Is the good old projection panel finally dead?

[henrik_mork]

Old style proj. panels do indeed seem to be dropping seriously in price.
I just picked up another Powerview 820 (Native SVGA, 25ms, 100:1, ultra-quiet, auto everything) for $99 (£50 GBP) + $10 shipping.

Unbelieveable. The PSU that it comes with would cost more than that if you had to order it from Infocus.
It was auctioned by avforsale (reputable?) who say it powered up okay, but couldn't be fully tested due to "missing interface module" - by that, they mean the cablewizard system...which costs $11 (£6GBP) from www.provantage.com

Six months ago, these were going for more than double this price!

A few weeks ago I saw a fully loaded, lightly used, fully accessorized native XGA panel go for £162. Six months ago it would have cost nearly double that.

Is this a trend ? Will panel values continue to drop? Surely there is still a demand from newbies? Is it time to get on board the good ship "ace3000_1" or the good ship "ywh" and get our hands dirty?.... More power to you guys - you're pioneers!

Keep up the good work - one day I may just take the plunge and join you!

[Video Freak]

I doubt its a trend Its just the usual After Christmas Lean money times for everyone People dont have the extra cash to spend they are paying off the holidays, In a month it will be back to its usual self. Even Regular stores see a drastic slump this time of year, Ebay shouldnt be any different.

[henrik_mork]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I just love the sound of those credit card bills dropping through the letterbox!

It will be interesting to see if your theory is correct - guess we won't know for another month or two...

[kcsabresfan]

I've been buying and selling on ebay for about 5 years now. I've found that the trends in pricing really tend to vary depending on what the item is.

Like LCD panels, If you parents asked you what you wanted for xmas, and you told them you wanted an LCD panel, would they be able to get one like what you wanted from ebay? I know mine couldn't. Some things are best left bought by the person who wants them because they need to meet specific requirements that are only known through research.

I watch pinball machines. You'll see the prices on those go up about November, and stay up until March. Then they slump through the summer months. They'll pick back up in early fall a little, the go sky high again in Nov. This is because of the market. General public buys pinballs for xmas. Then right after Xmas, you have a lot of people who have gotten money for xmas, just got year end bonuses, or are just bored being stuck inside that will still be buying through the rest of the winter. Come spring, the best deals show up on parts machines and non-working machines. These are the projects that people didn't get to last winter, but now want them out of the way for Spring and summer. In fall, they'll start being bought up again in working but cosmetically lacking condition. These machines are prime in early fall for restoration and being sold in Nov for xmas prices.

I used to watch Atari 2600 stuff closely. I would think LCD's would be similar to that. Decent sales through xmas season, then pow! Lots of high prices right after xmas for about a month. People who got their xmas money and have been thinking about building a pj but didn't have the expendable cash to do it with.

Incedentally, I sold a QA-1650 a couple weeks ago for $250 + shipping on ebay.