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Is $190 a reasonable price in June 2026 for a brand new LG BP50NB40 that has been "professionally" flashed to BU40N?

No.

If you plan to use it to rip 4K expect it to be dead in a month or two. You will absolutely end up buying twice purchasing one of those drives. They are bottom of the barrel LG dogsh*t. Someone will inevitably reply claiming they've ripped "hundreds" of discs with no issues using one of these drives but there have been countless posts on the subreddit of people buying WP/BP50 or BP60 drives only to have them die in the first month or two. Just some friendly advice.

I wouldn't sign that flatly. But that is also a bit of a question of faith.

The BU40N (which is installed there) is the best LG drive, also with a view to the longevity,

But $190 is too expensive.

Better to buy a used drive and flash yourself. Great information can be found here in the forum.

Thanks for the responses!

I've been looking through the forums, but I'm finding a lot of conflicting or old information and opinions, so it has been really difficult to decipher what my actual best options are.

I don't plan on ripping 4k. I have been working on ripping my entire DVD and (non-UHD) Blu-Ray movie and TV collection, but my ASUS BC-12B1ST b just stopped recognizing discs, so I'm trying to figure out a replacement that will do what I need it to do without spending $300 to $500 on some of the drives I've seen listed around here. Most of the semi-resonably priced drives I have found are either shipping from China, which I've heard is risky, or they're "bottom of the barrel dogsh*t"

Is $190 a reasonable price in June 2026 for a brand new LG BP50NB40 that has been "professionally" flashed to BU40N?

The correct price for a brand new BP55EB40 (which is very similar to a BP50NB40) seems to be around $96 - $115. Whether it's worth it to basically pay $75 or more for "professional" flashing is up to you (to me, it seems a tad too expensive). Mind you, depending on what you do with it you might end up wanting to re-flash it to BP60NB10 1.00 MK firmware anyway.

If you plan to use it to rip 4K expect it to be dead in a month or two.

I've been using LG drives to rip discs, including 4K discs, for more than 6 months (off and on, of course). They're working perfectly, as long as they get the right amount of power. Your statement seems like a bit of a stretch.

...That being said, if one owns at least one Pioneer drive and at least one LG drive and rips a few discs, I believe they are likely to notice that the Pioneer drive is superior pretty quickly. However, I do not think this necessarily means that most LG drives are "dogsh*t".

(Also, if you plan on ripping specific game console discs, it could very well be that LG will be your only option, given that Pioneer drives cannot rip PS3 discs and are not OmniDrive-compatible).

Someone will inevitably reply claiming they've ripped "hundreds" of discs with no issues using one of these drives but there have been countless posts on the subreddit of people buying WP/BP50 or BP60 drives only to have them die in the first month or two.

Well, not all LG units are the same. Some units are faulty, most don't seem to be. It's not inconceivable that some people could manage to rip a lot of discs with them and others could have gotten unlucky and bought a drive that failed within one month.

Jargs wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2026 10:54 pm Thanks for the responses!

I've been looking through the forums, but I'm finding a lot of conflicting or old information and opinions, so it has been really difficult to decipher what my actual best options are.

I don't plan on ripping 4k. I have been working on ripping my entire DVD and (non-UHD) Blu-Ray movie and TV collection, but my ASUS BC-12B1ST b just stopped recognizing discs, so I'm trying to figure out a replacement that will do what I need it to do without spending $300 to $500 on some of the drives I've seen listed around here. Most of the semi-resonably priced drives I have found are either shipping from China, which I've heard is risky, or they're "bottom of the barrel dogsh*t"

Haha, I should probably clarify that comment a bit. Basically, while I agree that the BU40N is the "best" (read: least bad) and maybe only good LG drive in terms of longevity, not all BU40Ns were created equal. The Verbatim 43888 and 43890 are probably the best implementation of this drive due, at least in part, to the quality of the enclosure that Verbatim used. LG has been quietly exiting the market since at least January (when vendors were told that the BU40N was being discontinued with no replacement). The WP/BP50 and BP60 seem to be a particularly bad implementation of this drive based on a variety of user reports.

Are the drives they're shipping now drives that would have been "binned" in an earlier era and not sold at all? Unknown.

All I know is there's a reason these LG and Buffalo slims are the last drives on the shelf and I don't think it's because LG decided to save the best for last.

Every drive from China is fake unless proven otherwise. Most of the 5.25" drives on ebay are fake, ancient, or $1500+ at this point. The "XD08TC" is also completely fake (as Billy first noted).

If what you're looking for is cheap, I would check with larhaus (Larry), he sells loose drives in metal or plastic enclosures, fully tested and affordable.

Jargs wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2026 10:54 pm Thanks for the responses!

I've been looking through the forums, but I'm finding a lot of conflicting or old information and opinions, so it has been really difficult to decipher what my actual best options are.

I don't plan on ripping 4k. I have been working on ripping my entire DVD and (non-UHD) Blu-Ray movie and TV collection, but my ASUS BC-12B1ST b just stopped recognizing discs, so I'm trying to figure out a replacement that will do what I need it to do without spending $300 to $500 on some of the drives I've seen listed around here. Most of the semi-resonably priced drives I have found are either shipping from China, which I've heard is risky, or they're "bottom of the barrel dogsh*t"

I can offer you a brand new LG BU40N in a Raidsonic Icy Box IB‑AC640‑C3 enclosure.
This enclosure is considered the best. Drive firmware 1.04MK. Price $120.
https://icybox.uk/product/external_stor ... B-AC640-C3

Or a brand‑new Asus BW‑16D1X‑U with LG drive crossflashed to LG WH16NS60 1.03MK. Price $175.
https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-co ... w-16d1x-u/

Both drives support 4K UHD. If you don't need it right now, it might come in handy later.
I don't need them, which is why I'm letting them go at a good price.
I'm from the Pioneer camp myself.