OK, so the answer seems to be because they can. That and the fact that people who repair and modify their own suspension are effectively subsidising people who get rid of them once they need work done.
I think people are entitled to get at least a little bit annoyed about that, especially with companies claim that they are environmentally friendly despite encouraging people to buy new rather than repair.
distribution and stuff should be absorbed really as it’s just part of the process
This is about on par with the guy who claims that as a fully tooled up and staffed bike shop already exists whether he goes there or not; he shouldn't pay more than £7.50 an hour for labour.
Yes £16 is steep for 3 bits of plastic, however how much does the shock itself cost, £400+?? £16 spent getting the right setup for your weight and riding style is small change in the grand scheme of mountain bike expediture.
PS. As has already been said, you're lucky, in that Fox ones a £25 and if you have the shock I do you can only use 1 in the set.
I was fortunate in that having put a wanted ad here on STW, someone who had the one spacer I needed going spare kindly sold me it for a couple of quid.
I've made 1.6 billion paperclips 🙁
I’ve made 1.6 billion paperclips 🙁
LOL. It's frying my brain (more my eyes) and I've only made 13 million.
I’ve made 1.6 billion paperclip
I reached the point where I'd used up all the available resources on Earth and sent space probes out seeking further resources... !!
Something like 5 octillion paperclips.
Insanely addictive.
can you save it or do you have to leave it running
It came back on when I reclicked the link... But I left it going while I left for work this morning
Most people can spot a racket when they see it!
Legitimate business practice it may be, but I'm not going to enthuse and big up businesses that engineer and carve out monopoly parts supply, with the intention of controlling prices and suppliers. Re-brand generic products at a higher mark-up and in smaller quantities, try and hide ingredients of simple lubricants so you buy theirs. Use propitiatory sized seals, fixings, components, connectors and software because they can! Hobble/intentionally disable products and features and/or do not fix known faults because they make loads from parts that people just keep on buying. Cost reduce products over time and cause reliability issues with something that was previously satisfactory.
I'm calling it what it is, snide **** baggery and they can get teh ****.
Paperclips: 30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
All the universe's resources now converted to paperclips!
Is this the place for stupidly priced items?
How about -
£15! For a bolt!
£17! For a plastic mount (and bolt)!
Yeah.
Explaining how a company has got to a consumer price for a product only provides an explanation, not a justification.
Just because everyone in the supply chain needs their X% margin doesn't mean the consumer should cover it.
How many jiffy bags can you pack and post per hour?
This. I often admire the work ethic of ebay sellers who will sell me a bag of guitar picks or bolts or whatever, posted for a couple of quid - how many do they have to sell, pack and post per day to make a living when you factor in cost price, jiffy bags etc.?
I'd want at least £17 to post you a plastic spacer, even if I got it for free 🙂
Just because everyone in the supply chain needs their X% margin doesn’t mean the consumer should cover it.
Who else should cover it? The cost has to go somewhere so if that product was sold at cost (or even a loss) another product would have to increase.
how many do they have to sell, pack and post per day to make a living when you factor in cost price, jiffy bags etc.?
Easy peasy, just take a look what Babz Media were allegedly doing.
OK, so the answer seems to be because they can. That and the fact that people who repair and modify their own suspension are effectively subsidising people who get rid of them once they need work done.
I think people are entitled to get at least a little bit annoyed about that, especially with companies claim that they are environmentally friendly despite encouraging people to buy new rather than repair.
The question is how much would you pay and everyone else for a 3rdP product?
Lets say you could get some ACME not Genuine RS for £5 ???
Then ACME can start up a business ...
However if RS then say that anyone using non genuine spacers voids warranty then this is a risk for both ACME and buyers
Is this the place for stupidly priced items?
Yep some prices are just crazy.... but equally what about £40 for a T-shirt.???
Paperclips: 30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
All the universe’s resources now converted to paperclips!
ignore the volume. just to annoy the OP i'm currently selling 30,000 paperclips a second at $2 each. i'm aiming for $15 a piece...
Cycle parts/accessories pricing structure is mental
For £17 you can buy a pair of shimano SPD pedals with cleats, mounting hardware, lots of machined parts, precision moving parts, bearings, springs, cromo axles etc. And performnce in use is almost exactly the same as the most expensive SPD pedals you can buy.
For £10 you can buy one set of shimano cleats and mounting hardware on their own meaning you're effectively getting those pedals for £7!
or as the OP says. you can buy 3 pieces of plastic that can't cost anymore than kids kinder egg/luckybag toys do to manufacture to sort out a very expensive suspension unit. Ideally these bands/tokens should be supplied with the unit/bike/frame (many manufacturers do)
It is what it is though. so if you buy expensive bikes you just have to suck it up really. Or choose a progressive enough frame that you won't need to fit plastic things inside the shock for support.
If anyone has one, I’ll happily measure it, model it and 3D print it at much less than 16 quid.
Really? How much is the true cost?
- plastic raw material for printer £1 ? (For the three parts, especially if you need a trial run etc)
- Jiffy bag. 50p
- stamps. £1
- time on printer
- power for printer
- time to create model
- time to set up print job, load material, unload and pack
- time to take item to post box
- cost of receiving the payment - 2.5%
Sure it can be done for less than £16 but a lot less - not if you value your time.
Poly - Really? How much is the true cost?
– plastic raw material for printer. FREE, I have loads of offcuts that need using up
– Jiffy bag. FREE, I keep and reuse all my incoming bags
– stamps. £1.64, if I can get it as a large letter
– time on printer. FREE, I can do other things while its running
– power for printer. FREE, the consumption is imeasureable
– time to create model. FREE, my job is modeling, doing it for the love / challenge not the money
– time to set up print job, load material, unload and pack. FREE, Its a 30 second job
– time to take item to post box. FREE, I pass many post boxes on my walk home
– cost of receiving the payment. FREE, I's ask for paypal gift
So yeah, its easily doable for under £16, you just have to not be a corporate whore and work it into an existing schedule.
So yeah, its easily doable for under £16, you just have to not be a corporate whore and work it into an existing schedule.
Good luck in your new business venture I'd like 4,000 please, can I have them next week, £5 postage work OK for the lot?
So it's only that price if you ignore the costs involved and don't value your time.
Cycle parts/accessories pricing structure is mental
Yep.... check out brakes as well...
Decent caliper + lever + hose + pads + oil/DOT
A friend just broke a lever and damaged a hose and it was cheaper to just but a new brake with spare caliper and pads (as the damaged hose was the other brake to lever that meant ordering the US/continental setup)
Then the cost of a rubber bleed bung + screw for pads etc. ... almost as cheap to buy a new caliper when you consider it comes with spare pads.
Not a business venture though is it dickwad, it's me offering to do someone a favour.
ah ok then so the corporate whore stuff was just a joke then....
