SSDs, RAM, and other memory-related PC parts (as well as GPUs and more) are going up in price quickly as companies like Intel focus on supplying AI hyperscalers with what they need to build datacenters. But actually seeing the price of items increase in the store courtesy of an employee makes it all the more painful to watch.
On January 28, user Scarfeezy posted images to Reddit that appear to show them using a phone and an app to dramatically raise the price of various SSDs, including one designed to work with an Xbox. A SanDisk 2TB external SSD increased in price from $200 to $520. A Western Digital 1TB Xbox SSD expansion card jumped from $150 to $390. In an update to their post, the user also shared an image of a Nintendo-branded MicroSD card getting a hefty price increase, indicating it leaped from about $20 to $67.
Kotaku talked to the user, who understandably didn’t want to reveal too much about their identity. However, they did confirm that they work at a Target in Pennsylvania, which seems to line up with past posts the account made to a Target subreddit. Scarfeezy explained that they also increased the price on other SD cards besides what was seen in the Reddit post, as dictated by Target.
Checking Target’s website, it seems the increased prices on products like the WD 1TB Xbox card are live online already. And I also found evidence of the SD card price bump, with the card seemingly being sold by Target for two different prices, likely due to some odd back-end snafu. Scarfeezy also shared extra images of products that got price increases, including a PS5 SSD from Western Digital that now costs $564. Scarfeezy tells Kotaku it was $150 before the increase.
“I’m pissed for everyone looking to upgrade/first-time purchasers,” Scarfeezy told Kotaku. “I’m also incredibly lucky to have built my PC before all this happened. Now I’m hoping and praying nothing bad happens to my PC.”
Over the last few months, PC gaming and memory have become more expensive. This is largely thanks to AI hyperscalers and tech giants gobbling up PC parts to build datacenters; it’s becoming quite pricey and challenging for your average person to buy PC RAM, graphics cards, or even an SSD for a console. Even the prices on prebuilt PCs from companies like HP, Dell, and Asus will increase by 15 to 20 percent, according to PC World. It’s very likely that this will start causing problems for console makers, too.