Over Priced Things That Shouldn't Be?

[Jack321]

So like all consumers, I try to buy the best things at the best prices. Value is important. I'm also crazy obsessed with hunting/shooting and do subscribe to "buy once, cry once" when it comes to things that I don't want to compromise.

My waterfowl gun (12ga SBE2) has run the gauntlet for near 20 yrs and been thru everything. My Swaro NL Pures are straight up perfection. My Crispi boots slip ok like gloves and my most comfortable hunting boots I've ever owned.

But there are times where I am like, "Why does this cost so much? Esp compared to _____?"

Now I'm not looking for answers to these Qs. In fact they're rhetorical and I know some of the answers, but I'd be lying to say that some of this stuff gets stuck in my craw.

So what things in the retail hunting world tick you off that they are so expensive compared to other similar counter parts?

Here's a couple things I can think of:

1. Why do snow goose decoys cost less than Canadian goose decoys? Is it paint? They're roughly the same size as Canada's, but why cheaper? Or is it some manufacturer knowing you need more snow geese than Canadians while hunting and theres no feasible way to have a spread if they cost that much? Why is plastic decoys so expensive when plastic jugs of water are cheaper?

2. Why do some camo manufacturers charge more than others? I love my Sitka waterfowl camo kit and my First Lite western kit. But I killed ducks/geese with Roger's or Farm & Fleet camo just as fine. I just became a camo snob. And my deer hunting, stand camo is a hodge podge of Cabelas, Farm & Fleet camo, cheap baselayers and warm boots.

I can buy Kings Camo, Black Ovis Baselayers, Costco socks for way cheaper.

3. Why are some guns so much more expensive than others? I have a Tikka 300 Win Mag with a Nightforce SHV scope and my dad has a Savage Axis .308 with a Vortex Diamondback.....both guns shoot clover leafs. Why does mine cost more but both shoot similar?

4. Why did Boss Bismuth jump in price? It used to be a deal, now I can buy Hevi-Bismuth for the same price and get 5 more shells than Boss?

5. Why are hard crank baits different prices for similar styles just different manufacturers? Aren't components similar in price? And even slightly variations worth so much more in terms of profit?


So what other things make you go "Huh? That ain't right? Why's that so expensive? It shouldn't be!"

 

[NRA4LIFE]

The answer to your question is "EVERYTHING".

 

[Aeast]

I think the better question is , why do we continue to pay these prices?

 

[tony]

Gas/Diesel
Food
Alcohol
Chew

 

[Hunt eat repeat]

Everything is so expensive it’s literally exhausting. Quick trip to the hardware store, $100. Quick trip to the grocery store $150 stop for dinner, $100

 

[crich]

Honestly hard to tell without knowing a companies overhead but one that comes to mind is knives. I feel like the primary driving factor here is name brand and labor costs. $250 for a mass production knife with the same steel found in $80 overseas brands seems excessive without knowing whether the laborer makes $30 an hour plus benefits or $1.20 an hour. Paying into workman's comp and all the other nonsense businesses with employees have to throw money at are not cheap!

 

[199p]

I got a price for a trijicon tenmile 3-18x44 after seeing them selling new for around 1k mark in the US but from a local ( New Zealand ) shop,
The price came to $5260 nzd or approx $3100USD

 

[limpet]

Primers.
Hunting clothing. I used to work at a sporting goods store and the mark up on the high end gear is bad but the mark up on the stuff one price point down is absolutely insane. Like 300%+
Rain gear specifically. I’ve had so much of that stuff turn into sieves way faster than it should have.

 

[ChrisA]

Luxottica group sunglasses, beef jerky, and kombucha.

 

[grfox92]

Luxottica group sunglasses, beef jerky, and kombucha.

Beef jerky for real. I refuse to buy it.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

 

[ddowning]

Primers.
Hunting clothing. I used to work at a sporting goods store and the mark up on the high end gear is bad but the mark up on the stuff one price point down is absolutely insane. Like 300%+
Rain gear specifically. I’ve had so much of that stuff turn into sieves way faster than it should have.

It's crazy, but the high end stuff has so much attention to detail and r and d that it has to cost a ton.

I run a company that does design build remodeling and other that does carpentry. I specialize in jobs that other contractors say are impossible.

I was once asked how I did a perfect job and managed all the details. I had a very good relationship with the customer, I was also his customer, and we had shared some pretty deep stuff. I was honest. I said, my jobs are not perfect, they are good, but I can do better. He asked, why not do the best job you can (speaking in terms of quality)? I asked, did you feel this project was expensive? He said yes, but the quality is very good.

I responded, if I did the best job I knew how to do, I would need to charge 3x the price to make the same profit. You already feel as though the job is perfect. