Can You Wait for It?
As promised, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) officially announced the price and delivery schedule for one of the two additional sizes of their QD/OLED TV line, the 77” (Model 77S95C) model. The sets will begin shipments on February 14 if pre-ordered at the advertised price of $4,500, which is slightly higher than the original price of Samsung’s top tier Mini-LED/QD 75” set that it released in March of last year and considerably higher than our early estimate of $3,000[1] While this price might seem high when compared to the current price of the 2022 55” and 65” QD/OLED sets, which are now selling for $1,450 and $1,800 respectively, we note that the initial price of the 55” and 65” sets, released 326 days ago were 42% and 40% higher. If we follow that logic, in 342 days (January 1, 2024) the price of the 77” model should be $2,655, or 41% below the initial.
Of course there re a lot of factors that will affect the price reductions for the 77” model, along with further reductions for the 55” and 65” models, and a potential 49” model that has yet to be announced officially, so we use that number only as a guideline that has considerable room for change. However, it does serve to wait for the initial enthusiasm from “Gotta be the first” buyers to wane, as on an unofficial basis, it took about 46 days for the price of the 55” model to decline by 12.1% on Amazon (AMZN) and was near it current all-time lowest price in a bit under 230 days (End of October 2022).
One point to consider is that on a per square inch basis, the 77” model sells for $1.78/in2, roughly between the initial price/in2 of the two earlier models, which means Samsung used the earlier models as an initial pricing reference for the 77” model. With the 55” and the 65” QD/OLED models now selling for $1.12/in2 and $1.00/in2, our $2,655 estimate ($1.05/in2) does not seem outlandish, so if you can wait until the 2023 holiday season to buy the 77” QD/OLED Samsung TV, you should be able to save a substantial amount relative to today’s pre-order purchase price, or you can hope that Samsung announces a lower priced version of the 77” model (Model 77S90C?) later this year as rumors have suggested might be the case.
[1] Note: Our estimate was based on the current prices of the two existing (55” & 65”) models. Samsung has priced the 77” set at a premium starting price, although we believe it will decline as noted above.
Of course there re a lot of factors that will affect the price reductions for the 77” model, along with further reductions for the 55” and 65” models, and a potential 49” model that has yet to be announced officially, so we use that number only as a guideline that has considerable room for change. However, it does serve to wait for the initial enthusiasm from “Gotta be the first” buyers to wane, as on an unofficial basis, it took about 46 days for the price of the 55” model to decline by 12.1% on Amazon (AMZN) and was near it current all-time lowest price in a bit under 230 days (End of October 2022).
One point to consider is that on a per square inch basis, the 77” model sells for $1.78/in2, roughly between the initial price/in2 of the two earlier models, which means Samsung used the earlier models as an initial pricing reference for the 77” model. With the 55” and the 65” QD/OLED models now selling for $1.12/in2 and $1.00/in2, our $2,655 estimate ($1.05/in2) does not seem outlandish, so if you can wait until the 2023 holiday season to buy the 77” QD/OLED Samsung TV, you should be able to save a substantial amount relative to today’s pre-order purchase price, or you can hope that Samsung announces a lower priced version of the 77” model (Model 77S90C?) later this year as rumors have suggested might be the case.
[1] Note: Our estimate was based on the current prices of the two existing (55” & 65”) models. Samsung has priced the 77” set at a premium starting price, although we believe it will decline as noted above.
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