For many years, prices dropped or stayed the same for disposable products.

Not too long ago, prices jumped and availability dropped for:

• Timber
• Paper
• Petrol
• Batteries for power tools.

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.
Now it costs three times as much.

For what other products have prices jumped?
Are prices going to drop again?
Or are these price hikes permanent?

mollwollfumble said:

For many years, prices dropped or stayed the same for disposable products.

Not too long ago, prices jumped and availability dropped for:

• Timber
• Paper
• Petrol
• Batteries for power tools.

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.
Now it costs three times as much.

For what other products have prices jumped?
Are prices going to drop again?
Or are these price hikes permanent?

Trampolines are much more expensive now
Skydiving as well

mollwollfumble said:

For many years, prices dropped or stayed the same for disposable products.

Not too long ago, prices jumped and availability dropped for:

• Timber
• Paper
• Petrol
• Batteries for power tools.

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.
Now it costs three times as much.

For what other products have prices jumped?
Are prices going to drop again?
Or are these price hikes permanent?

A sensible answer is GPU’s, shortage of chips and them being commandeered for cryptocurrency mining meant the demand far outstripped supply.

Electronics components (not just ICs but passive stuff as well) has nearly tripled in price in the last year…
The PICs I use have gone from $4 each to $13 each… :-O

If we are trying to do away with fossil fuel will the current price of petrol actually become the standard to wean us of it.
Probably won’t as the alternatives are too expensive for many people but it could become the norm.

Laptop computers seem to be about the same price as they have been for ages though.

Which seems a bit strange.

Cymek said:

If we are trying to do away with fossil fuel will the current price of petrol actually become the standard to wean us of it.
Probably won’t as the alternatives are too expensive for many people but it could become the norm.

Actually there are quite a few brands that offer reasonable range for much less than the ‘utes’ that many seem to need to buy (really, why do so many people buy a 4wd crewcab ute, and then use it entirely as a family car???)
BYD sells a ‘compact SUV’ EV (the E6, been on the market in China since 2009 and very popular as a taxi there) for $40k here in Australia, plus there are quite a few other sub $50k ones as well- the VW EV transporter would be an interesting beast if it was available in a ‘passenger version’ like they did with the old VW microbuses…
(an 8 seater ‘microbus’ EV lol)
The VW has their ‘ID3’ looks to be around $45k with the 300km range pack, about 60k with the 550km range pack, and there are others in the $50k price bracket- ie the most popular ‘car’ in Australia has been the Hiluxes for many years, and the ‘family car’ version most buy is about $50-$60k- sure you can buy a Workmate 2wd single cab for far less- but thats not what you see mum picking the kids up in lol

The Rev Dodgson said:

Laptop computers seem to be about the same price as they have been for ages though.

Which seems a bit strange.

I mean it depends on how you look at it. Obviously like for like they are a lot cheaper, but the price range remains the same because that’s what people seem to be interested in paying: like someone who bought a $1500 laptop five years ago might buy a $1500 laptop now, but now it is going to be 40% faster and have excellent touchscreen response.

that’s all right, labour is still dirt cheap, and Labor as well while we’re at it

Cymek said:

mollwollfumble said:

For many years, prices dropped or stayed the same for disposable products.

Not too long ago, prices jumped and availability dropped for:

• Timber
• Paper
• Petrol
• Batteries for power tools.

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.
Now it costs three times as much.

For what other products have prices jumped?
Are prices going to drop again?
Or are these price hikes permanent?

A sensible answer is GPU’s, shortage of chips and them being commandeered for cryptocurrency mining meant the demand far outstripped supply.

boppa said:

Electronics components (not just ICs but passive stuff as well) has nearly tripled in price in the last year…
The PICs I use have gone from $4 each to $13 each… :-O

Ta. I hadn’t noticed.

RAM prices went through the roof many years ago when a typhoon through Taiwan knocked out the world’s largest RAM manufacturing plant.
And it’s only relatively recently that you can get RAM at sizes and prices comparable to that fifteen years ago.

> Laptop now it is going to be 40% faster

Computer desktop chip speed hasn’t improved at all. The CPU I bought 14 years ago is still considered top of the range now. And it wasn’t even top of the range when I bought it.

And 14 years ago my computer had a 1 Terrabyte hard disk drive. That’s more than even most new desktop computers have these days.

