tariffs mean is a bit of the pay day for Uncle Sam and US consumers get higher prices. Do you really thing the tariffs hurt China? Nope. The demand for those goods is still strong, regardless of price. China has a lot of advantages. 

1. Cheap labor 
2. Large labor pool (Though shrinking due to aging population and limitations on children) 
3. Logistical capacity 
4. Infrastructure 

China's economy is nearly as big as the US's. There is no pressuring them economically. The only pressure we can provide is militarily but we have to be careful there. 

[leadeater]

4 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

All the tariffs are doing is hurting citizens. Because companies have done the math. Its cheaper not to produce products in the US, regardless of tariffs. All tariffs mean is a bit of the pay day for Uncle Sam and US consumers get higher prices. Do you really thing the tariffs hurt China? Nope. The demand for those goods is still strong, regardless of price. China has a lot of advantages. 

Also it's important to recognize that it's the importer that pays the tariff so they could well, and often do, have zero impact on the manufacture unless importers reduce orders and supply is sourced from within the country, which as you pointed out of these things is impossible.

[leadeater]

On 1/9/2021 at 10:32 AM, Cyb3rBlitzX said:

Can we talk about the fact that manufactures had to know this was coming? And they essentially created papers launches at a lower price point, to drive up demand and generate a ton of coverage on price to performance. All while knowing that the price would "have" to go up long before the general public would ever have a chance to purchase the product. 

Remember that the MSRP while portrayed in USD is a global price point, I in my country will not be paying your tariff so I have no need to see an MSRP with a US tariff added on to it that has nothing to do with the price I will pay. Knowing the price will go up in the US doesn't change the global calculated MSRP. The price increase within the US might affect me as other global suppliers in the supply chain think they can price match and make a little bit extra profit margin but that is to do with those companies i.e. Ingram Micro.

[thechinchinsong]

18 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Tariffs are made to protect domestic industries. So what industries are we protecting? All the tariffs are doing is hurting citizens. Because companies have done the math. Its cheaper not to produce products in the US, regardless of tariffs. All tariffs mean is a bit of the pay day for Uncle Sam and US consumers get higher prices. Do you really thing the tariffs hurt China? Nope. The demand for those goods is still strong, regardless of price. China has a lot of advantages. 

1. Cheap labor 
2. Large labor pool (Though shrinking due to aging population and limitations on children) 
3. Logistical capacity 
4. Infrastructure 

China's economy is nearly as big as the US's. There is no pressuring them economically. The only pressure we can provide is militarily but we have to be careful there. 

I'm not disagreeing, I'm just rationalizing reasons that the current administration has put these tariffs in place and future ones might still employ despite it not being effective. I'm aware tariffs in general are not a good tool for much of anything and I agree that especially in the case of US tariffs on China, its pretty pointless. It's not like there are currently tariffs against China for no reason, its just the reasons given are flimsy as hell.

[Kisai]

22 hours ago, StDragon said:

Sadly, I agree with you, but not for the reason you think. The reason production for some products will never return is due to environmental regulations and the cost to comply with them.

 

Consumers in western nations haven't a clue as to how much pollution and toxic waste disposal fraud goes on in various 3rd world nations.

 

The name of this phenomenon is called 'cost externalization'. 

There are ways to properly recycle or dispose of such wastes, but countries like China are corrupt and let companies pollute and steal with impunity if you bribe the right people. Even countries like Russia still suffer under widespread corruption where the mob sends sends their goons after you that they bought from the government and that money never finds it's way into the government coffers, it's in some criminal's pocket.

 

 

[Kisai]

19 hours ago, leadeater said:

Remember that the MSRP while portrayed in USD is a global price point, I in my country will not be paying your tariff so I have no need to see an MSRP with a US tariff added on to it that has nothing to do with the price I will pay. Knowing the price will go up in the US doesn't change the global calculated MSRP. The price increase within the US might affect me as other global suppliers in the supply chain think they can price match and make a little bit extra profit margin but that is to do with those companies i.e. Ingram Micro.

