HD DVD players hard to find

Retailers sold out of $500 Toshiba players

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/19/2006

MAY 19 | Toshiba’s $499 HD DVD player is out of stock at many major retailers and the consumer electronics maker’s timetable for replenishment is unclear.

Several retailers, citing a desire to keep up good relations with Toshiba, declined comment on when they anticipated receiving more players and some said tight supplies are just the norm when a new technology launches. Nevertheless, many are unable to meet demand for Toshiba’s lowest-priced player.

“The players will be in stock soon,” said Frank Sadowski, Amazon.com VP of consumer electronics merchandising. “For products with a high demand, we suggest customers check back frequently for new inventory and also to check the third-party sellers that also sell product on Amazon.com.”

Mail-order and Web retailer Crutchfield fulfilled pre-orders made prior to Toshiba’s mid-April bow. But it has been backordered since that time.

Bestbuy.com, Walmart.com and Sears.com also were out of stock. Spokespeople for Best Buy and Wal-Mart said that the $499 players were available at some of their bricks-and-mortar outlets. Sears didn’t comment at deadline.

“It’s hit and miss,” Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas said. “It is sold out in some stores. Obviously you’d like to have some in stores when people come in, but we are in the very early stages. It’s just the true early adopters who are looking for this. It’s not comparable to [demand] for Xbox 360.”

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jolanda Stewart also acknowledged that shoppers will not find the HD A-1 model in every store. “The item is currently traded in markets with early adopters,” she said. “As the adoption rate increases, we’ll be prepared to offer the product to the consumers,” she explained but declined to specify further.

Tweeter stores do have HD A-1 players available, according to a spokeswoman.

Toshiba did not comment about HD A-1 supplies at deadline. The company’s $799 HD-XA1 model does appear relatively more plentiful at retail.

In its first April shipment of both models, it was estimated that Toshiba delivered 10,000 to 15,000 players to about 3,000 stores (VB, 4-18).

“It’s not unusual for there to be a start-up or ramp-up period for a new technology,” Crutchfield executive VP of merchandising Rick Souder said. “You’re not going to be able to get up to peak production capacity at day one.”

Thanks to empty-handed retailers, Toshiba HD A-1 listings are flourishing at online auction site eBay. Many site users are hoping to sell players at around $700. That’s $200 more than the HD A-1 SRP but still $100 less than Toshiba’s HD-XA1 model.

A source at a studio producing HD DVD software said that Toshiba’s slim output was fully anticipated. April through September is considered a soft launch, and ample HD DVD quantities should be in stores by fourth quarter, he said, dismissing the possibility that HD DVD title sales might be negatively impacted by limited player availability.

“I think the fact that it’s so-called tight means that people are buying,” the studio source said. “I see that as more of a good thing than a bad thing.”

Ultimate Electronics senior VP of merchandise Jim Pearse noted that the chain is starting to receive more Toshiba HD A-1 stock.