Old DVD-recorders selling for $1,900

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DVD-recorders with hard drives may be old technology, but they're commanding astronomical prices on the free market these days. Case in point: We reviewed the Panasonic DMR-EH75V about a year and half ago when it had a list price of $500. If you search for the DMR-EH75H on Amazon, you'll see three resellers (all with reputable ratings) selling them for insane prices:

New DMR-EH75V: $1,895
New DMR-EH75V: $1,899
Used DMR-EH75V: $1,498

Is it just a glitch with Amazon? You might think so, but that's pretty clearly not the case. Jumping over to eBay, we found some recent auctions for the same product.

New Panasonic DMR-EH75V: $750
Refurbished DMR-EH75V: $675
Used DMR-EH75V: $760

Sure, that's less than half of the Amazon prices, but they're still very high. How often does the price of electronics increase after being used for a few years? What's going on here?

The answer is pretty simple--if you know the gritty details of consumer electronics and a little economics. The whole phenomenon is actually easily explained by one simple fact: almost* nobody makes DVD-recorders with built-in hard drives anymore. Just a few years ago, plenty of manufacturers made DVD-recorders with built-in hard drives, but if you walk into a Best Buy or Circuit City today you probably won't find a single unit.

People miss TiVos with DVD-recorders.

(Credit: Humax)

Many products types are phased out as consumer interest wanes, but you wouldn't get that impression about DVD-recorders with hard drives--I get lots of e-mail from readers about them and there are active discussions on AVS Forum regarding their scarcity. Many of the older units can function as a DVR without subscription fees, and being able to burn a DVD from the same unit is a killer feature that people still want. And the high prices of these old units tells the whole story: There is still demand for them and the supply is very low. That's why two-year-old tech is being sold for basically 400 percent of the list price.

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