xoxbxfx said:
if I didnt have enough on my plate as it is, I would be fabbing brackets left and right and selling them. I understand it takes time and effort to build a kit but 23% is almost gouging.
I understand overhead and utilities but doing a large price hike isnt going to give you the extra sales. I always look at sales from a wholesale point of view. I would rather sell 20 units at $200 profit than 10 units at $400 profit because you get more advertising out of it. When you get good feedback from 20 people vs 10, you can expect more sales.
But the point here is, if you could sell 20 units at $200 profit or the same 20 units at $400 profit, which would you choose? In a nutshell, that's how business works. Raise the price to the point where demand starts flattening, back off a bit and you're in the sweet spot. Trust me, I'd love to be in business to provide low-cost stuff to everybody as a public service, but then I wouldn't be in business.
I wish you the best of luck making your own brackets -- it sounds like you may have the skills and resources to pull it off. Most people don't, and that's why there's a demand for manufactured goods.
There's also a lot more to this kit than people think. "A couple of brackets and some coilovers" is actually four laser-cut, CNC-bent, TIG-welded, and powdercoated brackets, two
custom Koni coilovers (there is no off-the-shelf coilover that fits, these are expensive units), Hypercoil springs in the correct rate, precision-machined stainless steel spacers that fit inside your frame rails to strengthen them and prevent crushing under load, a trick lower coilover mount for the aluminum A-arm, bags of premium hardware and fasteners, and all the little details like floor plugs, vent tube assembly, etc., etc., etc.
There's lots of other little stuff in there that I never would have thought of beforehand had I done it myself, and would have had to figure out down the road. Some items are key to making the system safe.
I absolutely understand the frustration associated with price increases, especially right now. See, pretty much every vendor raises their wholesale prices every January 1, and every retailer and installer has to deal with it. Update everything in the computer, change ads and website, deal with upset customers, and so on. On top of that, I've got customer car projects going on under agreed prices, and in these cases I can't pass the price increase along since we're already under contract, so my margin is impacted.
If you don't like the price, don't buy the product. That's how capitalism works -- you vote with your pocketbook. I just don't see the need to go on the forums and call someone "greedy" and "shady" over a price increase. That shows a lack of understanding and a lack of class.
. To justify his time, R&D, and lets not forget HUGE exposure to liability, he's got to make what he can. I'm so far away in my project rustbomb that I fear by the time I'm ready to buy Dave's kit, he will have stopped making them. See you in about two years Dave!