Look at the sticker. Then look away. It hurts.
Apple raised prices on MacBooks and iPads back in June. Microsoft’s Xbox is hiking rates starting in August. Sony did its dance last year with the PS5 Pro. It is happening again.
It is not just electronics either. Gas costs more. Shipping costs more. The world feels expensive. But the real villain here has a name.
It’s the memory chip shortage.
“Chief culprit is the ongoing memory shortage,” says Shawn DuBravac. He’s chief economist at the Global Electronics Association. He says software companies are making chips for AI data centers. Everything else comes second.
Short-term blip? Absorbed the cost. Long-term slog? Passed on to you. The AI bubble hasn’t popped. It hasn’t even cracked. Demand outpaces supply. Prices creep up. It’s economics 101 written in red ink.
Waiting for prices to drop?
Don’t hold your breath. DuBravac calls that strategy dead. Or at least dying. The companies are intentional now. They coordinate pricing like generals planning a campaign. If a device hasn’t spiked in price yet. It will.
Buying now might be cheaper than buying in two months.
If you are strapped? You have options. But they suck a little.
Back Market’s CEO Thibaud Hug de Larouze says people are terrified. Scared of inflation. So they panic upgrade. Fear makes bad decisions faster.
What do you do?
Flip your script.
The Secondhand Boom
Used tech is no longer a compromise. It’s a necessity.
B-Stock’s Sean Cleland has the data. Used phones sold for 10 to 10 percent more than in late 2025. Wait. That doesn’t make sense. Used goods should rot in value. Depreciate.
They aren’t.
Demand is surging. People need gadgets. New ones cost an arm and a leg. Refurbished units get bought. Quick.
“It never comes all the way back,” Cleland notes.
Supply chains will correct. Eventually. Prices will dip. But not below the new floor.
Manufacturers know this too. Apple, Samsung, the usual suspects. They’ve launched buyback programs. Trade-in kiosks everywhere.
Why?
Because they need the inventory back into the system. Or they sell it to a recommerce platform. Either way, cash changes hands.
Sell your old phone now. Get way more than you did last year. Trade it in. Cash it out.
“Take advantage of that stuff,” says Cleland. “There’s trade-in and resale value.”
You are part of a circular economy now. Whether you want to be or not. Your old laptop isn’t trash. It’s currency.
Landfills wait for everyone else. Not your stuff. Your stuff is gold. At least until the shortage ends. Which is to say. Not soon.