So I had noticed that computer speed and capacity is not better than it used to be.

> Cymek said:

If we are trying to do away with fossil fuel will the current price of petrol actually become the standard to wean us of it.
Probably won’t as the alternatives are too expensive for many people but it could become the norm.

But the shocking and sudden increase in the price of lithium batteries will surely have the opposite effect?

“ The CPU I bought 14 years ago is still considered top of the range now. “

What CPU is that?

The old doubling every 6 months ( or whatever it was) has certainly slowed down, but I’m pretty sure that TotR now is quite a bit faster with more processors than TotR 14 years ago.

The Rev Dodgson said:

“ The CPU I bought 14 years ago is still considered top of the range now. “

What CPU is that?

The old doubling every 6 months ( or whatever it was) has certainly slowed down, but I’m pretty sure that TotR now is quite a bit faster with more processors than TotR 14 years ago.

It’s a special imaginary CPU.

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.

—

Could we get a fact check on that

Ian said:

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.

—

Could we get a fact check on that

Amazon says today:

Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
$199.00 $209.00
The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Ian said:

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.

—

Could we get a fact check on that

Amazon says today:

Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
$199.00 $209.00
The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

Yes they are. I bought a Makita chainsaw with charger and batteries last year. The charger and batteries are the most expensive bit. I think it was around the $600 mark all up.

I think they are relatively cheap. buy a “kit”, tool, two batteries and a charger then just buy skins after that. and if you want to buy extra batteries. though it would be cheaper to buy another kit, different tool, and get the batteries and charger with that.

Ian said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Ian said:

Take Li-Ion batteries for power tools for example. from 4 years to six months ago I could get a cordless 18V 5Ah Makita drill plus two batteries plus charger for $200.

—

Could we get a fact check on that

Amazon says today:

Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
$199.00 $209.00
The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

Yes they are. I bought a Makita chainsaw with charger and batteries last year. The charger and batteries are the most expensive bit. I think it was around the $600 mark all up.

Price history for lithium-ion batteries to 2020:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Ian said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Amazon says today:

Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
$199.00 $209.00
The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

Yes they are. I bought a Makita chainsaw with charger and batteries last year. The charger and batteries are the most expensive bit. I think it was around the $600 mark all up.

Price history for lithium-ion batteries to 2020:

So Molly’s assertion is busted at least for – Batteries for power tools.

I buy reasonably large numbers of 18650’s, and there has been a small increase over the last few months, but it hasn’t been a huge increase (about 5%) but thats more a case of exchange rates I think, rather than actual cost increases…

boppa said:

I buy reasonably large numbers of 18650’s, and there has been a small increase over the last few months, but it hasn’t been a huge increase (about 5%) but thats more a case of exchange rates I think, rather than actual cost increases…

you try telling moll that and he won’t believe you!

Ian said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Ian said:

Yes they are. I bought a Makita chainsaw with charger and batteries last year. The charger and batteries are the most expensive bit. I think it was around the $600 mark all up.

Price history for lithium-ion batteries to 2020:

So Molly’s assertion is busted at least for – Batteries for power tools.

I’m fairly certain the 14 year old CPU still being one of the current best is to say the least…questionable.

The first standard 3.5 inch drive to reach one terabyte in capacity was the Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000, which has a spin rate of 7,100 revolutions per minute. It was launched in 2007.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-terabyte-hard-drive

mollwollfumble said:

And 14 years ago my computer had a 1 Terrabyte hard disk drive. That’s more than even most new desktop computers have these days.

My desktop has a 1 Terrabyte NVMe SSD as the primary disk and 2 × 1 Terrabyte 3.5in hard disk drives as storage. It’s probably not standard as I built it myself, but most desktops now days will be using a NVMe SSD and you can get 1 Terrabyte for well under $200.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Ian said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Amazon says today:

Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
$199.00 $209.00
The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

Yes they are. I bought a Makita chainsaw with charger and batteries last year. The charger and batteries are the most expensive bit. I think it was around the $600 mark all up.

Price history for lithium-ion batteries to 2020:

I’m expecting a small increase in prices due to the fact that California has passed a law stating that all small petrol engines are banned, and the obvious replacement is electric mowers, chainsaws, blowers etc. I’m not sure when or even if this will happen, but the steady increase in battery factories would probably drown it out.

mollwollfumble said:

Are prices going to drop again?
Or are these price hikes permanent?

