yup, that’s why your site is so important - it conveys that quality without you having to spend so much time in email…
think the commercial element to this which hasn’t been discussed, is that every builder should be aware of the market segment they’re going after… and what the pricing tolerances are there.
someone buying a cheap chinese board on amazon / ebay isn’t looking for a £1200 evolve GT someone spending £600 on a single motor custom build probably isn’t either. someone spending £1000 on their own dual motor build wants better performance than an Evolve, and their own “style” someone spending £1300 + wants a completely different experience to the amazon / ebay board.
but the volume is in the middle of the market; customer service issues at the lower end of the market; and unpredictable volume at the top end of the market.
so price and build accordingly, and communicate often. know your customer. but don’t be afraid of pricing to set your customer segment (so long as your product is worth that price, of course!)
hth 
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Have you tried firing your gun into the air? Usually that quiets them down.
that really sucks about Adam, sorry to hear that.
Wow?! Really? 
He quit because of the abuse? 
damn… Must be a lot of negativity coming your way
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Can we get this thread back on topic
esk8 vendors should give me a board, $200 bucks and cook me dinner. That’s the way innovation works.
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I think I commented on this thread awhile back agreeing that vendors should make a fair profit, especially when innovation and R&D is involved. I wanted to check this thread again since this topic got discussed in a thread I started a few weeks ago, and I still stand by that original comment, but what I just can’t stand is where some items (not only, but mostly battery packs) are marked up to just an absurd amount. I understand it takes some time to spot weld and do the wiring, but when battery cells are gotten for around $3.50 a piece, and then you have packs with 36 cells going for $500 or 60 cells going for over $800, I find that to be an obscene markup. That works out to about $14 a cell, or basically a 400% markup on a few hours labor, where no innovation or R&D is involved.
its not just about the cells its quality of materials used and technique used by the builder, you are not paying for cells you are paying for someone to custom build you a battery with knowledge and technique that they have aquired with experience. That is valuable and so is their time so ill gladly pay a premium for such an important part to be build properly.
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You would not be my client, for the simple fact that you don’t see what it is you are getting when you buy a battery from me, you get customer support, warranty(depending on weather it is purchased or not), time, quality components, and a reputable seller. Now if you wanted you could build one yourself, most people can’t go with this option because they don’t know how or have the tools available. You could buy from someone else but you will pay roughly the same price. You have to see it like buying anything else custom it is usually more expensive but depending on who you buy from can be an amazing purchase. Cells are just a part of what goes into a battery pack, its not like we are making hundreds at a time…
I never said it was just cells, but the other components costs are nothing compared to the cost of the cells. The nickel strips, wire, shrink wrap, and other parts are very very cheap, so the main determination of the cost is how many cells are being used and that is the main thing you are buying in a battery pack. You don’t buy one for the nickel strips and shrink wrap, you buy it for the cells so it can power your build. Also, I mentioned that it takes time to build these, I didn’t say that there shouldn’t be any profit made for these, but that the amount they are marked up is way too much. You say it takes skill and technique to build these. Well I totally agree, but I spent less than 2 hours on YouTube and forums and I now have been able to build battery packs that look every bit as good as the ones I’ve seen for hundreds more. No I won’t be a customer of yours, but not for the reasons you mentioned, but because I did the research and learned how to do it myself because looking at the cost of buying a battery pack from a vendor vs getting the required tools and material along with all the cells and everything else I needed to build my own battery pack still was less than what I would have paid going through a vendor… and now I have the tools to build all the packs I want so they’ll be even less now, and I could potentially build some for my friends if the need should ever arise. That’s why I went that route, rather than purchase from a vendor. Also I don’t see why y’all are coming off angry at my comment. I made a comment that was perfectly in line with what the thread is asking and I didn’t bring up anyone specifically, nor was I rude about it, so I fail to see why that’s something that merits that kind of response.
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Also I used two example of cost for battery packs and they weren’t yours, so I don’t even know what you charge. I said I think it’s fair to make a profit, even for battery packs, so for all I know, your prices may be reasonable to me. It’s just the prices of the ones I quoted were definitely not reasonable in my opinion…
No, you didn’t…only today when you bumped it, and cross posted the exact same rant about battery pack prices from another thread.
Ok, hence the “I think”, not, “I did”. I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean, bumped it, regardless, it’s not like I said anything off topic for the thread so again, don’t get where the hostility is coming from. If you guys wanna be pissed I have an opinion that I’ve heard expressed by many others and chose to comment, well I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m done with this pety childish argument BS though so I’m gonna turn my attention elsewhere.
Like said, your paying for their knowledge, service, warranty, and simply convenience. It’ll cost as much with the tools to build one, so if your only building one board, the costs would be about the same and then you don’t have to worry about messing it up.
Now I agree, that I would never buy battery pack at these prices, but that’s cause I have the skills and knowledge to do it myself. If I didn’t have the intuition I have, I wouldn’t try, because it is risky. You need to do it right.
Now about the hostility, I don’t quite get that… I think maybe this:
Might be misleading. You leave out the bms cost, which can be $80-100. I believe it should take about 3 hours to do a good battery pack. At $20 an hour, that’s $60 in labor. Power switch, copper, and other parts could be another $20-30. 36 cells at $3.50 a cell is $136. So $325 at cost for a complete 36 cell pack is reasonable. So selling for $500 at that point gives a profit margin for the business to deal with equipment costs and validating your warranty if something happens, and for growth.
Not trying to argue with you, just trying to shed some light on the numbers.
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Thank you for not jumping down my throat. Normally the things listed would be included, but the battery packs I’m referring to don’t come with a BMS, or an On/Off Switch with the anti - spark and all that stuff, I’m talking about battery packs that are literally just the cells put together, a xt-60/90 connector, and the JST Phase wire connector. That’s it.
If the cost was what you quoted at $325 then yes that is quite reasonable. The cost of the $500 one I was referring to couldn’t be more than $150, that’s not reasonable IMHO…
Think about apples phone markup, how much do you honestly think it costs them to make the same phone they sell for $1,000+, now referring to a pack with just cells and spotwelded a 500 markup would be crazy, but for example a 10s3p spotwelded only pack at 175 + shipping would be fair
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100% mark up is standard buissness now a days