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Tag: Price

  • Gold Prices: Hong Kong To The Rescue?

    Much of the recent fluctuation in gold prices was blamed on the improving American economy.

    The changing economic landscape in the United States is considered key for determining the long-term market value of the precious metal

    As such, gold suffered a drop in value as the US dollar strengthened; there is also the expectation that interest rates are due to rise in the near future.

    Despite the heavy focus on the American economy, the precious metals market was recently affected by the perceived political instability in Hong Kong.

    Thousands of pro-democracy supporters engaged in violent clashes with police on Sunday. They have occupied much of the financial center of Hong Kong, the sheer numbers bringing traffic to a halt in certain locations.

    These individuals are fighting what they feel is communist encroachment and will not budge until they are assured their message is heard.

    While the protesters may not be moving, the same cannot be said for stock prices. Hong Kong’s market saw two percent of its value shaved off as a result of wariness surrounding ongoing protests.

    This uncertainty recently crept into the global market. American stock futures were lower during pre-market trading on Monday. European shares were also negatively affected.

    As for gold, it received a slight reprieve as the price (for now) rose to $1,217.50 per ounce, up a total of $2.10. Meanwhile silver dropped by three cents to $17.55.

    Beyond Hong Kong protests possibly offering a boost, it’s also hoped that the “Golden Week” holidays in China will also lend a hand to gold prices.

    The problem is that it has been noted that the demand for gold in China is down overall. Even with the positive effect the situation in Hong Kong has had on the value of gold, it’s expected to continue a slow downward slide in value.

    Stateside, the growing economy and strengthening dollar aren’t the only economic factors driving gold prices down. There is much speculation surrounding the upcoming jobs report data to be released later in the week.

    The view of gold, even with its short term gains, continues to be somewhat bearish.

  • Pinterest Launches Price Drop Notifications, Will Email You When Your Pins Get Cheaper

    Pinterest Launches Price Drop Notifications, Will Email You When Your Pins Get Cheaper

    Pinterest is about to make shopaholics very happy. Today, the social networking site announced that they will now be monitoring price drops on products and notifying users of this via email.

    Back in May, Pinterest introduced what they called “more useful pins.” Basically, Pinterest added more information to certain types of pins – recipes, movie reviews, and most relevant to today’s announcement – product prices and availability.

    Pinterest will now watch those items with price information and they’ll start sending out emails to those who have pinned the item when the price drops. The emails will read something like “Good News! Today, your heavy pendant light pin from Room 68 is 15% less.”

    “You don’t have to do anything to get notified. Just keep pinning the things you’re into, and leave the price watching to us. We’ll try to keep your inbox clutter-free by grouping these notifications into a single email, but you can always adjust your settings if you need to.There are already tens of millions of pins with price details on them, so it’s easy for you to find something that doesn’t break the bank,” says Pinterest engineer Jeffrey Warren.

    Some true online shopping deal hawks may know that there are already a bunch of services that allow you to track price fluctuations all over the web and a few online shopping sites that already have price drop notifications built in. The point is, Pinterest isn’t the first the do this – but it’s the biggest. And this has the potential to make the site even more important for online retailers.

    If you’re a business, Pinterest says that there are numerous advantages to using product pins. They “get higher click-through rates than regular pins, make your brand more visible because your logo’s on the pin, are more likely to appear in a category feed, like Men’s Fashion or Gifts and include automatically updated details, like price changes,” according to Pinterest’s Kevin Knight.

    If you’re a business looking to get started, you can visit Pinterest’s developer site.

  • Microsoft Defends Surface Pro’s $900 Price Tag

    The Surface Pro will be launching on February 9 for $900. That’s only for the 64GB version as the 128GB model will go for $1,000. It costs even more when you throw in the touch or typepad, and other accessories. Isn’t this all a little too much? Tami Reller, Windows Finance and Marketing Chief, doesn’t think so. In fact, she think it’s an incredible value if you start looking at the “right way.”

    In an interview with GeekWire, Reller says that the $1,000 price tag of the Surface represents a value to the typical Apple buyer who spends that much on a MacBook Air alongside an extra $500 for an iPad:

    Compare it to a typical Apple buyer, who is going to get a MacBook Air, plus an iPad. That’s a more interesting comparison. … If you’ve got a buyer who needs both a computer and a tablet, Surface Pro is $1,000, vs. $1,000 plus $500 (for the MacBook Air and iPad). I think that’s the interesting comparison.

    She goes on to say that the Surface Pro represents a better value over the competition because it’s a touch-based system. It means the device is a tablet and an Ultrabook – it’s everything the modern technology user wants in a single system.

    Microsoft will probably not have any luck in attracting the hardcore Apple users who are perfectly content with throwing money at multiple devices every year. The value that Surface Pro presents to those users is negligible. The company needs to focus on the PC user that will most likely skip the Surface Pro and opt for a similarly specced notebook. To those consumers, Reller says they have to look at the big picture:

    You have to look at design, pen, touch performance. You look at it and you say, OK, I’m getting Ultrabook-class PC with the added benefit of a tablet package. It’s all I need. $899 plus a keyboard of my choice, I’m into the $1,000 category, and I have all I need, in a premium package.

