LG, Sharp plead guilty to LCD price-fixing

Post by **undamned** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:14 pm

Some companies were targeted for supposed price fixing:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/12/lcd- ... p-samsung/

LG, Sharp, and Chunghwa Picture Tubes recently plead guilty:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/12/lg-s ... 585m-fine/

Makes you wonder what else you are over-paying for... [pretty much everything!]
-ud

Never_Scurred · Post by **Never_Scurred** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:28 pm

Get 'em!

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:26 am

And what are they going to punish them with? Forcing to give a coupon good towards the purchase of another price-fixed TV, the way they "punished" Nintendo in the past?

I'm Alec · Post by **I'm Alec** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:45 am

compact discs. anyone remember how much music used to cost before that?

jesus fuck. $35 blu-rays? why and how?

Post by **undamned** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:14 am

Specineff wrote:And what are they going to punish them with?

Try $585mil in fines.
-ud

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:05 am

undamned wrote:
Specineff wrote:And what are they going to punish them with?
Try $585mil in fines.
-ud

But how much extra profit did they rake in thanks to the price fixing?

Honestly, though, if anyone is really overcharging for LCD modules, it's American component distributors. In many cases it's literally cheaper to go buy something at retail and rip out the LCD module than it is to buy an equivalent LCD module alone from a distributor...

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:15 pm

I'm Alec wrote:compact discs. anyone remember how much music used to cost before that?

jesus fuck. $35 blu-rays? why and how?

And how did Sony arrive at the $34.99 price point for it's Blu-Ray DVDs? Still packs a mighty sting on one's wallet or purse at the time of purchase. It is possible to buy some cheap-ass Blu-Ray DVDs at $14.99 at Target. One doesn't need to cough up thirty bucks and up for such a single Blu-Ray disc (i.e. Blu-Ray release of Vantage Point film release comes with just one disc and nothing else).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:20 pm

585 Million in fines. Good. How does that benefit the customers whose pockets got raped? No compensation for the victim pretty much equals a slap on the wrist for the guilty party.

Post by **undamned** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:24 pm

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:And how did Sony arrive at the $34.99 price point for it's Blu-Ray DVDs?

Where'd you see that? I check out Amazon's Blu Ray deals regularly and not all discs retail for that much (i.e. "Reg. Price $27.95" etc.).

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:It is possible to buy some cheap-ass Blu-Ray DVDs at $14.99 at Target. One doesn't need to cough up thirty bucks and up for such a single Blu-Ray disc

Yeah, just wait for sales. I recall when Blu-Rays were first booming, I scored some insane deal on Amazon and got like 6 good BRD's for less than $10 each. The sad part is that cost != quality. I'd say if one really wants to build a nice Blu-Ray collection they should start w/ a subscription to NetFlix or some other service that rents out BRD's so you can verify the film quality before final purchase. So far the absolute worst I've encountered were "March of the Penguins" and "T2." The horror.
-ud

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:59 pm

Specineff wrote:585 Million in fines. Good. How does that benefit the customers whose pockets got raped? No compensation for the victim pretty much equals a slap on the wrist for the guilty party.

Consumer protection agency funding? :lol:

Whenever I see fines levied on some company by the government I just laugh to myself.

D · Post by D » Sat Nov 15, 2008 4:13 pm

Ed Oscuro wrote:
Specineff wrote:585 Million in fines. Good. How does that benefit the customers whose pockets got raped? No compensation for the victim pretty much equals a slap on the wrist for the guilty party.
Consumer protection agency funding?

Whenever I see fines levied on some company by the government I just laugh to myself.

It's really funny indeed because the consumers will get raped again.
Because prices will go up to compensate the fine.

Fines like this should be split among the consumers that bought their stuff.
Or these companies should be forced to sell their stuff cheaper in 5 year plan so consumers can profit from the companies evil-doings.

Even though these systems might not work, I'm convinced I could come up with a fair system.

Or that money should be used as money-back garuantee's for other companies.

Example

585 million dollars

Next time you buy a Sony tv, there will be a coupon you can sent to the us government (or some agency) and you get 20 dollars on your credit account, paid for by these fines!

joy!