if you are inside In the market for anything with a memory chip, now might be the time to get one.

Another round of price increases for consumer electronics appears to be underway. In June, Apple announced price increases for its MacBooks and iPads. Xbox consoles are also getting more expensive starting in August. This is on top of already high prices for products like Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro and, you know, oil, which has driven up gas prices and increased the cost of shipping something to you.

This new wave of price increases, following last year’s tariffs, is driven by many factors, but the main culprit is the current memory shortage, that is, software component producers prioritizing the manufacture of chips for AI data centers over other technologies that require them. If this were a short-term problem, the affected companies would likely have absorbed the costs. But the memory shortage doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, and the AI ​​bubble hasn’t exactly burst yet. Too much demand for too little supply often means the inevitable: companies pass their costs on to consumers through rising prices.

“In the past, maybe you could have waited out little problems like this,” says Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Global Electronics Association, which reports on the memory shortage and the industries it affects. “I don’t think that’s the case here. Waiting is not a strategy right now and probably won’t be for the foreseeable future.”

DuBravac says the best way to avoid price increases is to buy reconditioned equipment, but if you need something new, keep an eye out for price increases that have already occurred. If something hasn’t seen a price increase yet, it may soon. But even if prices have increased, this may be the best base price you’ll see in a long time.

“They’re very intentional in their pricing and there’s a lot of coordination that goes along with all of that,” DuBravac says. “If you’re looking at products that have already had a price increase, you probably have a little time to think about it.”

Buying everything you want right now is not realistic for people who feel financially strapped. People are feeling the pressure as the specter of back-to-school and holiday product cycles looms.

“People are worried about having to pay a lot of money for the next device or the next purchase,” says Thibaud Hug de Larauze, CEO of second-hand marketplace Back Market. “The bad thing about this is just pushing people to get better faster because they’re basically afraid of inflation.”

The bright spot in this whole mess might be that refurbished and second-hand markets created to support and resell used products are booming. Buying something refurbished is usually more ethical and environmentally friendly than buying something new. And now is an especially good time to investigate the second-hand market for devices like phones.

Sean Cleland, vice president of mobility technology at re-commerce company B-Stock, says used smartphones are selling 10 to 20 percent more than they were in December 2025. In a normal year, those numbers would likely have reversed and used phones would have depreciated. But demand for refurbished products has increased.

“The supply chain will correct itself over time,” Cleland says. “Secondary market prices will return to normal depreciation, but they will still be a step above what they were in 2025. They will simply never fully return.”

A more vibrant resale market means more people are giving refurbished devices a chance. It may be out of necessity, but it has given rise to a booming industry that helps second-hand devices find a new life instead of going to landfill. Manufacturers have also relied on their own reseller programs, offering buyback or trade-in programs for phones, computers, tablets, watches and headphones. Selling that equipment on third-party markets is also likely to generate more profits as long as the shortage remains.

“You’ll get a lot more out of that phone than ever before,” Cleland says. “Take advantage of it; there is trade-in and resale value in all of that.”