That's almost right. The USD is the global price point, but it's the point that all countries will base their price on. For example the RTX 3090 is $2500CDN. The Bestbuy US website has the same card as 1,499.99USD launch price (that's 1910$ CDN.) It would be cheaper to drive to the US and pick one up, if they were physically in stock, and Covid wasn't in play.

 

Covid right now is also causing price hyperinflation for some items (not just computer parts) because you can't get them from a cheaper market. I'm also sure the UK/EU brexit is also a problem for those loving over there.

 

[The Torrent]

On 1/5/2021 at 4:49 PM, Andreaskhoi said:

thats wierd prices in norway is going down.

you can get a 2070 super for 200$ here

...you willing to ship me one down? I'm in uk 1060 go for that price here.

[leadeater]

1 hour ago, Kisai said:

That's almost right. The USD is the global price point, but it's the point that all countries will base their price on

That's literally exactly what I said....

 

As for your example that's not how it works, how about you add on your sales tax and shipping cost on to that and you'll get the correct pricing. But yes there are countries that pay more due to various reasons, that still has nothing to do with the MSRP displayed in USD by Nvidia. Hint "Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price", suggested 

[Kisai]

33 minutes ago, leadeater said:

That's literally exactly what I said....

 

As for your example that's not how it works, how about you add on your sales tax and shipping cost on to that and you'll get the correct pricing. But yes there are countries that pay more due to various reasons, that still has nothing to do with the MSRP displayed in USD by Nvidia. Hint "Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price", suggested 

When the Canadian Dollar is at par with the US, retailers can't get away with padding the price, because Canadians will quite literately go to the closest store across the border and buy the exact same item there. Free trade and all. This is something that is exclusive to how Canada works, and wouldn't apply to countries like New Zealand or Australia where there are no land borders with another country.

 

A $50 tank of fuel is worth burning to save $500 on an electronic device. Right now we can't. I go to Seattle annually, and the temptation to buy a new laptop or smartphone is hard to resist because it would be saving 25%-50%.

 

It's also worth noting that Americans and Canadians both do this. So if items are cheaper in Canada (eg drugs), Americans will come here and stock up.

 

[leadeater]

4 hours ago, Kisai said:

When the Canadian Dollar is at par with the US, retailers can't get away with padding the price, because Canadians will quite literately go to the closest store across the border and buy the exact same item there. Free trade and all. This is something that is exclusive to how Canada works, and wouldn't apply to countries like New Zealand or Australia where there are no land borders with another country.

And what does this have to do with anything that was originally talked about? The point was the advertised MSRP is standardized on USD for all PC parts sold globally, this is how it works. This is not your local market price, neither was that the point.

 

Someone complained that the MSRP was set knowing that the US price was going to go up due to these tariffs, I'm rightly pointing out those have nothing to do with setting the global advertised MSRP represented in USD.

 

To actually get a product in to local market you have to either buy it directly from the manufacturer, requirement being large enough order, or through a distributor. If the supply is sourced through a distributor then they have a margin on that order increasing the down stream consumer price, additional to that there are import duties that are required to be paid and local taxes. People driving over borders and driving back are tax and import duties avoiding which is technically illegal however I fail to see what this has to do with the discussion. 

 

If you want to drive yourself over a country border to buy something all the power to you, still irrelevant.

[Cyb3rBlitzX]

On 1/10/2021 at 12:58 AM, leadeater said:

Remember that the MSRP while portrayed in USD is a global price point, I in my country will not be paying your tariff so I have no need to see an MSRP with a US tariff added on to it that has nothing to do with the price I will pay. Knowing the price will go up in the US doesn't change the global calculated MSRP. The price increase within the US might affect me as other global suppliers in the supply chain think they can price match and make a little bit extra profit margin but that is to do with those companies i.e. Ingram Micro.

This is a good point that I had not taken into consideration.