Samsung, Hynix and Micron slapped with CLASS ACTION SUIT over DRAM supply collusion & price gouging

READ THIS SHIT

>>Defendants each made public statements affirming their commitment to the common plan to curtail supply, and to not compete for each other’s market share by supply expansion. For example, Defendants informed the other Defendants through public statements, that they would keep total wafer capacity flat in order to constrain DRAM supply growth, they would only grow DRAM supply between 15-20% in 2017, even as DRAM demand grew 20-25%, and that they would refrain from taking each other’s market share.

Original article: hothardware.com/news/samsung-hynix-and-micron-dram-class-action-suit-collusion (archive.is/4ehOz)
The class action lawsuit: hbsslaw.com/cases/dram-price-fixing

I recommend reading the original article because it has worthwhile graphs and links. Class action lawsuit link will let you join. Anyone from the US who bought a PC, stick of RAM, or smartphone in the past few years can join, so if you want damages, go ahead.

I'm making a thread because this bullshit is highly Zig Forums-related and I didn't see a proper thread on this yet. I'm not in the habit of newsposting.

Other urls found in this thread:

techrepublic.com/article/samsung-hynix-micron-sued-for-dram-price-fixing-that-could-have-raised-pc-prices/
archive.is/grrWi)
ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=1_38511
hexus.net/business/news/legal/113702-china-economic-regulator-looking-memory-chip-price-fixing/
mckinsey.com/industries/semiconductors/our-insights/memory-are-challenges-ahead
tomshardware.com/news/dram-memory-shortage-prices-nand,37627.html
twitter.com/AnonBabble

How is this surprising to anyone?

Fuck. Gooks deserve to burn for this bullshit though.

Muh freemarket should be able to solve the price-fixing rackets. Why does this never actually pan out?

Another article on this stuff: techrepublic.com/article/samsung-hynix-micron-sued-for-dram-price-fixing-that-could-have-raised-pc-prices/ (archive.is/grrWi)


Oligopolies aren't free markets.

Just go make your own DRAM. Problem solved.

I returned my 16 core threadripper because I didn't price out my build before buying it and realized that I would have to spend over $1500 at least for the 128 GB of RAM I wanted for a Qubes rig.
I had not been paying attention to RAM prices the past few years and had no idea the price increased by 2.5 times.
I was bitter about it until I found out about Talos II systems, which I didn't realize were so open. Now I'm planning on getting one of those instead. The RAM prices will still fuck me over though.

Literally just an nMOS and a cap. Child's play.

Just develop superior DRAM chips and sell it for less than those who are price fixing.

I think that was user's point. Why doesn't some other kike come along and undercut the cabal.

Because kikes are more or less united.

Except none of the major powers is a free market.

So? The gaymer market deserves to be punished for their mindless consumerism. Just like NN this is a non-issue.

>>>/reddit/

...

who the hell are you to say they can't decide a price among themselves in a free market? dumbass. make your own ram if you don't like their prices

Because then its a monopoly not a free market.

0/10 go back to >>>/4chan/ if you're just going to shitpost

Are you seriously this stupid? When they collude and engage in a price-fixing scheme, it's no longer a free market. Do you even understand what "free market" means, dumbass? At a minimum, it requires that there are fucking options on the market. When you have no option it is no longer a free market. Don't opine about economics when you clearly don't have the foggiest clue about the most fundamental words in the subject.

You think making commercial-grade RAM is easy, son? They pack over a billion memory cells on a single stick. Don't open your mouth when you don't know the first thing about what you're telling others to do.


Oligopoly. A monopoly is if a single company controls the market. Here it's a group of 3.

Yeah prices are through the fucking roof. These companies need more competitors since they clearly can't be trusted to keep their shit in order. it isn't even the first time they've done this. There was a huge case in the US over the same 3 doing the exact same shit in 2006 also. The EU also fined 'em sometime later.

Try competing without violating (((somebody's))) (((intellectual property))). High-tech markets are oligopolies for a (((reason))).

Good for you, once this lawsuit jews the jews over and RAM prices return to normal, you'll buy yourself a 32-core one :).

Free market principle only really applies to markets with low barriers to entry.
Manufacturing modern computer components is anything but easy to get into and therefore prone to cartels.

Patent law makes the whole situation a whole lot worse too. You'll be stuck reinventing the wheel and thanks to the magic of overbroad patents you might still get in trouble.

Cryptoniggers, your days are numbered.

Attached: doom train.png (1468x1080, 2.25M)

Capitalism is not working.

Theyre the almost end result of any free market, the end one is complete monopoly.

No, it only applies over an infinite amount of time. Eventually everything will be worked out long after your dead.

But it is.
Regulatory Capture -> Oligopoly -> Monopoly

isn't china getting into the DRAM market?

Yeah. A Chinese manufacturer stole RAM manufacturing-related IP from Micron, sued them, and won both cash damages and an injunction against Micron selling in China. When it's Chinese vs foreigners, Chinese courts only rule in one direction.

I bet there is a libtard or lolberg somewhere that claims the price gouging subject of this thread is caused 'too much' government or regulation.
protip; libertarianism is jewish, and the end result is all power and control in the hands of a few (((companies)))

Weak or outright nonexistent antitrust law is one of the staples of the free market because ain't nobody need da gubmint and muh free market will sort itself

Companies are free to do what they want, aren't they? And you're free make your own DRAM too. Just bootstrap yourself a couple millions in capital and you're set. Also see

>implying (((competition))) wil fix anything
Companies compete to screw you out of your money the most, not to provide the best service. If anything, a new company would get bought out, if not outright join the cartel.

