Memory scalpers in China are now trying to exit at lower prices

© SK Hynix/China Pulse

The latest chatter out of China looks like the next step after our recent report on DDR5 prices finally starting to fall. As we reported , the first signs of the retail pullback are here, and prices have started moving lower in the US, Europe, and China (to a higher or lower extent, one should add).

Now the story is shifting from falling prices to who got caught on the wrong side of the move. And it’s the type of stories we love to cover, considering DRAM price hikes affected everything in the industry that we love.

Reports from Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei market say traders and resellers that bought DDR5 in bulk during the run-up are now struggling to clear inventory, with some sellers cutting prices quickly to avoid being left with stock that keeps losing value. Yicai says some new 16GB DDR5 sticks that previously sold for 1,600 RMB to 1,800 RMB, roughly $232 to $261, are now closer to 1,200 RMB, or about $174.

Brothers, memory [prices] have taken a massive dive. We’re stuck with it, stuck with it. We’re doomed, we’re screwed. Is there still any chance for the price to go back up?

(Translation)

This does not look like a full memory market collapse, but scalpers often operate at low margins, and once the price gets too close to the initial investment, they enter panic mode, just like in this video.

TrendForce says the sharpest declines in China are mostly showing up in spot-traded secondary-market modules, including pulled-down or recycled parts (like in this video), while pricing for original IC-based modules has remained more stable.

So basically China’s retail and gray-market memory channel is correcting after months of panic buying and stockpiling. It’s bad news for resellers and scalpers, but great sign of something finally changing.

Source: China Pulse via Wccftech

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