Gizmodo reports Toshiba losing approximately $500 per A2 sold at $99

[Whyser]

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/format-wa...500-319172.php

You might have heard about those $99 HD DVD players that were being sold for a moment at Walmart and Best Buy. You're probably smart enough to realize that Toshiba isn't making much scratch on these things, but for reference, the first HD-A1 HD DVD player, cost Toshiba $674 in parts alone (Says iSuppli, 2006). So are they losing ~$500 bucks on these newer player selling for less than a C-note?

Within a calendar year, I very much doubt that it could have been price-optimized more than 30% (*number pulled out of thin air). Either way, it's pretty clear that Toshiba is losing at least a few hundred dollars on this $99 deal for consumers, and maybe over $500 bucks including all costs. Is this sale desperation? Or have they moved on from the early-adopter battle field and straight into the Waterloo of mainstream buyers? Maybe it's just a stunt, since most places sold out almost immediately. What better way to win the hearts and minds of cheap Americans than to hold an insane sale on a sliver of all of your inventory?

I guess I can see why the BDA isn't all that worried... this isn't sustainable at all... though I wonder, how much manufacturing costs have gone done since they last did the survey?

And how many A2s are there for sale anyways? Most ppl are reporting them to be sold out or didn't even stock any at all.