What memory OWC sells? (Is it right Micron?)

[ginfonic]

Going to upgrade my MBP and thinking about a RAM upgrade.
Not trusting too much to some 3-party assemblers (Kingston etc.) I decided to take a look to world brands (Micron, Hynix, Samsung).
As I earlier dealt with OWC I went to their homepage and found along with their own branded chips also Micron and Samsung ones: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/Pro/Core2/
The price is excellent ($64.97 for Micron and $63.99 for Samsung 2Gb chip).
That's great, I thought, it's time to order!
But for a start I decided to check information on Micron homepage.
Yes, I found there this module: http://www.micron.com/products/partdetail?part=MT16HTF25664HY-667
But the price was $266.64!!! Almost 4 times more!!!

Could anybody tell me why?
I can imagine only two answers.
1. The memory OWC sells is slightly defective, not passed factory tests or something about it that not allowed it to be sold right from Micron.
2. This is not FACTORY ORIGINAL Micron memory (as OWC says) but Micron chips maybe on Micron plate assembled by OWC or some China craftsman. And additional bucks we pay not for original Micron memory but only for original sticker.

Correct me if I'm not right.

 

[tersono]

You're not right.

OWC are one of the most reliable places out there to buy Mac RAM, along with Crucial (who are owned by Micron - they are Micron's direct sales arm, but also supply other manufacturer's product).

Both OWC and Crucial supply genuine Micron RAM along with various other makes, and you're unlikely to go wrong with either supplier as both offer first class customer service.

I've no connection with either company, but I'm an I.T. pro and have dealt with both of them over many years. Go with whichever offers you the best price.

 

[ginfonic]

I hoped to make sure I'm wrong

Yes I know OWC reputation, as I said I dealt with them and that was OK.
But when I can't understand something I begin to feel nervous
As I seem 4-multiple difference ($65 and $267) is a reason to think!

 

[tersono]

I hoped to make sure I'm wrong

Yes I know OWC reputation, as I said I dealt with them and that was OK.
But when I can't understand something I begin to feel nervous
As I seem 4-multiple difference ($65 and $267) is reason to think!

hehe - I didn't look too closely at the Micron link you posted, but yeah, there's gotta be something wrong with that price.

 

[Mal]

There is a third possible answer, you know.

3. Micron sells their chips at an absurd premium direct to consumers.

They wouldn't be the first to do so.

jW

 

[Artful Dodger]

I don't mean to compare memory to other items but if you deal with a manufacture direct sometimes the cost is their list price. I will give an example as to how bad a company/manufacture can be. My friend teaches photography in high school and to purchase the cameras needed direct from Canon it would have cost the school (get this price) $299 for each camera until they purchased 25 then it dropped to $275 per camera. The same camera(s) sell for $150-$200 depending on who and how many you buy, i.e. Amazon sometimes discounts if you call and buy bulk. Also a local shop could give the school a much better price since the school needed 52 camera(s).
You would think Canon would offer a very good deal to a school system but it goes to show that at times nothing helps by going and buying direct. I'm not saying this is the case here but I've seen this type of mark-up/pricing buying direct before.
I wouldn't avoid buying from OWC, I bought from them and D.M.S. before and both have been great. Once I needed to replace my RAM from OWC and they shipped 2 new sticks for my iMac asap and I just returned the old ones without a hitch
Nice catch and it's nice to see you are doing research before buying as some won't be bothered and wonder why they get burned
Good luck and enjoy once you get your RAM.

 

[mperkins37]

I totally trust OWC and Crucial for ram. Most if not all their ram are also lifetime warranty.
Nothing to lose really, if you get a bunk module (I had one a few years ago at a shop I worked at) they take it back no questions asked. A+ dealer.

 

[Le Big Mac]

There is a third possible answer, you know.

3. Micron sells their chips at an absurd premium direct to consumers.

They wouldn't be the first to do so.

jW

True. A lot of companies do this to protect their distributors/retailers. If the company were offering the lowest price, then retailers wouldn't bother stocking the product, since they couldn't sell competitively.

 

[RedTomato]

My first thought was that the micron direct link is for engineering samples only. A quick look shows me right:

Order Micron Parts Online

Selecting parts for your new design? You can now order sample quantities of select parts from buymicron.com—an online, low-volume purchase program. The ordering process is easy. Identify the Micron parts that you want by going to any micron.com part page. If the part is available through buymicron.com, you’ll see an Add to Cart link. Click the link, and follow the steps on the Shopping Cart page.

Really, this is only for people designing new hardware who need samples direct from Micron, with the backup and support needed.

From the same page:

With more than two decades of industry experience, Micron understands that customer loyalty hinges not only on top-quality products, but on dedicated support, and efficient, trouble-free transaction experiences as well. Search for a part with our Product Number Search. To find an international distributor or a Micron manufacturing representative use our Find Distributors & Reps search tool. To locate a North American distributor in your region, click on a distributor logo on the right of this page.

So basically, if you're not an engineer, go away and buy your RAM through a distributor.

I can understand - I work for a company that produces theatre plays, and we're very well known in our community. We get a lot of ticket requests, but we tell customers to buy their tickets from the relevant venue.

Our focus is in making good plays, not dealing with hundreds of ticket transactions and the associated support, tracking, refunding etc etc.

Same for Micron. They focus on making excellent RAM. They don't want to be drawn into dealing with millions of transactions with the public.

 

[BanjoBanker]

Most manufacturers who sell directly to the public sell at their published list prices. This is to not compete on price with their authorized dealers. I worked for a furniture manufacturer right out of college and that was the deal we had with our dealers. We could, and did, sell straight to the public, but it was for straight up retail. A much better deal could be had by going through one of our dealers. Also, we sold to employees at cost plus 10%, which was less tan wholesale, but each employee was only allowed a limited amount of goods they could buy each year. This kept down the chances of employees reselling the furniture to supplement their income. Buy from OWC, they have the best prices and service in my experience.

 

[ginfonic]

Yes it looks you're right.
I googled a little (why didn't I do it before!) and found some links where these modules sells even lower then on OWC: $49.98 on memoryten.com and $52.88 on memorydeal.com etc.
Seems like Micron really unreasonable greedy.
Thanks for all. OWC is acquitted

 

[Eric.]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220258

I was going to recommend this, as I've used several of Patriot's modules in custom PCs with only a few problems (all resolved and due to my motherboard overvolting I think) but I'm surprised at that first review, which now says that Apple has officially blocked the use of Patriot memory. I'm not too happy about that, as I was planning on using them in the Macbook Pro I'm ordering soon.