Toshiba HD-A2 to drop below $100 at Wal*Mart
Lately I’ve made a number of posts about various retailers dropping their pricing on the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD deck under $200, which was started by Wal*Mart pricing them at $198. Well, Wal*Mart seems to be getting even more aggressive, planning to price the HD-A2 at just $98.87 as a ‘Secret In-Store Special’ this Friday, starting at 8AM. It is just while quantities last, and I wouldn’t expect them to last long. HD DVDs are also being priced at $14.96. You know these specials are just designed to get people into the store to buy more.
Toshiba is likely desperate to dump their stocks of HD-A2s, since these units are second generation players which are now obsolete as the third generation HD-A3 is out. Since they’d have to take a write down on surplus stock anyway, why not dump them at retail dirt cheap and buy some market share for HD DVD? A fairly smart move on their part. But they’re taking a big loss on the hardware with these prices, so don’t expect players to stay this low once the back-stock has been sold through.
Picked up from DailyTech, via a tip from my co-worker Steve.
EDIT: It seems Best Buy is price-matching Wal*Mart. At least in stores that still have any HD-A2s left in stock - and when they’re sold out, that’s it.
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November 1st, 2007 at 19:42
The presence of the HD-A3 doesn’t make the HD-A2 obsolete. At the end of the day, they both play HD DVDs… Though I agree, they are probably blowing through inventory to maintain a streamlined lineup. Works for me!
November 1st, 2007 at 19:46
I meant obsolete from a market point of view, not technologically. Retailers don’t like devoting ’shelf space’, be it real or virtual, to ‘last year’s model’. So with the HD-A3 out, the HD-A2 has a limited lifespan left with leading retailers as a clearance item, before it is relegated to the surplus market of second-tier resellers like Big Lots, and various websites. With the HD-A3 out Toshiba can’t get top dollar for the HD-A2, and what they can get for it will decline with time, so better for them to blow them out as fast as possible before they get stuck with the stock.