You're late:

He was referring to antitrust law though and laissez-faire borderline ancap free market libertarians. Disgust for patent law is something that runs the entire political spectrum from the far-left to the far-right. The political dividing line on patents is typically pro-corporate vs normal people.

There's been research done on the benefits of patents and it usually turns out that in the long run patents only help rich companies stifle competition rather than foster innovation. Promoting innovation loses weight when it forces companies to re-innovate the same shit in a different way just to compete in a market.

Details? I'm leery of Chinese knockoffs owing to their poor quality control, but busting open the RAM cartel would be a very good move.

...

Relevant EU case: ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=1_38511

hexus.net/business/news/legal/113702-china-economic-regulator-looking-memory-chip-price-fixing/

Hooray!

What, again? haha who saw this coming?

...

Source?

Well China is going to add a new competitor to the market, so hopefully the cartel situation will improve, although honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they joined the RAM cartel.

>>>/reddit/ you insufferable faggot. out with your kind

...

the end result of democracy is power being in the hand of a 1 or 2 entities and switching hands once in a while
the end result of government is power being in the hand of the government
the end result of regulation is a few pointless rules and power in the hand of some pricks

Looked around for any more knowledge on the state of the DRAM market. I found this piece by McKinsey from 2016. It gives an interesting overview over how the market has shifted from the past.

mckinsey.com/industries/semiconductors/our-insights/memory-are-challenges-ahead


Once again the Zig Forumstard demonstrates why he is an imbecile. And stop whinging that people who call you out for being a tool should go to reddit. This ain't your safe space, kid. Get the fuck out already if you're gonna act a fool.

nice. fucking ram pricing aren't getting cheap and now everyone knows who is behind all this.
cryptoniggers and gaymergays should have the day of the rope.

Not gaymers or cryptoniggers, it's the biggest kikes of them all: the semiconductor industry.

Since there are precisely 0 alternatives, as has been the case from day 1 in the industry, what exactly is your point?


Cryptoniggers don't have any great impact on RAM, but they certainly damage GPU prices, both by buying up GPUs for newer Ponzicoins, and eating up fab capacity needed by GPUs to make ASICs for older Ponzicoins.

So... basically US has become a fucking commie state and it is against free market now?

yeah indeed, free market

-or-

Oh gee I dunno what I'll do...

Fellating the free market is is a very new/neocon thing, the US under the New Deal is probably communism to you faggots.

...

Just fuck all regulation.

Yeah, we should turn the entire world into a slum because it benefits our bottom line.

FDR was quite literally a commie sympathizer at the very least, but today his welfare to work camp situation would be decried as slavery as his racial views would be decried as oh so stereotypical of the hated white male.

Your goalposts are moving but those of your dead heroes aren't, leftist scum.

Fuck this gay earth, cheap RAM never ever?

>i'm a board member of a holding firm that owns intellectual property needed by any manufacturer
>i extracted royalties from people who used fractional reserve banker loans to hire people who know how to organize people who built the factory where the products are done
>i exercise cartel monopoly veto over the people who prospectively wish to hire and pay the people and machinery that do actually build the product
>i somehow not able to change at which rate i want to artificially restrict supply and cripple civilization solely to produce more profit at the cost of the society that honors my property claims on the understanding i exploit it efficiently


That article noted this is due to "decreasing demand" (i.e.: price-gouging scaring away consumers), and even accounting for it, contracts on future RAM prices are already plummeting to the tune of 25% for year's end:
tomshardware.com/news/dram-memory-shortage-prices-nand,37627.html

I really wish 16GB modules would become cheaper so I can get 64GB RAM in my P50, just for shit's 'n giggles. and VMs

Good thing the day of the rope for cryptoniggers is here, in the form of cryptocurrency value dropping like a brick.

Vega 56's are under 500€ in Germany and I can get a V56 Nitro+ from caseking for under 500€ shipped, a far cry from early this year when they were 700€ plus!

Holy fuck /g/ is over there you mong.

I'm fine with my RX580, thanks. Don't need a better GPU since i'm sticking with 1080p until business QHD monitors are out. or when FreeSync WUXGA becomes a thing

China is going to enter the market and flood it with cheap knockoff RAM. The other three will flip their shit and attempt to go legal on their ass except China will continue to give zero fucks. Before long they'll be forced to lower their RAM prices since they don't want their customers abandoning them in droves. There's no real chance that the new Chinese firm won't price war because they have no existing market share yet so they will need to take it from the others and that means they have to compete, not collaborate. But we don't know how long it will take them to get going.

Right now if you want cheap RAM though, try the 2nd hand market and get ready to test the shit out of them to make sure you don't have defective RAM.

I mean, RAM is RAM. It either has the capacity and runs at the rated speed, or it doesn't. I'm not usually in favor of China chinking industries into the ground but in this case it can't happen soon enough.

Fuck off

I'll care about resolution when I can get some panels with contrast and accuracy without the IPS or VA glow.

With that kind of naive logic you're just begging to be taken advantage of. RAM can also develop errors and fail on you, user.

Agreed.

Has anything come out of this yet?