Dirk said:
I'm not talking about complete CD/DVD players, but drives.
You know - the ones people put in computers to read/write DVD/CDs.
Typical price for crap - $30.
What quality ones exist?
Dirk
I paid hundreds of dollars for my first 5.25" floppy drive, in 1984, and
by then the price had dropped considerably. I paid something like $80
for my first 3.5" floppy drive, it was only single-sided, in 1989. My
first hard drive, in late 1993, was hundreds of dollars.
When you're paying that kind of money, you can expect things to stand
up well. But when you have to squeeze costs in order to reach a price
level that consumers demand, then of course things get flimsy. Yes,
some of cost reduction is due to a greater market, and some to higher
integration, but mechanical parts are often a means of cutting costs.
People want cheap, but on the other hand they aren't expecting to
repair things. They'll pay thirty dollars for a drive, and then
not worry when they have to replace it, for another thirty dollars.
They know it would cost more to have it repaired.
Keep the price high, and that limits who will buy. But it gives
far more leeway for good construction, and when people are paying
good money for something, they are more willing to spend a percentage
of that money to keep the item running.
Michael