Everything is going to get more expensive, and stay more expensive.

The world is entering into a period of de-globalisation. Decoupling from China started a couple of years ago under the Trump Administration. The trade war between the US and China, and the US bans on the export of certain high tech goods to China and on the operations of some Chinese companies has sent many multinationals scrambling to leave China. The made in China and sold in the USA model is being broken down, especially for high tech goods. Much blame rests with the CCP and their propensity for being cunts.

Then Covid came along a stuffed things up even more. Certain industries (tourism) collapsed, some where so overwhelmed with a sudden surge in demand from all the stay home/work from home people that they couldn’t keep up (building products, timber, furniture).

Then there is the chip shortage. Several other reasons contribute to that on top of the US blocking sales of technical equipment to China. Everything uses chips these days.

Then there is war in Ukraine.

Then there is a big collapse going on in China as a result of their delayed Covid wave and their strict adherence to Zero-Covid. They don’t have vaccines that work so they are stuffed either way. The Chinese housing market was looking shaky already, and now seems to be in free-fall. It is going to be a hard landing in China. But at the moment they are struggling to export anything anyway with all their lockdowns of whole cities, factories are shut, delivery drivers can’t enter or leave the cities to deliver goods. Supply chains out of China are collapsing.

.. and the demographic time bomb is starting to go off. The Boomer generation are in the retirement phase of their lives, and leaving the workforce.

party_pants said:

mollwollfumble said:

Are prices going to drop again?
Or are these price hikes permanent?

Everything is going to get more expensive, and stay more expensive.

The world is entering into a period of de-globalisation. Decoupling from China started a couple of years ago under the Trump Administration. The trade war between the US and China, and the US bans on the export of certain high tech goods to China and on the operations of some Chinese companies has sent many multinationals scrambling to leave China. The made in China and sold in the USA model is being broken down, especially for high tech goods. Much blame rests with the CCP and their propensity for being cunts.

Then Covid came along a stuffed things up even more. Certain industries (tourism) collapsed, some where so overwhelmed with a sudden surge in demand from all the stay home/work from home people that they couldn’t keep up (building products, timber, furniture).

Then there is the chip shortage. Several other reasons contribute to that on top of the US blocking sales of technical equipment to China. Everything uses chips these days.

Then there is war in Ukraine.

Then there is a big collapse going on in China as a result of their delayed Covid wave and their strict adherence to Zero-Covid. They don’t have vaccines that work so they are stuffed either way. The Chinese housing market was looking shaky already, and now seems to be in free-fall. It is going to be a hard landing in China. But at the moment they are struggling to export anything anyway with all their lockdowns of whole cities, factories are shut, delivery drivers can’t enter or leave the cities to deliver goods. Supply chains out of China are collapsing.

LOL- funny how none of that actually seems to be happening….
I get almost all of my electronics out of China (basically they are the only place left making them), and although the prices have increased, there are no supply issues- if anything their delivery times have significantly improved as has delivery reliability- in fact most of my delays are now on the Australian side… (Brisbane customs in particular really need to lift their game- 4 days from factory to Australia, then 4 weeks from Brisbane to my place…) :-O

A top of the line enthusiast processor from 2020 versus the same from 2006 (nominal 14 year gap) are faster, more powerful and less expensive

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/a-history-of-intel-vs-amd-desktop-performance-with-cpu-charts-galore/

diddly-squat said:

A top of the line enthusiast processor from 2020 versus the same from 2006 (nominal 14 year gap) are faster, more powerful and less expensive

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/a-history-of-intel-vs-amd-desktop-performance-with-cpu-charts-galore/

Yes, sure, but if you take out those three benchmarks then the 2006 CPU shits it in.

The Rev Dodgson said:

> Amazon says today:

> Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
> $199.00 $209.00
> The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Amazon told me today $366 / $399 for that kit (18V 5Ah)

> Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

These kits have all gone off the market. There isn’t a single one to be had in stores in the whole of Melbourne.
It’s now a minimum of $135 for just one of those batteries and the kit has two.
Very few hardware stores sell anything other than skins – no batteries or chargers.

The equivalent Bosch kits are completely sold out, too.

