buy tv before or after christmas?

Andrew Everard

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Where's Robert 'harbinger of doom' Peston when you need him?

I assume the OP is talking about not being sure whether the prices now are as low as they're going to go, or whether there'll be even greater savings in the January sales.

The answer to that one really is 'who knows?'. We've seen some serious discounting already, and it remains to be seen whether the big chains have any more margin to nibble away to cut prices further. That said, there may be some cancelled orders sitting in warehouses as some retailers have panicked, just waiting to be picked up and sold at discount prices.

And the weakness of the pound against the currencies that matter - $1.56 is a little better, but 1.10 euros and 138 yen are pretty scary - would tend to suggest that the prices retailers are paying for new stock will be increasing soon...
 

GetCarter

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Would agree with Andrew about price increase, on another forum, some retailers say they have had contact from JVC to say the price to them is going up by 30% in the new year, combination of the appalling pound situation and the market problems, can't believe that they would be the only manufacturer to do this, it would be fiscal suicide for them to go out on such a limb.
 
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Anonymous

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if prices go up 30% wont people just not buy them? all these early sales telling me that they are really desperate to get rid of stock.
 

Andrew Everard

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ubcool2:if prices go up 30% wont people just not buy them? all these early sales telling me that they are really desperate to get rid of stock.

And that, in a nutshell, is the problem these companies are facing. After all, have a look at these tables comparing the pound's value over the past year against...

The Euro (this month's average slightly masking the continued slide toward 1:1)

The US Dollar

and the Japanese Yen.

That's why unpalatable price rises are all but inveitable. however much the retail market may not be in any fit shape to accept them.

In fact, there's only one major consumer electronics producing country where the exchange rates may work in the UK consumer's favour.

This one. Or should I say 'this Won'?
 

Gerrardasnails

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Andrew Everard:
Where's Robert 'harbinger of doom' Peston when you need him?

I assume the OP is talking about not being sure whether the prices now are as low as they're going to go, or whether there'll be even greater savings in the January sales.

The answer to that one really is 'who knows?'. We've seen some serious discounting already, and it remains to be seen whether the big chains have any more margin to nibble away to cut prices further. That said, there may be some cancelled orders sitting in warehouses as some retailers have panicked, just waiting to be picked up and sold at discount prices.

And the weakness of the pound against the currencies that matter - $1.56 is a little better, but 1.10 euros and 138 yen are pretty scary - would tend to suggest that the prices retailers are paying for new stock will be increasing soon...

You can't lay the blame just with Mr Peston, Andrew. Every media medium is at it. Obviously it's bad but not for the whole of the nation. I got a cab yesterday, yes I paid someone to drive me somewhere(!) and he commented that he was doing ok, if he needed to earn a bit more, he would put in more hours and that his mortgage had gone down. It made me laugh the other day when the inflation figures were announced and it had gone down less than the "experts" had predicted. Instead of talking about the lesser chance of deflation, they ranted on about the prospect of high inflation in 2010!
 

Gerrardasnails

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Andrew Everard:So how much of the current crisis is created by media-induced panic? Discuss...

My very thoughts!

The politicians say we must spend ourselves out of the crisis and the papers tell us that we can't afford to spend, we will soon be jobless and the world will end soon.

I just read this (below). Sales were up from last year. Maybe that's why inflation did not drop as sharply as predicted??

"UK retail sales rose unexpectedly last month, official figures have shown. Total sales volumes climbed 0.3% in November from the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said. Sales were up 1.5% from a year ago"

Analysts predicted a fall! They are not very good at their jobs are they!
 

kena

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My wife just back from shopping in Edinburgh Princes street and she said it was unbelievably quiet, nothing like all the shoppers chasing bargains you see on TV..
 

Gerrardasnails

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kena:My wife just back from shopping in Edinburgh Princes street and she said it was unbelievably quiet, nothing like all the shoppers chasing bargains you see on TV..

Maybe the Scottish are more sensible with their money.
 
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Anonymous

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hows your magazine sales going that must be a good marker for the indusrty?
 
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Anonymous

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To add my 2p's worth, I walked into several AV/hifi specialist shops today, and all were VERY quiet. The high street (N-E London) was not heaving, and couldn't see many shoppers loaded with large carrier bags. Either they're all busy shopping online or have all left for their Christmas holiday, I would have been a bit worried I worked in retail.
 

Clare Newsome

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ubcool2:hows your magazine sales going that must be a good marker for the indusrty?

The whole magazine market's down (not just our sector) - but that's got as much to do with the rise of the internet (hello!) as the economic situation at the moment. We're bucking the market trend, though - for which we continue to be grateful to you all!
 

survivor

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Depends what you`re after. If it`s all to do with the price then who knows. Think on this though, if you and your family will be watching a lot of tv over Christmas then you may get a lot of enjoyment from a new tv at a special time of year. If you buy it after you might regret it.
 

matthewpiano

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Most retailers will know their sale prices for boxing day onwards already and will probably me quite happy to do deals at these prices over the next few days. We've been quite open with our customers and it appears to be helping.

Expect price increases across the industry in January. It is unfortunate but necessary because of exchange rates and the economic climate. Consequently I would expect customer service to become a much bigger deciding factor for consumers than it perhaps has been of late. Some of the current pricing has lost money for some quite large companies and made current price tickets too low to maintain. There are some fantastic deals around in bricks and mortar shops at present so if you are in the market for something it is well worth looking and having open conversations with retailers now. If you are not happy with the deal you are getting, you can always vote with your feet, but also remember to be realistic. No sensible retailer is going to be prepared to make a loss or even just break even on a sale unless it is an item that they desperately want to turn into cash.
 
