Age vs. Price

I am interested in how the value of something deteriorates with age. And was hoping someone else is, who is good at number crunching. And maybe someone who has been around for a while (PCI to AGP transition).

Tracking the value of a product, there is a generalized patern. Starts high, falls with time and superior product releases, hits bottom, then either is worthless or becomes rare and rises in price slightly.

Now lets have a theoretical example of a AGP videocard.

New flagship video cards by ATI and NVIDIA are released approximately every 6 months, spring and fall.

AGP1 was released in fall 2k3. At the sum of $500. AGP1 Price $500 Used - $NA
AGP2 was released in spring 2k4. At the sum of $500. AGP1 Price $400 Used $350
AGP3 was released in fall 2k4. At the sum of $500. AGP1 Price $350 Used $250
PCIE1 was released in fall 2k4. At the sum of $550. AGP1 Price $350 Used $250
AGP4 was released in spring 2k5. At the sum of $500.
PCIE2 was released in spring 2k5. At the sum of $500

Ok, now the last two are the interesting ones.

You will notice that Fall 2K4 PCEI was introduced. Products fall in value, as they age and are surpassed by superior ones. They have resale value because people will buy them, and use them. If people dont want to use them, their is no market. If a new technology comes out, to replace the old one, the old tech looses alot of value, but there is still overlap.

People have the opportunity to get the top of the old tech, as people sell it, to convert to the new tech.

The interesting thing will be finding the ideal time to buy and sell. Do you hold on to your old tech, in the face of new tech, and let its value collapse, or do you sell, and convert to the new technology.

you poae an interesting question there, i think there are a few variables on whether or not to sell. i can't say what factors other people have encountered but personally my descion on whether on not to sell depends mainly on how much the component is worth to me compared to how much i can sell it for

well myself being in costa rica - most any tech i get is about 1-2 years ahead of what any store in Costa Rica offers - that i know of, so i can resell my items for a closer to new value. - i think locaton plays a larger factor in re-selling items.

An example - last year i sold a :

Abit BH7
P4 2.4b
1g pc3200 ram
120g HD
80g HD
Radeon 9700PRO
case / psu

for $1000 US. - used. you could find the CPU - prob forabout $300 US new and the vid card when i saw it they wanted close to $400 US for it in a local store.

Cost of New replacement vs Value of Old Product to sell.

sorry its 2am and i am thinking (cant sleep)...

that is a good fctor - i am selling ym gaming rig in my sig - i am currently asking $2300US for it - %90 of the parts can not be found in costa rica.

if i get $2300 - i know i can buy a dam good newer system down the road - if i cant sell - i dont buy,

for me being able to sell my ol items for a close to newer price item is my goal.

you might have the fastest computer in your country

9mmCensor said:

...Do you hold on to your old tech, in the face of new tech, and let its value collapse, or do you sell, and convert to the new technology.

Click to expand...

This is actually an aspect of an old quandry--do you spend lots of money and buy the best available components anticipating using them for a long time or do you spend much less money and buy middle/lower quality componets with the intention of replacing them with upgrades relatively frequently?

I tend to buy one step down from the top for the price break and then try to keep it in service as long as possible. About the only time I sell off parts is when they're basically brand new and were bought for testing/experimentation or if I just made a mistake and the item doesn't do what I thought it would do and I don't feel comfortable doing an RMA when the fault is mine. But, even in those cases I'm almost as likely to put the item in the spare parts box (actually several boxes) as sell it. And, I usually find uses for the spare parts, though sometimes it can take a year or two....

This is actually an aspect of an old quandry--do you spend lots of money and buy the best available components anticipating using them for a long time or do you spend much less money and buy middle/lower quality componets with the intention of replacing them with upgrades relatively frequently?

Click to expand...

A very good question, and I always use a simple strategy in regards to that.

It is a sad fact that new gaming computers depreciate faster than cars. Within a matter of months, age has eaten horrendously into the value of your nice shiny A64 SLI system. So I buy what you might call the "old state-of-the-art." E.g:

When Socket 754 just came in, I bought a top of the range 3200+ Athlon XP. I saved a lot of money than going to 754 instead, and while Socket A is out of date, 754 is getting pretty close to being dated itself.


When the X800 Pro came out, I bought the 9800 Pro. I saved a considerable amount of money from the ensuing price cuts, and when the X800XT and X850 came out - I bought an X800 Pro VIVO on special offer.


The trick is getting it right - if you buy too early, you pay extremely high premiums for the first generation of the newest technology. Yet if you wait too long, the old technology's age goes totally out of proportion to the price drops. For example, its coming up to a year since I bought my 9800 Pro - and the price has dropped by £50.

While that might seem a lot (a third of its value from £150,) its not enough to lose out on a year of gaming.

It's all about timing, you see

the last two are interesting because AGP and PCI are still in main stream. regardless of one being newer than the other they are still being used in main strems. Production Price wise they cost the same to produce. Price of new technology is higher when it is first introduced because new technology needs new equipment to produce it. it requires techs to come up with it. which is normally added on to the price of the final product. the VERY FIRST video card, cpu, memory, etc produced costs hundreds of thousands to millions. and as time has passed the cost of the first products have been paid and its time to make big time profits.