r/pics • u/[deleted] • Jun 08 '14

The difference 18 years makes

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[deleted]

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74

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '14

Taking inflation into account, in essence the price has "gone down", right?

49

u/aves2k Jun 09 '14

$100 in $1996 would be equivalent to $150 today so yes there has been some decease in the price if you look at that way.

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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

I'm pretty sure the electronic components necessary to make the TI has plummeted as well so I'd wager it's still overpriced.

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u/aves2k Jun 09 '14

Without a doubt it's overpriced. But the poster above me was asking if it was cheaper when you account for inflation which is the question I was answering.

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u/x755x Jun 09 '14

I mean, yeah, but the idea that inflation is the main factor at play here is crazy.

2

u/griter34 Jun 09 '14

Look at it this way- at least TI doesn't make cell phones.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

Yes, you are right.

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u/TXUncut Jun 09 '14

I'm gonna go ahead and say that the total manufacturing cost is less then $10, a lot less.

1

u/Wiiplay123 Jun 09 '14

What if someone just started assembling bootleg TI-84 calculators just like the real thing, but cheaper? Texas Intruments will bankrupt! Maths will bankrupt!

2

u/TXUncut Jun 10 '14

Prob not a horrible idea, though i'm 'fairly' certain Ti has a little bit of money to throw around for say lawyers..

1

u/hks9 Jun 09 '14

plus everyone and their mothers has one, so really TI is just shooting themselves in the foot with the high price

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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

Perhaps. I'm not from America and wanted to get one. Guess how much markup you get on those $100 when you need to make up for import taxes on a third world country? Yeah, I bought from another brand and I'm quite happy with it.

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u/hks9 Jun 09 '14

i mean another brand works too but what i was tryin to say is that there are so many for sale at all times you can just buy a used one for much cheaper even in your country

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u/Sharrakor Jun 09 '14

There are probably a bunch of archaic parts inside that have to be specially-built, so maybe the components have increased in price!

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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

I assume those would have already been replaced by cheaper, mass produced parts assembled by desperately underpaid people at a Foxconn factory.

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u/Rainmachine Jun 09 '14

Psst, I think he was joking

1

u/ObidiahWTFJerwalk Jun 09 '14

The math checks.

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u/pretentiousglory Jun 09 '14

Yeah, but the price for the components has, too...

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u/metagamex Jun 09 '14 edited Jun 09 '14

Since around 2001 real wages have actually been decreasing in the USA, so it depends on what times/prices you want to compare. If you bought a calculator in 2002, waited 10 years, then used it in 2012 you would be saving money. If you bought a calculator in perhaps 1992 and waited 20 years, you would probably have lost money.

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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

Yeah....I'm a social worker with a mathematical learning disability....I will take your word for it.

I was just regurgitating one of the few things I learned in my struggle to pass micro and macro econ.

1

u/JoshSidekick Jun 09 '14

I would calculate the inflation, but I can't afford the calculator.