To get anything equivalent (18V 5Ah) from shops now costs at least $650. In either Bosch, Makita or Milkwaukee. A tripling in price virtually overnight.

sibeen said:

diddly-squat said:

A top of the line enthusiast processor from 2020 versus the same from 2006 (nominal 14 year gap) are faster, more powerful and less expensive

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/a-history-of-intel-vs-amd-desktop-performance-with-cpu-charts-galore/

Yes, sure, but if you take out those three benchmarks then the 2006 CPU shits it in.

not sure I follow, or maybe I wasn’t clear.. the 2006 processor is slower, less computationally powerful and was more expensive.. the idea that processor technology today is the same as it was then is laughable in the extreme

diddly-squat said:

sibeen said:

diddly-squat said:

A top of the line enthusiast processor from 2020 versus the same from 2006 (nominal 14 year gap) are faster, more powerful and less expensive

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/a-history-of-intel-vs-amd-desktop-performance-with-cpu-charts-galore/

Yes, sure, but if you take out those three benchmarks then the 2006 CPU shits it in.

not sure I follow, or maybe I wasn’t clear.. the 2006 processor is slower, less computationally powerful and was more expensive.. the idea that processor technology today is the same as it was then is laughable in the extreme

tap
tap
tap

I think your sarcasm detector needs a little adjustment :)

mollwollfumble said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

> Amazon says today:

> Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
> $199.00 $209.00
> The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Amazon told me today $366 / $399 for that kit (18V 5Ah)

> Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

These kits have all gone off the market. There isn’t a single one to be had in stores in the whole of Melbourne.
It’s now a minimum of $135 for just one of those batteries and the kit has two.
Very few hardware stores sell anything other than skins – no batteries or chargers.

The equivalent Bosch kits are completely sold out, too.

To get anything equivalent (18V 5Ah) from shops now costs at least $650. In either Bosch, Makita or Milkwaukee. A tripling in price virtually overnight.

PMSL
tell ya what- for every one you can sell at that price- I’ll pay for the battery- and give you 50% of the money as well…
(hell- even doing that I will make $100 a battery sold)

Stop toking bro- its frying your braincells…
PMSL

mollwollfumble said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

> Amazon says today:

> Makita 18V Cordless Driver Drill Kit
> $199.00 $209.00
> The kit being drill + 2 batteries + charger.

Amazon told me today $366 / $399 for that kit (18V 5Ah)

> Drills with lithium ion batteries do seem to be very expensive though.

These kits have all gone off the market. There isn’t a single one to be had in stores in the whole of Melbourne.
It’s now a minimum of $135 for just one of those batteries and the kit has two.
Very few hardware stores sell anything other than skins – no batteries or chargers.

The equivalent Bosch kits are completely sold out, too.

To get anything equivalent (18V 5Ah) from shops now costs at least $650. In either Bosch, Makita or Milkwaukee. A tripling in price virtually overnight.

https://www.totaltools.com.au/brands/milwaukee/cordless-tools

https://www.totaltools.com.au/brands/makita/cordless-tools

I could go on but how many kits do you want? maybe pick better tool shops.

https://www.toolmart.com.au

big range here too.

Milwaukee has always been dear(ish), same with DeWalt.

sibeen said:

diddly-squat said:

sibeen said:

Yes, sure, but if you take out those three benchmarks then the 2006 CPU shits it in.

not sure I follow, or maybe I wasn’t clear.. the 2006 processor is slower, less computationally powerful and was more expensive.. the idea that processor technology today is the same as it was then is laughable in the extreme

tap
tap
tap

I think your sarcasm detector needs a little adjustment :)

sorry.. it’s been a loooooooong day

diddly-squat said:

sibeen said:

diddly-squat said:

not sure I follow, or maybe I wasn’t clear.. the 2006 processor is slower, less computationally powerful and was more expensive.. the idea that processor technology today is the same as it was then is laughable in the extreme

tap
tap
tap

I think your sarcasm detector needs a little adjustment :)

sorry.. it’s been a loooooooong day

:)

“Computer desktop chip speed hasn’t improved at all. The CPU I bought 14 years ago is still considered top of the range now. And it wasn’t even top of the range when I bought it.”

—-

No

mollwollfumble said:

And 14 years ago my computer had a 1 Terrabyte hard disk drive. That’s more than even most new desktop computers have these days.

FWIW my PC has 16 TB of storage.