Diary of a Demented Store Owner

Thursday 29 January 2009

Solder Situation


Twenty five years ago, we sold 60/40 solder for $15/lb. That's right. Damn Brits!  A tin cartel on the London Metals Exchange held prices artificially high. And if you translate those 1983 dollars into today's dollars, we would be paying about $60/lb, so the current price, while painful seems insignificant compared to what us 'early adopters' had to contend with.
Of course, we've been used to prices of around $7-10/lb for the last fifteen years, excluding the current situation where solder found itself nudging up to $20/lb. or $100/5.5 lb spool.
But, it looks like the metals market has cooled off a bit as of late. We just got a quote, and placed an order for literally a ton of solder, and you'll be pleased to hear a 1 lb spool of 60/40 solder will now set you back from today for $12.99! 
Or $11.88 if you tell me you read it here first (1/visit, until Feb. 12)

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