This pot does not back! The price increase is not memory manufacturers do!

When Kingston arrived at the shop, everyone who had installed the computer turned to look at him. Some of them even cried out, "Kingston, you've raised the price again!" He didn’t respond and simply said to the cabinet, "I'll take a 7900X. Ten pieces of 8GB DDR4 2400 memory." They shouted back, "This time, the price will cost you your head!" Kingston opened his eyes and replied, "How can you be so dirty?" "What is innocence? I saw you raise 8GB memory to 900 the day before yesterday." Kingston blushed, his forehead veins bulging as he argued, "Prices can't be treated as people... Prices are market behavior. Can they be considered human?" These words were hard to understand. People laughed at phrases like "market share first" and "compatibility is invincible," filling the store with a cheerful atmosphere.

Xiao Bian came across a funny story today and decided to share it with everyone. Coincidentally, today’s topic was also inspired by this very situation. The real reason behind the memory price surge isn’t actually due to the memory manufacturers...

Chip Manufacturers Are in Charge

The real producers of memory chips are mainly Samsung, Micron, and Hynix. Although they sell branded memory products, they make more profit from selling the actual chips. Together, these three companies hold nearly 95% of the market. Any issue—whether a disaster, production accident, or business strategy change—can cause price fluctuations in the chip market, ultimately affecting memory prices. After all, memory chips are the most critical part of any system.

What's happening now is that due to yield issues in the 3D NAND process and strong demand for mobile phone supplies, production capacity is struggling to keep up. This coincides with a downturn in the storage industry, leading to a spike in memory prices. In essence, this has little to do with memory vendors.

Memory Vendors Don’t Make Much Profit

Who are the memory vendors? Companies like Kingston are examples. They are not chip manufacturers but memory brands. As a memory vendor, this price increase has been tough for them.

Many people think that this wave of price hikes is just another way for vendors to profit. But the reality is different. Memory vendors buy the chips, assemble the PCBs, design the circuits, test the products, handle logistics, ensure quality, and promote their products. Their profit per unit is usually no more than 10 yuan.

The worst part is that when there's a shortage, vendors are terrified—they have nothing to sell. What good are rising prices if you can't even get the product?

By the way, Xiao Bian would also like to explain why major memory manufacturers offer lifetime warranties:

First, they have large and stable import volumes, solid relationships with chip manufacturers, and guaranteed chip quality.

Second, their production quality is high. Major manufacturers have strict quality control, ensuring high yields and low failure rates.

Third, they ship in huge volumes. With sufficient quality assurance, they can afford a small breakage rate. Small factories can't do that.

Fourth, they have clear distribution channels and strong after-sales support, which protects users from counterfeits.

Finally, some manufacturers use unique methods. For example, Kingston sometimes buys raw chips directly from suppliers and cuts them in-house. This allows them to maintain quality control from the source. It's safe to say that the world's largest memory maker isn't just a name—it's backed by real effort and quality.

Cycle May Bring Price Cuts Soon!

Recently, there has been some relief in the memory market. Samsung and others have announced plans to expand their chip production capacity. While they cite various reasons, the main one is to deal with new players entering the market in 2019—domestic memory chip manufacturers. Reports suggest that domestic memory chips started trial production in 2018 and are expected to officially launch in 2019. This is a significant development. Beyond national pride, it means memory chips are no longer controlled by a few companies. If successful, this could lead to more stability in the market and better supply for memory manufacturers.

Xiao Bian personally experienced the most extreme memory price spikes in the late 90s, when 128MB SDRAM jumped from 110 yuan to nearly 1300 yuan—ten times the spread. No one expected such a jump back then. Now, with new changes in the market and the arrival of domestic competitors, memory price drops may not be far off.