128mb Stick Availability

That's a very good price, I recently paid $120 for mine (it was worth it though). I have ordered another one from Brando and I would rather not pay as much again if I can avoid it.

In the UK my local Sony Centre was selling 64MB Duos for �80 (almost $130) and I saw the trade price they paid which was also astronomical.

We are very poorly served for consumer electronics here (UK) and I would be very surprised if it were not cheaper to buy them direct from the US and ship them over. At $60 each it would take a lot of postage, package, VAT and import duty to bring the price anywhere near what we would pay here.

Do any of the places you know of sell them on the net?

I've shipped several products to the UK and The Netherlands on several occasions. I don't pay much at all for the shipping. I don't incur any extra tax charges either. Max price would be $110 including Next Day delivery.. Slow mail would probably amount to $93USD. There are no places shipping internationally. At least no site that have any in stock.

www.cdw.com will have them in stock soon and will ship internationally.. I have a friend that's a sales exec. for the company and maybe I can get a better lead time from her. They are a trusted company, but I would challenge some of their prices... They expect to release the 128s at $89USD. However, you can bargain the price with a sales rep if you state where you can find it cheaper.

I got mine ordered from Page Computer for $67.64. http://www.pagecomputers.com/cgi-bin/page/B0951236.html

I've been trying to get one from them for a while. I happened to wake up (after falling asleep on the couch watching TV) at 3:00am and checked the site. They indicated it was in stock. I ordered and half expected to get an email cancelling the order from them on Monday saying it was actually backordered. I had them do this once before but since I didn't get an email, I guess it's on it's way.

I went into a UK Sony store last Saturday. They only show the 64Mb in their listing, and quoted around 80 GBP. No idea about the 128Mb.

James

You have to be careful about some of those small companies shipping the 128 sticks. They usually have to ship them from a remote warehouse which means you must add about 2-4 days from the shipping method. For example, if you buy today and select next day air you would not get it until Friday at the earliest. I found another vendor that is selling the sticks for $76 + free second day air ($76USD total including shipping). The good thing is that they are about 6 hours from my city. Pagecomputers will cost $97 including if you want it in 2 days plus the additional 2 days you have to wait for them to retrieve the item from their warehouse. I think I will order another stick from them as the one near my office has run out of stock.

[quote="Bigfeat"]You have to be careful about some of those small companies shipping the 128 sticks. They usually have to ship them from a remote warehouse which means you must add about 2-4 days from the shipping method. [/quote]

If you are bargain hunting then a few extra days should not be an issue. If you are looking for an expedient delivery then should you expect to pay a bit of a premium for it. If you are able to find both then consider yourself very lucky. If you expect both a bargain and expedient shipping then you narrow yourself down to very few if any vendors.

I am able to get both from time to time at buy.com. They have a warehouse about 3 hours from here so even though I order things shipped ground; I will get them in 1-2 days if they have them in that warehouse.

Cranium: Did you follow-up on your order.. The reason I ask is because the websites don't refresh their order status during the nite.. You might see "in stock" but the site will take in more orders then it has in stock.. So becareful and ask them if you were one of the customers that actually got in at the right time. Let us know if they will ship to you.

[quote="Bigfeat"]Cranium: Did you follow-up on your order.[/quote]

Yes I have. It is still awaiting processing and has not yet been shipped. As of today, this is the status:

Order Date: 5/3/2003 12:14:00 AM
Status: In process
Tracking Number: CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE WAITING FOR TRACKING NUMBER

I had one ordered about a couple weeks ago but they promptly cancelled on the Monday following the order. This time they have not. Based on this, I'm hopefull that I will receive the stick.

