Brymen Price Increases - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 09:05:34 am
content: Brymen have just informed me that they will have to increase prices across the board due to increases in component costs of around 20%.They have been absorbing these price increases for quite a while now, but can no longer do so.They aren't passing on the full 20% to me, but prices for me are going up. But given that I can't get stock until next Feb due to component shortages, it's a bit mootThis matches the 10-30% component price increases that Sapphire (makers of the HVP70 HV probe) reported back in March.If you believe inflation is only 5% then I've got a bridge to sell you.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 01:29:29 pm
content: Given that they calculate the headline inflation rate based on the CPI (consumer price index) here in the UK at least, and probably similarly most everywhere else, it's no surprise to see this kind of difference.I doubt these kinds of products are even in the standard "shopping basket" that they use, though I would expect smartphones and PCs to be there, so we might well see that figure revised up at some point.https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/ukconsumerpriceinflationbasketofgoodsandservices/2021

author: mindcrime
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 08:00:29 pm
content: Glad I bought my EEVBlog BM786 a couple of months ago then. Will this affect the 121GW? Those are built by somebody else, no?

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 08:03:48 pm
content: In the US, the “CPI” inflation rate includes used automobiles, which have spiked horribly in price due to shortages of new product due to the infamous chip shortage.

author: WattsThat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 08:08:05 pm
content: My current employer is a worldwide producer of electrical equipment. Large volume customers have pricing agreements tied to country and world based commodity pricing. We just informed some customers that based upon copper, electrical steel and aluminum futures, their net pricing for the 1st Q 2022, is going up 20 to 23%, depending upon the material mix.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 09:54:48 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on July 16, 2021, 08:03:48 pmJust goes to show, the knock-on effects of this problem are going to be pretty widespread and long lasting.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 10:29:06 pm
content: Politicians everywhere will blame the opposition, but they have less influence on prices than they believe. When a serious disruption in supply (due to chips, shipping problems, pandemic restrictions, etc.) is followed by a sudden increase in demand (due to relaxation of restrictions), inflation is inevitable.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 11:41:43 pm
content: I guess if they aren't hitting you with the full 20% then they expect prices to drop eventually?Quote from: TimFox on July 16, 2021, 08:03:48 pmSeems fair to include it though right? As long as it has an appropriate fraction of the total.USA:Quote

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 12:28:12 am
content: Quote from: AVGresponding on July 16, 2021, 01:29:29 pmProperty is our biggest purchase, yet also isn't used in the CPI calculation.Ask anyone who tried to buy a house recently what the inflation rate is...

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 12:45:52 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on July 17, 2021, 12:28:12 amOur house is currently appreciating at a rate greater than our income. I have no idea how long that can last, I'm just glad property taxes are capped here. In areas where there are annual reassessments at market value, property taxes quickly become unaffordable for retired people.

author: 25 CPS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 04:40:20 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on July 17, 2021, 12:28:12 amIt's the same here in Canada. Housing is excluded from the CPI calculation because it's considered to be an asset, not a consumer good. I'm not sure how rent is treated for CPI purposes since asset price would be the major factor in rent prices, but either way renting or buying, everyone needs somewhere to live and experiences those costs whether or not the government classifies it as an asset to keep runaway housing costs out of the official inflation calculation.Then there were the reports towards the end of 2020 that food prices were going to go up by about $700 for the average family. The cost of basic building materials like lumber and plywood have exploded as well. I don't think anybody believes it's the 1.5% inflation they kept telling us for years anymore. Even the most recent figure of 3.4% isn't credible.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 11:24:45 am
content: Housing is excluded here also, for the same reasons.EDIT: Excluded from the CPI, the CPIH does include mortgage costs and other things. There's also the RPI (Retail Price Index), which they are planning to phase out by 2030.In the meantime they can use whichever figure best suits whatever political point they want to make...

author: Co6aka
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 11:28:48 am
content: Fiat always returns to its intrinsic value...

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 12:03:49 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on July 17, 2021, 12:45:52 amWhich only means that there's inflation in your future, not that you're making money.You can't sell your house at a profit because you still need to live somewhere and the price of all the other houses went up, too*. OTOH the rental cost of every single bar/restaurant in your area is going up so their prices have to reflect that.(*) Unless you go live somewhere else that's less desirable, but almost nobody does that.The only way to make money on house price increases is to buy a load of other houses just before the boom starts. Or be a real estate agent. The agents are like stockbrokers and casinos, they never lose.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 02:03:08 pm
content: However, late in life one might well sell ones house at its inflated price and buy a lesser property at its inflated price and still have some cash left over.That corollary to the "greater fool" belief is how people get trapped initially into a real-estate bubble.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 02:23:17 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on July 17, 2021, 02:03:08 pmYes, you can pocket the difference if you move down the housing ladder.Conversely: It's a lot more expensive if you want to moveupthe ladder.My point was that people who tell you "How much my house has gone up!" haven't thought it all the way through. In the long term everybody gets poorer as a result of housing booms.(everybody except the banks, estate agents and rich people with multiple properties)

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2021, 03:29:52 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on July 17, 2021, 12:03:49 pmI know that (and the inflation is here now already) but a lot of people are falling into the same old home-equity loan trap and are, in fact, realizing those gains in cash--with obvious future consequences.QuoteActually there are a number of people in my area doing just that. Desirability has many variables and the housing increases have been uneven, with modest entry-level housing in our area seeing the most frightening increases. Some areas are cooling off, especially those where the 'desirability' is based mostly on proximity to high-value employment and the properties are otherwise overpriced s***holes in high crime areas. Other perfectly nice areas are seeing 10-20% increases, not the 50-100% we are seeing in suburban southern California. If you live here and don't need to be in a particular place, you likely can relocate to somewhere just as nice and pocket half a million dollars or more.QuoteActually, there's a compression effect where everyone is looking for an affordable house, driving the prices of lower-cost housing up proportionally more. During the last housing trainwreck, I observed that in our area, a million dollars got you a very nice house, one that seemed like a million-dollar house--but the $300K house was a shack. 10 years later those numbers are 50% higher. The same pressures don't affect the two market segments in the same way. One key threshold for affordability is the FNMA conforming loan limit--the maximum loan that can be underwritten and repurchased by the federally guaranteed program--which is $822K for Los Angeles county. For many people, this fairly closely defines the upper limit of what they can spend, so instead of spending more and more, they spend what they can and settle for less and less house.A similar effect is warping the used car market--which also happened in the last financial crisis. New cars are a bit scarce, but they haven't gone up that much. Used cars have skyrocketed. A relative called me to ask if he should buy his leased car--he usually just turns them in--but in this case, the market value is $12K higher than the originally calculated residual value--an almost 50% increase. A three-year old car will sell for 80%+ the price of a brand new equivalent model.Party like it's 1929!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 20, 2021, 04:09:25 am
content: FYI, Brymen have said that they don't exect prices to drop back down once the component supply shortage is sorted out, as it's not just shortages causing the price increases.

author: AaronLee
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2021, 04:23:54 am
content: This thread prompted me to pull the trigger on an EEVBlog BM786. I already have an Aneng AN870 and various even lesser quality portable multimeters but figure it won't hurt to add another multimeter. Plus I rather like the blue color bumper case. Beats the standard red and yellow color cases.