said by elitefx:Well, I've had an independent retailer tell me he paid $25 for a $100 part and if you Google "retail 300% markup" you see it's a common practice. Take the AMD HD7970 - $619 at release, $379 now and the retailer still makes a profit. IMHO It's a racket. Always has been.
Retail in general is nothing like the computer parts business in particular. Growing up, I was always told that the average retail markup is 100%. However, once you start looking at specific sectors, you'll find vast variation. The markup on clothes is often 1000%. The retail markup on that AMD CPU though, 15%.
Quoting the price range over the life of the product is completely pointless. There are a hundred different factors influencing that pricing (recouped development costs, manufacturing process refinements, changing market conditions). Irrespective of why the price changes, it certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with markup at the retail level.
As for where the money goes.. I'd guess at $10+ for the CPU, another ~$10 for the RF section, another $10+ for the other electronics (RAM, flash, PCB, other board level parts), and another ~$10 for the plastic box, cardboard box, power adapter and network cable. Call it a little under $40 in manufacturing costs. Then give the manufacturer $10 profit, and the distribution channel another $10 in costs/profits.
But hey, if you know where I can buy DCM476 for less than $50, I'm all ears. I could sell thousands of them