At this point in the year, I’d imagine that many warehouses across the US look very similar to many of the auto dealerships across the US. With people either not buying or waiting for the next great thing they’ve decided to hold off on purchasing some of the older models and instead going for the newer flashier ones…if they decide to purchase at all. Cars make it to rental fleets, but what happens to old technlogy televisions. Where do they go to die?
The reality is that they most likely end up staying in the warehouse holding onto a hope and a prayer that someone will want to pay for a 2008 model instead of paying for 2009 model. In many cases 2009 models pack more features, and come with a lower price making it a really hard sell but there are some exceptions.
Consider the Panasonic TH58PZ800U. This is one of the cheapest plasma HDTVs you can get for under $2,000. Even better is that it has a picture quality that has been compared to the Pioneer KURO line which is known for it’s killer black levels.
Okay, so there’s on example – what about the rest? Sadly it’s a really difficult situation for a retailer. When they took the product they paid full cost, which may not be retail but let be honest; the margins and profit on televisions isn’t making anyone rich. This makes it very difficult for stores to make these televisions down to a point where they’d actually raise the eyebrow of someone shopping for a new set.
Manufacturers aren’t going to break their neck to incentivize older product. In their mind, they’re already planning for CES 2010 and what other new fangled gadgets and widgets they can throw at people to get them to open up their wallets one more time. All of this has to come to a resolution. It seems like the writing on the wall is going to involve retailers taking a loss to clear out the space. Either that or in 2010 we’ll be hearing about how much better television were two years ago in hopes of renewing select interest.
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