Every electric longboard build that I can find on the market is through the roof. I just finished testing a 350$ build and it was faster than the boosted board II. I understand the labor but is it really worth three times as much? I gotta know what you guys think. Put me in my place.
These companies are selling an already made board with mostly reliable reputations and customer support/warranty. Like any business, they have to make a profit to support the customers and continue the company.
People who don’t want to build or can’t can buy from a company for a bit bills more.
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As someone who is setting his own business up, its quite easy to tell you why.
YOU are not the target demographic.
Its quite painful to say, but the companies who sell items know the majority of people have no skill to design one themselves, or they just don’t care and don’t mind spending their cash on it.
with the right marketing you can bump your prices through the roof. with my small business I’m almost earning 1100% profit compared to the base cost of materials and labour! ( my only redeeming quality is that I only charge that rate for companies, for people like you and me, I do it for no profit 
)
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Don’t forget, it’s not just labor but marketing and advertising costs that need to be covered, plus profit. Building your own is more bang-for-your-buck for sure.
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!I assumed it was these things which really makes this feel like a dumb topic but I was just having trouble wrapping my head around HOW MUCH the price is raised. Definitely not saying it is a bad thing by any means. Respect to the companies trying to bring these into common life AND make a living. Just surprised.
I always wanted to make a board so after my first build (350$) I assumed it wouldn’t work well or wouldn’t go fast etc etc. but I was pleasantly surprised when it beat the market board by so much. I didn’t know there was such a gap. I fucking love this.
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they have to pay for insurance/lawyers as well. And those certifications don’t come cheap.
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If you try to make a board with the aesthetics, known brands of trucks and wheels, quality battery cells, a reliable VESC, one plug charging, a BMS that does work, an enclosure that fits like a glove and a remote that won’t cut off every once in a while, then I’m sorry to say you won’t be able to build a board with $ 350.
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labor ignored, my builds very always in the same money ballpark as boosted and actually had a hard time beating evolves price point. diy isnt partcularly cheap.
alone a sweet board will cost as much as your whole build:
board 170€ wheels 60-90€ bearing 30-100€ ronins 90€ bushings, urethane pivot 20€
so guess it also depends on what you expect from a board. i expect every detail to deliver the best possible riding experience for the way i like things… which evolve (horrible trucks, quite stiff), and boosted (wannabe battery, trucks meh, board is flex3) do not.
thats the main reason for diy for me: noone got it “right” for my preferences! but beating these boards will cost you, thats for sure!
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Just the motor controllers on my build alone cost more than $350 The total cost of my build is somewhere between $1000 and $1500 just for the main parts. Quality parts are not cheap.
I didn’t go diy to save money, but rather to have it my way. I wouldn’t buy a boosted board at first simply because I didn’t like the deck they used.
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Going the diy route isn’t any cheaper when one wants quality parts, I agree. But you get your money’s worth and then some going this way, in my opinion.
I started looking into the diy scene because every prebuilt board on the market had something I didn’t like about it. And the fact that if something went wrong with the board, I’d have to send it in every time and be without for a month. For me, it was about peace of mind that if something did go wrong, I could troubleshoot it myself or have spare parts to swap in when needed.
Every business runs things their way. You have the freedom to dislike it, but you also have to respect the fact that it IS their business. But it is also YOUR money, and you should spend it in any way that makes you happy. If that means not buying from one company and doing it yourself, then more power to you!
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How much is the rent where you designed and built your board? The tables, chairs, electricity,…?Cost of the computer where you did all your research? What about all the tools you needed to put it together? You have to add all those costs into the price of your board as well.
$350 is about the lowest price I’ve seen anyone build a board for. That would barely cover the costs of VESC’s and motors in a lot of DIY builds.
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I can definitely agree with you, when I started buying parts for my build I didnt expect it would go over £350 ($450) Now im pushing £800 just because I wanted quality.
Its still just a single motor board, but if you want quality that wont fail you, its worth the extra cash.
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One day, it seemed the DIY route was cheap.
The problem is: It is not, and it is addicting.
Waiting on motors for1100$ rn.
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I did it to learn! I cut some corners to try and save some money (some china parts, doing a few things well above my knowledge set), and I’m sure I burnt through more than I’d saved.
Edit: Found the old thread that I was trying to remember on this topic.
I have easily put over $1000 into one of my builds and it is easy to see where the pre built boards can sell for $2000+
however I tell you this: a well built DIY costing say $1500 will run rings around a pre built $1500 board.
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Cost of overhead, labor, materials, equipment and machinery, utilities, tooling amortization, legal, workman’s comp, rent, shipping, consumer product certification, battery UN certification, design, testing, CAD/CAM, prototypes, returns, web design, Seo, professional services, customer service, credit card charges, marketing, sales, insurance, investor returns, and hopefully a little profit.
There’s a lot to pay for.