By the way Cranium - I re-read your post and I think you misunderstood my post or I was not clear enough. PageComputers will ship the item in about 3-5 days + 2-4 day wait period for $76USD.. Other vendors will ship the same item 2 day via FedEX for $76USD. Apparently Pagecomputers is overchargining for shipping fees. When I got my first 128 stick I only paid about 8 bucks for for shipping ($68USD total cost) but I got it in 2 days. For a small item I don't understand how they figure $29USD for FedEx 2 days. Everyone might want to look into that. Other sites that does not offer free shipping don't charge as much for their FedEx shipment.

[quote="Bigfeat"]By the way Cranium - I re-read your post and I think you misunderstood my post or I was not clear enough. PageComputers will ship the item in about 3-5 days + 2-4 day wait period for $76USD.. Other vendors will ship the same item 2 day via FedEX for $76USD. Apparently Pagecomputers is overchargining for shipping fees. When I got my first 128 stick I only paid about 8 bucks for for shipping ($68USD total cost) but I got it in 2 days. For a small item I don't understand how they figure $29USD for FedEx 2 days. Everyone might want to look into that. Other sites that does not offer free shipping don't charge as much for their FedEx shipment.[/quote]

I agree with you there. Anything besides ground at page computers is WAY too expensive and even ground is a bit high. Overall I'm quite happy with paying $76 for the memory since it is currently so scarce and we've all seen posts from people paying much more than this.

Did you get a shipping confirmation (e.g. shipping tracking #)? The reason I ask is because PageC has had trouble with their shipments and left several customers in the dust.. I would confirm the order by demanding a shipping tracking #. Anything else would be Bullsh#* from them.

Bad News Cranium:

I just spoke to Mariam from the PageC sales department.. Again they confirmed that their website is having trouble. In fact they are considering switching to another server that would eliminate this problem. Their ETA for the 128 sticks isn't until the 25th of May. So the "In Stock" that you saw on their website last nite was a glitch. I placed an order with them over 2 months ago and hadn't received anything at all. She couldn't even confirm how many they have sold before. My guess is ZERO... So I'd do the smart thing and cancel that order and use that money elsewhere. You can call yourself to confirm this.

[quote="gumbynl"]I went into a UK Sony store last Saturday. They only show the 64Mb in their listing, and quoted around 80 GBP. No idea about the 128Mb.

James[/quote]

how much!! i went to my local sony centre and they told me the 64mb was �59.99

they also told me that there not releasing the 128 over here for a while, and the guy hinted at they had loads of 64's and were worried they wouldnt sell if they released the 128's

[quote="Bigfeat"]I just spoke to Mariam from the PageC sales department.. Again they confirmed that their website is having trouble.[/quote]

This would be disappointing if what you are saying is true. I will contact them tomorrow if the status has not changed and find out what's up with the order.

Thanks for the heads up!

I just got another one shipped today and I only ordered it this morning.. It will arived by Thursday via FedEx 2 day air. Unfortunately the vendor only got 50 in today and they all are sold out already.. I paid $76USD total for it. You can't beat that deal at all even though I paid a few dollars more then I did for my first one. I called those guys just to make sure because their stock changed two times today already. Until you get that tracking number never assume will get your item. PageC is still not shipping any. It seems like they along with several other vendors will only have them during the last week of May at the earliest.

FYI: I ordered mine from www.thetwistergroup.com on the 1st of May and got an email yesterday (after prompting them) saying ... "Your order is on the way to our international sales office where it would be forwarded to you in a few days"

A few days! It's been 5 already and they haven't even sent it to me yet!

The guy (Eugene) was helpful on the phone, and prompt at returning my emails, but the delivery time is shite... especially for a $40 fee!

I'd avoid them next time, and if they hadn't already charged my card I'd be on to Bigfeat to get one!

Well I just received my 128Mb stick from P800er.com. It arrived in the UK within 1 1/2 weeks 😊 (via the Airmail option). Bloody fantastic.

Z.

