Why do subwoofers cost so much?

[S15_Silvia]

I really fail to see why this thread exists. Take an econ class or at least look into what it takes to patent and sell anything in the U.S.

[P4killer_]

I have taken and I do understand. I guess I think that a 1200w woofer for 500 plus dollars doesnt make sense. Notbkicker or jl but a start up company that likely doesnt hold any patents etc.

Just a thinking out loud thread as to why. Because i do not believe that cost to be anywhere near justified.

[HHR Ed]

Yea I realized that. Full on big company kicker jl etc werent really part of this thought of mine. Everything is different in corporate America. The scale there is so beyond me its ridiculous. Your talking millions of dollars. Which I

Understand. At that point your talking serious distribution and retail and jesus christ. I can't begin to understand the complexity of those operations.

I was talking like more of start ups. Brand common to this site etc. Many of which arent even close to dealing with going corporate.

So for them it does come down to build houses etc and is inherently simpler.

You still run into some of the same things.

Brand A tooled their own baskets and motors to make a 1200W rms, 3" coil woofer and bought a qty 100 of each size part. They hire 5 guys to assemble to woofers locally and sell through distributors and dealers.

Brand B chose to use readily available parts off the shelf to make a 1200W rms, 3" coil woofer and bought a qty of 500 of each size. They had them assembled at the buildhouse and shipped to their warehouse ready to go. They just hired 1 shipping guy to handle it. They sell direct from their own website.

Cost analysis shows Brand A's final cost at $150per woofer. Brand B at $75 per woofer.

Brand B marks up 2x to allow for distribution in the future. So it's $75 x 2 = $150. $150 x 2= $300 retail price.

Brand A marks up to distributor, then they mark up to dealer, then they mark up to you. But to try and stay competative, and alleviate some price. They choose a lower markup.

$150 x 1.3 = $195. Then distributor marks up to dealer. $195 x 1.3= $253.50. Dealer marks up to you. $253.50 x 1.3 = $329.55

This makes the cost/ Worth ratio lopsided.

So as a consumer that has no knowledge of the company's cost and markup see something that does not make sense.

Woofer A is a much greater value than what you pay for but the perspective is more that Brand B is overcharging for what it is.

This numbers are somewhat realistic but it can be the other way around. You may also have brands that choose greater markups.

What it really shows, is that unless you have some insider knowledge, price is not a good indicator of the quality of a woofer.

The best indicator always will be experience with the woofers.

[P4killer_]

Yea ok. That makes alot of sense. Sounds like a good ending point. Thanks for the info and it was fun bullshitting whilst I couldnt sleep at 3am

[moh.vze.com]

That was a nice read. Thanks all!

[SteveBrondstetter]

Good read

[Karkov]

I am in with the two people above me, been lurking, great thread, thanks to all involved. =)

[bbeljefe]

But I find it morally wrong.

And there is our primary point of contention. What a manufacturer asks you to pay him in a voluntary transaction has nothing at all to do with morality. And if that's your definition of morality, how do you universalize it and upon what metric do you judge what is and is not a moral asking price?

For instance, is it moral for a hobo to ask you for a quarter but immoral for him to ask you for a hundred dollars?

Is it moral for the people who call themselves the state to take from you, by force, 10% of your property but immoral for them to take 50%? And if so, is it moral for me to steal ten cents from your pocket but immoral for me to steal $1.87? Or is it $12.87 and if so, how did you arrive at that figure? If not, how is the state's theft and my theft different?

Is it moral to steal a hundred dollars if you say you're going to give fifty of it to the poor but immoral to steal a hundred dollars and spend it all on cocaine and hookers?

Morality and ethics are based upon principles and principles must always be universal. If they are not universal, they are not principles, they are bigotries.

[Miguels]

I was just thinking out loud and the reason I dont mention the cost business much is because as I said, the cost of business for any subwoofer company is roughly roughly the same. They pay the same shipping the same taxes the same fees its not like company x pays the cost of business and company y does not.

Could we agree on that?

Now as Ed has supplied more information to consider, allow me to generalize.

Lets say comp x is run of the mill

comp y is upper end.

What is the cost difference across the board?

If x pays 100 per unit. Y pays 130 for better parts.

Company x pays 30 for glues etc. Y pays 50.

After that the cost for each likely doesnt very much.

So thats 130 for x 180 for y. Woofer y costs 38% more at this point.

Yes quanity plays a factor. If company y buys double the quanity and is able to get thier woofer for 130 each, youd think they would share the saving with the consumer. I dont think they do.

So if the comsumer pays 300 for woofer x. And woofer y is 38% more costly, youd expect to pay 414 or so. But instead they charge 750 each. Thats 336 dollars more. Which imo is immoral.

not completely true in some cities the taxes are higher and the rent is higher.. all that goes into the cost of a sub.. some business cost more to stay open

[Miguels]

the you get what you pay is not actually true either.. well maybe at a certain point.. a kicker l715 can be had for $250 and a FI SSD around the same range.. just because the kicker cost about the same as the SSD it does not make it as good.. kicker is actually over priced but they actually have more employees to pay.. i see everyone bitching about a companies waiting time and CS.. if a company lets say Fi wanted to fix that,the prices would have to double since Scott would have to hire people to read emails and to sit and answer phones also would need to hire more sub builders to get subs out in 2 to 5 days to make us happy but it will come with a price.. me i rather have him keep it that way and have the cost down then to hire more people and making the SSD cost $400 or the Sp4 $800