But the lawyer says he has no regrets about paying top dollar for his old Nikon, even though it cost him $200 more than his wife's easier-to-use Hewlett-Packard camera.

"If you wait for the lowest price, you'll just end up waiting forever," said Ireland, 49, of Bethesda, Md.

That seems like sage advice for those who want to buy consumer electronics these days.

Prices on personal computers, DVD players, stereos and most other products have fallen steadily for years, creating a bargain bonanza for consumers — 20 percent of whom already have bought electronics or computer accessories as holiday gifts, the National Retail Federation reported last week.

Though the price drops are squeezing profit margins for some retailers, few seem able to resist the how-low-can-you-go game now that the appetite for electronics appears insatiable — and now that discount behemoth Wal-Mart is aggressively promoting its electronics offerings.

Circuit City has been showcasing a surprise special discount on its Web site every day between 11 and 4. A recent example: the Sony Clie personal digital assistant, down to $60 from $199 after a series of rebates.

Prices are falling just as consumer confidence — and consumer comfort with technology — are improving, further spurring the buying spree. The questions then become why are prices so low, and how low can they go before the industry's profits really start hurting?

Innovators that take a chance developing gizmos price them high to cover research and development costs.

Two or three years later, they master the technology and start churning out the gadgets in high volume, usually through Asian manufacturers. Prices plummet. Consumer demand mounts. Me-too rivals crop up. Eventually, prices flatten when there's no fat left to trim, said Michael Collins, a retail partner at Bain & Co. in Chicago.

Stephen Jacobs, an assistant professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said there's no telling how long that cycle can sustain itself.