Is now the time to buy consumer electronics?

Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:48PM EDT

See Comments (135)

They say there's no time like the present, and according to Richard Glikes, executive director of the Home Theater Specialists of America, that goes doubly so for buying electronic gadgetry. The reason? Blame it on China.

Given the state of the U.S. economy, spending your disposable income on high-tech toys may not seem like the best investment in 2008. But if you've already decided to purchase a TV or a new phone, you might be inclined to wait for prices to go down.

That might be a long wait, says Glikes. China is the production center for the vast majority of consumer electronics, and the heyday of cheap labor there may be rapidly coming to a close. For starters, blame the Olympics: In order to clear the air of pollution, many factories are shutting down in June, which could put a damper on the supply of many products. Also, China is tiptoeing towards better relationships with its workers: New labor and worker protection laws have pushed labor costs up 15 percent. The price of many components and metals used in making electronics is also going up.

Perhaps the biggest culprit of all: The falling U.S. dollar. The poor old greenback just doesn't go as far as it used to. Most notably it is falling against the euro, but it's also fallen considerably against the Chinese yuan, about 10 percent in the last year. In other words, if paid in dollars, Chinese companies now earn 10 percent less than they did a year ago due solely to the falling exchange rate. One can imagine that doesn't sit well with them.

In other words: Current prices may simply not be sustainable, and thus price increases may soon be on tap in order to shore up profits. Sure enough, prices are already going up for some LCD products. At the manufacturer level, says Glikes, prices in China are already up from 8 to 20 percent, and U.S. retail prices are soon to follow. 

Get ready for a bumpy 2008.

More perspective on the data from TWICE. 

Comments on Is now the time to buy consumer electronics?

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 46 Posted by gesong5 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    People in China deserved it. All western countries have always trash Chinese government for human right issues. The first step to elevate the HR condition in China is to increase the work wages. Are you all happy now?

  • 47 Posted by ssinghjaiya on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    Nothing is going up. These are the new tricks by business owners to confuse customers to buy more stuff. Liars.

  • 49 Posted by nyanyuh on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Here is a link to affordable Home Theater. http://www.yambekaaudio.com/

  • 52 Posted by ekc82 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    This was the most poorly written article I've read in years for many of the reasons people have already pointed out. I've never seen such language of disregard for human rights from a mainstream news outlet. Does Yahoo edit this stuff? To blame China for increasing workers' rights and trying to reduce emissions prior to the Olympics is ludicrous. The timing of this article does seem suspicious, but it is no defense for the carelessness of the author.

  • 53 Posted by tomboston191 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    When was the last time you bought a laptop only to discover a few months later that there was one available with more features for less money ? Answer: Every single time you bought a laptop. Take this article with a grain of salt. Whenever you see "BUY NOW ,BUY NOW ,BUY NOW !" it usually means you should wait a bit.

  • 55 Posted by dongle20 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    It doesn't matter for me. I don't buy craft that made in china. I would spend 10% more for a product that made in USA or elsewhere which has the same specs

  • 56 Posted by rizahawkeye3 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    READ THIS. IF YOU BUY STUFF FROM WAL MART, THE MONEY WILL GOES TO CHINA. IF YOU PURCHASED A COMPUTER, IT WILL GOES TO INDIA. IF YOU BUY GASOLINE, THE MONEY WILL GOES TO ARAB. IF YOU PURCHASED A GOOD CAR, THE MONEY WILL GO TO JAPAN. IF YOU PURCHASED USELESS STUFF, IT WILL GOES TO TWAIN. THINK ABOUT IT PEOPLE, I WOULDN'T BUY ANYTHING IF THE MONEY IS GOING OUT OF THIS WORLD! More likely, don't buy anything from Wal Mart. And Blame it on Wal Mart too, cause they like to trick people's money.

  • 57 Posted by teebone88888 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Consumer electronics ALWAYS GOES DOWN IN PRICE, due to mass production, copy cat reverse engineering, etc. Metal prices and indeed shipping costs are going up, but manufacturing costs always go down for electronics. If labour cost goes up in China, India will be happy to take their place. The U.S. dollar will improve when they stop spending hundreds of billions on that stupid war in Iraq, and get rid of that moron George W. Bush. Think about it. Last year, 50 inch flat panel televisions were $3500. Now they are $800!!!!!! The most important factor here is mass production by more companies producing popular products, NOT the US dollar!

  • 58 Posted by soccermaster9678 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    52 Posted by pbm517 on Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:38PM EDT When the chinese have nobody to sell to the prices will drop again. The prices wont drop because theyre always gonna have people to sell to,...this videos not saying that prices are going to be unaffordable..prices go up on gas and we still buy it...people will still buy electronics to an extent no matter what the cost

  • 59 Posted by nomad943 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    Glad to hear this. Maybe this will mean that american corporations will stop using the iron fist approach to demand that we purchase all of our components from the pacific rim. It would be nice if a job or two were left in the states and it sounds as though it might not be totaly detrimental to our dear friends on wall street to make it so. I'd bet we still have the know how to make a thing or two also ... maybe.

  • 60 Posted by roomm112 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    Author of this Article=----- .... who were you paid by to write this article??? Sony?? Panasonic?? Phillips??? shut the heck up! I'm not spending my rebate check!!! PERIOD!!!!!

  • 61 Posted by soccermaster9678 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    and George Bush is definatly not a moron...and if your not for this war you may as well not even consider yourself american..

  • 62 Posted by jack.lewis@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    You are so full of it! If you think for one minute that the price for electronics will not continue to come down, then you better understand that China does not know how to control themselves when it comes to supply and demand. Just look at history. I suppose the next thing that will increase is the price of Nike shoes, because there is a new running craze in China. Please!!!!!

  • 63 Posted by a_chickaboom02 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    you really think we are going to spend our stimulus checks on stuff that is made elsewhere? right now we need food and gas and the only way to deal with that is to stockpile. I have three computers in my house and two that need upgrades, but I want to sell my refurbished dinosaurs with the newest operating system so i can afford the upgrades by next year. smart, huh? do yourself a favor; fill your fridge. fill your tank and lock your doors for three days. then they will all know we mean business. by the way, why are we the ones who save everyone else? we are the ones who will be the cheap labor real quick; I say we sell them gasoline (refined crude oil) and food to feed their people. Here comes We Are the World and Bangladesh all over again.

  • 64 Posted by tc520025 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    this article is just trying to make people buy more now!! everything has its depreciation. PS2 game system was about $300 when people buy it 3 years ago. With PS3 out, PS2 worth about maybe $100 now? Most laptops back then was around $1k, now you can buy a decent one around $600. Electrics will always be cheaper when new products come out. Agree? Yes, lets blame it on China because they are making thing here more expensive. Lets blame them for all the jobs they are taking away from us. Dont we wish Chinese people could stop export products here so that Most of the stuff we buy will be way more expensive? Then we can have our jobs back. Right??? think about it. Yes, Chinese Yuan is increasing in its Value, but then, why is US$ decrasing its Value?? is it because of the raise of the minium rage?? is it because of some debt we owe to other Countries? is it because of the ongoing of the War and its expense? who knows, maybe US$ is decreasing in value, but we are getting pay more compare to the past...

  • 65 Posted by leilan87 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's interesting how the adoption of these human right laws in China are a source of dismay in the western society.

More Posts: First Prev … 2 3 4 5 6 … Next Last

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.