I found the 128Mb stick in quite a few different places in the US for around $75 (about �50) but after calling most of them up they refuse point blank to ship to the UK... so impatient as I am I went to P800er and ordered it for $120 plus $5 airmail delivery. I ordered it on the 30th April and today (7th May) I received it... I'm a happy man although minor problem, I'm at work in London and the memory is at home in Southampton (some 75 miles away) and it means I'm tortured for the rest of the day waiting to get home to play with it and fill it up with useless crap.

I preordered a 128 on P800er. Got notice of availability on 28th April. Paid my�80. Today (7th May) it arrived at my flat in London.

Great service. Well Done P800er

i think even these guys have them

http://www.sd-memory.co.uk/uk2shop-9.htm

no one ships to india :cry: :cry: :cry: ....who will ship one to india......???????

At �139.99 that comes in around three times as expensive as the US, they've got to be kidding.

About Brando & P800er... The pricing qouted from these guys are really high. The 128 stick is listed at $89USD which pretty much means retail price. With that said companies in the states can not really inflate their price above retail value because of laws and regulations. That's why the highest you will find it here is $89USD, but as cheap as $62USD a piece. Don't get me wrong several small companies will try to jack the price and do what we call "price gauging". Because they know demand is high they try to capitalize on consumers that are desperate and have no place else to go. Now price gauging appears to be very apparent outside of the US. Because they don't have to conform to US laws then whatever price they wish to sell it as is their business. With that said imagine what their profit margin is going to be after selling 1000 pieces at $120USD a piece. Chances are they bought these units at below cost from the manufacturer just like everyone in the states does. These sticks average around $70 USD in the markets in Japan. However, they too don't ship worldwide. They are making big bucks off of consumers unfortunately, but I guess several are desperate to pay twice or tripple the price of what we would pay for them here.

I have offered this before, but I'm willing to ship world wide to anyone that really wants a stick. The stick + shipping is dirt cheap in the US. I own two 128 sticks at the moment. The last one I bought was $76USD total which included free 2-day FedEx air. The first one only cost me $68USD, but that was from an independent vendor that did me a favor that bought it from Japan directly. You guys can go on Ebay and take your chances there. Or you can email me and let me know what you want to do. I don't plan on buying a bulk order of sticks and selling it to the guys that have a tougher time getting them. You must take the initiative. There are 2 companies in the US will ship Worlwide, however, they won't carry the sticks until June (maybe).

Or it could be that prices are generally cheaper in USA for memory products compared with Europe and Asia. Example, you can probably get a 256Mb SD card for less than US$50 (after rebates, etc) in the US but I don't think you can get anything close to this price in Europe and Asia. I don't think it's the retailers fault for the high prices. It has something to do with the manufacturers themseleves.

economies of scale probably come into it somewhere as well, but me... I like to blame the vendors (I'm like that!)

The point was areas that are carrying the sticks do not inflate the prices. Japan is part of Asia and you can find several electronics there dirt cheap (including 128mb duo). To note, it comes down to the laws and regulation of the region. You would be suprised to know that the US is not as electronicaly inclined as the rest of the world. Take cellular phones for example. We have some of the highest phone rate plans and most backward phones, but lack worldwide features like free incoming calls or free incoming sms. Moreover, we only have one carrier that has successfully managed the GSM system. And that's because they have branches in Europe. To date, there aren't any items in the US that even has compatibility with the DUO sticks. Sony released an MP3 player that almost no one knows about here. 9 out of 10 retailers in the US don't even know what a DUO stick even though SONY has listed them as a future carrier. It always depends on what you get and what laws a region places on the market. When I shop in the UK, Germany, Sweden, HK, and Japan sometimes there are very few times I can point out an item that I know we sell cheaper in the US. Don't forget that shops like BRANDO and P800er are NOT in a market that has officially lunched 128 DUO sticks. Which is why there prices are inflated.

bigfeat, I'm in the UK and I am interested in a 128MB duo from you, please advise?

Cheers

PM me for info on obtaining a DUO stick..

Hi,

I was in NY last week,
You can not find it there for less than 129$,
Even the Sony Center do not have it !

Thanks