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Anonymous

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'Some of the current pricing has lost money for some quite large companies and made current price tickets too low to maintain.'

i think its the lack of sales full stop thats loosing the money for everyone. what other buisnesses raises prices when sales are low? surley thats a big no no. if prices do go up in the new year people just wont buy one then they will be in trouble.
 
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Anonymous

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Andrew Everard:So how much of the current crisis is created by media-induced panic? Discuss...

I think much of the fear that exisits now is caused by the media no longer reporting news and speculating on a future that no-one really knows and then reporting this as news. Peston has quite a bit to answer for here but I agree with Gerrard that he has not been alone. His insight to the PM's decision making and the Chancellors actions meant he just never seemed to get it wrong and this has made him the most famous and I can't fault him or the beeb for cashing in on that - I sure would have!

The constant doomsaying has not helped an already fragile situation. It seems that no-one wants to report any good news these days. Has anyone listened to the BBC lately? Every news bulletin contains a reference to the economy, even on stories that are entirely unconnected to it. "in other news despite the rest of us suffering the credit crunch, so and so found some money/time/inclination to do X" it's so boring!!

So does this actually cause the crisis? probably not but it can worsen it, think of it this way......House prices will go to whatever they go to, however, if the media reports that they are going to go down another 20% then everyone holds off buying, meaning those that need to sell drop their price and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy - crazy!

I can see some good coming of all this - if people stop relying on credit to buy everything then we will all be in a better place, its how it should be anyway! Anyway I digress, so back to point...

Many succesful business and sports people share one common trait - they truly believe that to be succesful you have to believe you will be. The power of the mind is amazing and if everyones mind is thinking negatively (beacuse of the media) then people will act accordingly. If everyone now decides to not spend less money and saves it all instead then the economy will shrink, companies will make less money and job cuts will be necessary to maintain profit levels, causing further bad news to be portrayed by the media which will cause more people to save more and spend less (can you see the vicious circle forming?)

Having said all that, are the media wrong in reporting all this? For me no, they did not invent the story of a downturn in the economy, its real and for what its worth I think real bad times are on the way, I think where we are now may just be the tip of the iceberg and I see a continued decline ahead. The last crash was revived by a new technology taking off (the internet) and this drove the dot com boom. The biggest crash ever was revived only by the threat of world war 2 - manufacturing was required and this stimulated the economy.

With this vicious circle already in place then how do we break out of it this time? I don't know but I don't think the media reporting 'all is well' would do it just as I don't think the media reporting 'the end is nigh' is responsible for the crisis.
 

Alec

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SG79:
Andrew Everard:So how much of the current crisis is created by media-induced panic? Discuss...

I think much of the fear that exisits now is caused by the media no longer reporting news and speculating on a future that no-one really knows and then reporting this as news. Peston has quite a bit to answer for here but I agree with Gerrard that he has not been alone. His insight to the PM's decision making and the Chancellors actions meant he just never seemed to get it wrong and this has made him the most famous and I can't fault him or the beeb for cashing in on that - I sure would have!

The constant doomsaying has not helped an already fragile situation. It seems that no-one wants to report any good news these days. Has anyone listened to the BBC lately? Every news bulletin contains a reference to the economy, even on stories that are entirely unconnected to it. "in other news despite the rest of us suffering the credit crunch, so and so found some money/time/inclination to do X" it's so boring!!

So does this actually cause the crisis? probably not but it can worsen it, think of it this way......House prices will go to whatever they go to, however, if the media reports that they are going to go down another 20% then everyone holds off buying, meaning those that need to sell drop their price and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy - crazy!

I can see some good coming of all this - if people stop relying on credit to buy everything then we will all be in a better place, its how it should be anyway! Anyway I digress, so back to point...

Many succesful business and sports people share one common trait - they truly believe that to be succesful you have to believe you will be. The power of the mind is amazing and if everyones mind is thinking negatively (beacuse of the media) then people will act accordingly. If everyone now decides to not spend less money and saves it all instead then the economy will shrink, companies will make less money and job cuts will be necessary to maintain profit levels, causing further bad news to be portrayed by the media which will cause more people to save more and spend less (can you see the vicious circle forming?)

Having said all that, are the media wrong in reporting all this? For me no, they did not invent the story of a downturn in the economy, its real and for what its worth I think real bad times are on the way, I think where we are now may just be the tip of the iceberg and I see a continued decline ahead. The last crash was revived by a new technology taking off (the internet) and this drove the dot com boom. The biggest crash ever was revived only by the threat of world war 2 - manufacturing was required and this stimulated the economy.

With this vicious circle already in place then how do we break out of it this time? I don't know but I don't think the media reporting 'all is well' would do it just as I don't think the media reporting 'the end is nigh' is responsible for the crisis.

your reference to the internet reminded me that no one, AFAIK, has mentione d that the net may be a factor in the crisis...i mean...Zavvi (people may dislike branson but when he gets out of a business - theres a reason, folks!)? Woolies? Both great examples of businesses out of step with the times, who's business had been pinched by online retailers. I'm not saying its the soul reason, but i think its a biggie. But everyone just wants to blame mysterious cycles or the last chancellor's carelessness.

I'm not, by the way, refering to folk in this thread, just the news n that.
 

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