    Are consumers going to be swayed by that argument? It’s legitimately hard to say. Many people say that they plan on purchasing the Surface Pro after skipping on the Surface RT last year. These consumers want the full Windows 8 experience, and the Surface Pro mostly delivers if its largely positive reviews are to be believed.

    Regardless, that starting price of $900 is a pretty scary proposition for consumers. For $100 less, consumers can get the 128GB Retina Display iPad. Is the newness of Windows 8 able to win out over the familiarity of iOS? Microsoft certainly thinks they can, but consumers may not be as adventurous.

  • New York Times Price Rises 25%

    The New York Times newsstand price for its Monday-Saturday paper just went from $2.00 a copy to $2.50. The news giant has steadily increased cover prices over the past few years as consumers have shifted to online sources for news.

    Despite being affected by the same print downturn that affects all other newspapers, the NYT is still the third-largest print newspaper in the United States. The Times is available online free for “light” users, those who read 20 or fewer articles per month. There are smartphone apps available for iPhone and Android that channel Times content.

    This latest price increase is yet another move by the old-school media titan making its way in the digital age. Back in 2002, The Times bought a fifteen percent stake in the Boston Red Sox, not because they had an interest in Red Sox baseball, but to get a piece of the New England Sports Network television channel that came with the team.

    Indeed, many newspapers are changing their old business model for one that can remain profitable as more and more people get news via smartphone, tablet and laptop. Managers look for profit centers outside of the normal advertising sales and cover price that sustained papers throughout the 20th century.

    For example, local papers may produce an entire insert for a single advertiser with a significant event, such as a job fair or grand opening. They may even assign writers to adorn the ad space with pseudo-articles that highlight topics that dovetail with the advertiser. This is one of many new approaches that smaller papers feel forced to take to keep their presses running. Others have turned to online video of news events, becoming de facto online television producers, with mixed results.

    Finding ways to make these endeavors pay, via pay subscriptions, etc. has been the real challenge. So much news is available for free online that readers are loathe to pull out the plastic. Price increases like this one are sure to keep coming until the fateful day that paper is no longer viable, however far off that may yet be.

  • Gamestop To Accept Trade-Ins For iPhones, iPads, and iPods

    In what many are considering a puzzling decision, Gamestop will now accept trade-ins for used iOS devices. If you’re unfamiliar with Gamestop, they’re one of the most popular video game stores in the country. Their business model is built around the tried-and-true pawn shop ideal. People can trade in their old games for cash, or store credit. They take these trade-ins and then generally sell them at double what they paid for them. Simple and sweet.

    Gamestop issued a press release, announcing their plan to give cash/store credit for iOS devices. They’ve provided generic information and have left out some important details. For instance, will they plan on selling these devices?

    Here’s a quote from Gamestop president, Tony Bartel, “By trading in iOS devices, GameStop customers have yet another source of funds to put toward the purchase of new and pre-owned games, DLC, digital PC games and more”

    One important statement comes from their official iOS trade-in page: “You also release GameStop from any claim for loss or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of any personal or private data or information stored on the iPod, iPhone or iPad.”

    So be sure to completely empty out your device’s memory before taking them in, if you plan on trading anything in.

    GameStop iOS Trade-In Policy

    Looking around on their site, there’s no information as of yet if they have plans to sell their purchased devices. Digging a bit further, I gave my local Gamestop a call for further information. Was able to find trade-in values for these devices:

    iPod Touch 3rd Generation 32 GB: $100 Store Credit/$80 Cash

    iPhone 4 16 GB: $135 Store Credit/ $120 Cash

    iPad 2 32 GB Wi-Fi: $300 Store Credit/ $240 Cash

    I asked the gentleman if they planned on selling the devices and how much they would be, here’s his response (paraphrasing), “Umm, let me ask my manager…He said there are no plans right now, but probably in November”

    So take that for what you will. Not that I suspected the store managers to have the information, but you never know what internal memos Gamestop sends to their employees.

    To put the figures I listed above in perspective, here’s the cheapest (realistic) prices I could find for the devices above in used condition:

    iPod Touch 3rd Generation 32 GB: $125 – From a random classified ad in Tennessee

    iPhone 4 16 GB: $300 – Another random classified ad, device has cracked screen

    iPad 2 32 GB Wi-Fi: $407 – From a site called Electronics Emporium

    If Gamestop were to sell at these extremely low prices, they’d still be making a lot of money from every trade-in. Will be interesting to track the price point they actually sell them at, if they get around to it.

    Their decision to buy these devices is perplexing, because they’ve simply been about buying and selling video games and systems. It wasn’t too long ago that they offered the same trade-in system for DVDs and Blu-Rays, but they ended up doing away with it, focusing solely on video games. If they don’t plan on selling the devices from the outset, then where is the profit coming from? Perhaps they just want to build their stock first, before they actually sell them. Only time will tell.

    GameStop iOS Device Trade-In List

    Gamestop has taken a lot of heat from gamers, who complain that their trade-in values are too low and are simply taking advantage of desperate people. Not only are the game values low, but their system hurts video game developers and publishers. The used market does nothing for the people who actually create these games; the profit is enjoyed by Gamestop only.

    It will be interesting to see how the iOS community responds to this news. Would you sell to Gamestop for the trade-in values I posted above? Will there be a response from Apple, who like the developers/publishers will see no returns on their items sold as used?