DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

In February, 2003, I recorded LCD/Plasma TV prices, in hopes of documenting a dramatic drop in price over the next six months. But prices didn’t come down.

Now, though, they have. Here are the old and new results. (Some models have been discontinued, so I’ve substituted comparable items.)

• $4200 for a 29'' Samsung (LTM295W)
  $3150 for a 32'' Samsung HDTV (LTN325W)
• $5000 for a 32'' Sony (KE-32TS2)
  Now $3600
• $4300 for a 37'' Panasonic EDTV (PT-37PD4-P)
  $2800 for a 37'' Panasonic EDTV (TH-37PA20U)

Those prices are from major appliance retailer websites (goodguys.com, circuitcity.com). The discriminating shopper can do even better…

• $2409 for the 32'' Samsung HDTV (LTN325W)
• $2750 for the 32'' Sony (KE-32TS2)
• $2790 for the 37'' Panasonic EDTV (TH-37PA20U)

~$3000 still sounds like an obscene amount of money to spend on a television. But the 16:9 aspect ratio on a flat screen would make our DVD collection look gooood.

LCD computer monitor prices do not seem to have dropped the way television prices have. Dell’s 19'' LCD still sells for $719. The 18'' has gone up in price from $539 to $639. No doubt some special deals were in place last year (and will likely return).