Arrow MLJ4281/4302 thumbs down

[mhb]

A big two thumbs down to Arrow Electronics for charging a 100% premium for the new Onsemi MJL4281A/4302A output transistors.
(roughly $6.00/piece)

They will not be getting any of my business.

M

[sam9]

Check back in a year. It's just rationing. They are probably not in full production. I'll bet on a small scale it's just like the pricing on the newest Intel CPU vs. the 6-12 mointh old versions.

BTW, when they were still a small outfit, I worked for Intel. If the discrete market works the same way, both manufacturers and distributors MUST charge outrageously for the first few months or they don't survive. Milking the "early adoptors" is where most of the return on investment comes from. This has to be done before competetors drive your prices down below the point where you can ever get your your initial money back. After that you can relax the pricing since all you have to cover is ongoing production costs.

I'm not saying you should suck it up and pay the $6, rather that you just have to decide how badly you want to be an "early adopter" vs. a more frugal and patient customer. You can look at like this: those who will pay the $6 now benefit you if you are willing to wait by making it possible for you to buy later at much lower prices. Do you have a flat pannel screen for your PC. The only reason you can buy a 15"er todat at a little over $200 is all thos folks who were paying 2x or 3x that for the last couple of years. Without them we would still be confined to CRTs.

If you were buying these for your own product, this would be a key strategy decision - will be first to market at higher prices (due to higher input costs) or will you wait and be a "value" provider later on. You can see this most clearly in the PC market, but it is much more general than that.