Why Are SD Card Prices So High Lately?

Thread Summary

Summarized on:
This AI-generated summary may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the full thread for complete details.
Members are noticing a sharp increase in SD card prices, with some reporting that cards previously bought for $20 now cost nearly double. The main reasons cited are a global shortage of NAND flash memory, as production is being prioritized for enterprise SSDs used in AI data centers, and to a lesser extent, tariffs on imported electronics. Some members point out that while off-brand cards are cheaper, many prefer to stick with established brands for reliability, though there’s debate over... More...
jymbee

jymbee

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2018
Posts
5,285
Location
Upstate NY
I use SD cards in a number of devices and thought I'd pick up a couple more to use in some new toys and was shocked to see how much more expensive they are these days!

For example, a 256 GB V30 Amazon Basic card I bought in the past for $19.99 today that exact same card is $36.81! There are a few brands that I've never heard of before a bit cheaper but I tend to stick to the main manufacturers.

Damn AI... :mad:

SD cards are expensive primarily due to limited NAND flash supply, which is being consumed by AI data centers, causing shortages and rising costs. ...

Supply & Demand Imbalance: Production facilities are prioritizing enterprise SSDs for AI data centers, reducing the available supply for consumer memory cards.
Click to expand...
 
I have not used an SD card in years. Ancient technology. My camera uploads photos to my laptop automatically. It is like having an endless SD card.
 
jymbee said:
Your camera doesn't have an SD card?
Click to expand...
A lot of the newer cameras will have BT and/or WiFi and you can link them to another device.....like a laptop, or desktop or ??? If you set them up to be able to do that, you can just skip the media transfer step of moving them from the camera SD card to the computer device
 
My security video cameras use MicroSD cards as internal memory. They are on a wifi network but one 128GB SD card holds around 30 days worth of video captures, so I just let the cameras write over the oldest recording. Only move a video across the network if I want to review some or all of it. As others have mentioned, I could have the recordings sent directly to cloud storage, but I would be discarding it after about 30 days anyway.
 
Many MicroSD cards come with an SD adapter such as the one below:
51JeWAlbIIL._AC_SL1080_.jpg
 
Yikes! The 3-pack of Lexar 128GB microSD cards I bought last October has doubled in price! Lexar has factories in Chine, Taiwan & South Korea, so tariffs are surely one factor but nowhere near double.
 
In my local neighborhood alone there are 3 giant data centers, AKA server farms. Two more are being built.

I know you really want to blame tariffs but they are a small percentage of the cost increase now. Demand has completely outrun supply. There simply aren’t enough semiconductor foundries in the world to satisfy current demand.

I have over a hundred SanDisk 64GB MICRO SDHC cards I’m willing to sell for $7 each. They work in video and still cameras, security cams, dash cams, audio devices, computers etc.

I was able to record and play a 4K video on a Canon camera with one of these cards. They were previously installed in SanDisk wireless media server USB devices and were capable of streaming 1080p video to 5 devices concurrently, but by current standards they are on the slower end performance wise.
 
Seilerbird said:
My phone camera has an SD slot but I never put one in there. No reason to put one in.
Click to expand...
At one point I vowed I wouldn't buy a phone that didn't have an SD slot. Flash forward to today and there's very few models that offer that option. Instead, if you want more storage they force you to spend BIG bucks for example to go from 128GB internal chip to 256. Has to be a huge profit there.

If you don't need the expanded storage on your current phone and instead regularly transfer to your Chromebook, obviously works for you.

Myself I have numerous devices that use SD cards-- half dozen types of cameras, Garmin GPS, voice recorder, Dashcam etc. etc.-- and I typically buy the largest card each supports.

It always amazes me how they're able to pack more and more space into these things. The other day I accidentally dropped the 512GB micro SD card from my Osmo Pocket. So damned tiny it took a bit but all the time realizing that thing held that much data! Brought back memories of when I was jealous of a friend who bought a digital camera that had 3.5" floppies, back when you bought those 1.4 Mb things by the boxful. :rolleyes:
 
jymbee said:
I use SD cards in a number of devices and thought I'd pick up a couple more to use in some new toys and was shocked to see how much more expensive they are these days!

For example, a 256 GB V30 Amazon Basic card I bought in the past for $19.99 today that exact same card is $36.81! There are a few brands that I've never heard of before a bit cheaper but I tend to stick to the main manufacturers.

Damn AI... :mad:
Click to expand...
Are you calling the Amazon basic a name brand?
 
While attending our grandson's wedding 15 or so years ago, as the photographer came down the aisle I couldn't resist leaning over and asking "did you remember to put a film in that camera?". He was quite indignant, and said "I'm a professional, and don't use film!" I expressed my admiration with "wow, a camera that doesn't use film".

I resisted the temptation to let him know I worked at companies supplying chips to most of the digital camera manufacturers while he was barely out of diapers. I have lots of stories from visits to those manufacturers, most in Japan.

Sequel - that grandson has a thriving photography business. He and I have had many semi-tech discussions, and he patiently shares photographic advice when I talk about my point-and-shoot approach to taking pics.
 
Amazon Basics stuff is private label (someone else makes it and puts the AB label on it). I have no issue with that - lots of companies do it. But I've had multiple AB stuff fail. As a result, I have a tendency to avoid it.
 
Tom said:
Amazon Basics stuff is private label (someone else makes it and puts the AB label on it). I have no issue with that - lots of companies do it. But I've had multiple AB stuff fail. As a result, I have a tendency to avoid it.
Click to expand...

My point exactly. Amazon is not a manufacturer. They put their name on a lot of products. Mostly from the lowest cost supplier.
I'll stick with the name brand companies that actually produce the items.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New posts

Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom