Watch that TV (price)

Photo by fedek6 @ SXC

Are the good old times of deep store discounts on electronics gone forever?  Not yet.  With national electronic store chains gone (Circuit City) or soon to be reduced in size and impact (Best Buy), the discounters (Walmart, Target) and the regional stores (Hhgregg, Fry's Electronics) are taking over the business.  Welcome to the Internet shopping age that changed how we shop, and more importantly, how we save our hard earned cash. 


As in any healthy, competitive economy, fluid markets will certainly help set lower prices for any product, especially for hot electronic gadgetry.  And then there is Samsung and Sony.


The Christian Science Monitor comments on the Wall Street Journal article:

Samsung and Sony, two of the biggest television manufacturers in the world, have begun to set price minimums on their television sets, according to the Wall Street Journal. The companies began the practice last month in an effort to curb falling prices and protect their profit margins.
The new policy would prevent retailers from advertising or selling the products for lower than the price requested by the manufacturers. The Sony policy also includes camcorders, audio equipment, and some computers.

Whatever happened to pure competition?  Is the quality of Samsung and Sony products so superior that consumers will reinforce their loyalty by paying higher prices?  The future will show.  For now, the Internet provides a great alternative to buy electronics.  Consumers can still enjoy discounts and savings regardless of price fixing by Samsung and Sony.

Freedom of choice is a key to happiness.