Why are they so expensive?

[Whale Whisperer]

I did a little research on this subject, and found some information.

Why are rebreathers so much money? Looking at what they consist: A plastic bag (Counterlung), Hoses, CO2 scrubber, (2) tanks w/regulators and gauges, Gas sensor & computer, mouthpiece w/checkvalves, and (2) solenoids. I think that covers most of the components.

Now after looking at all of these parts, the engineering that went into the product, the labor to assemble the product, and the marketing does it really add up to the prices they are retailing for? ie: Inspiration $15,000; Optima $6,800 to name a couple. I've heard of some that even go for $50,000!

What's the deal here? One person I asked said the reason why their so much is because "they can charge anything they want" and I believe him lol.

 

[The Kraken]

The laws of supply and demand, perhaps ?

the K

 

[Teamcasa]

Liability Insurance?

Dave

 

[Whale Whisperer]

I didn't think about suppy and demand... I guess in theory if there was a sudden popularity for these devices then demand would rise and prices just might come down. Hmmmm

Liability insurance? If that were true wouldn't regulator prices be almost triple then they are now along with every other piece of equipment out there?

 

[vladimir]

I didn't think about suppy and demand... I guess in theory if there was a sudden popularity for these devices then demand would rise and prices just might come down.

This is not a real clear statement of the law of supply and demand.

 

[Teamcasa]

I didn't think about suppy and demand... I guess in theory if there was a sudden popularity for these devices then demand would rise and prices just might come down. Hmmmm

Liability insurance? If that were true wouldn't regulator prices be almost triple then they are now along with every other piece of equipment out there?

Don’t discount the Liability Insurance issue just yet. I had the opportunity to sell ultra light aircraft and our insurance agent said if we sold even one, the insurance premium would come close to the retail price for each unit sold. This effectively doubled the retail cost without adding to the gross profit. We passed.

Regulators and most other gear is sold in the 100’s of thousands units and with a miniscule fatality rate. I’m not sure that’s true with re-breathers yet.

Dave

 

[The Kraken]

Well, I'll let my mouth over load my butt here, but I imagine the primary product of the companies that manufacture R/B's is an R/B.

Comes back to setup costs, production runs, etc., etc., etc.

If the demand were higher, then the production process could run longer and, therefore, bring the manufacturing cost of each individual piece of product down.

the K-apitalist

 

[Whale Whisperer]

This is not a real clear statement of the law of supply and demand.

lol I'm no expert when it comes to economics as you can see. My idea of supply and demand is if a companys put similar products out on the market, and the demand for it is low, then the retail cost could be higher to mantain manufacturing costs and such. If the demand were to grow then wouldn't the prices go down, due to competition, lower cost of supplies and mass production?

 

[The Kraken]

Well, hell !!!
There jist ain't enough folks a'buyin them thangs to be able to sellum fer $200 a pop.

the K-eynesian Economist

 

[Whale Whisperer]

Hell I'll buy five O' them Super Whamo-dyne rebreathers for the whole family at that price!