PC vendors turning to gray markets to get HDDs

Because of the increasing global shortage of hard disk drives arising from the flooding in Thailand, PC vendors have searched HDDs available for sale in gray markets, causing hikes in gray market prices from US$45 to over US$100 for a 500GB HDD and from US$35 to US$60-70 for a 320GB model, according to Taiwan-based PC supply chain makers.

Due to the uncertainty of the HDD industry's future, vendors' concerns over shortages have grown deeper, causing them to look everywhere to fill their inventory.

The sources described the brand vendors going into a "panic" to fill their HDD inventory. Most have repeatedly placed orders to HDD makers with combined volume already double or even triple their usual demand, but since HDD makers can only reply that they have no more inventory, or cannot provide their supply status, the vendors have turned to the gray market.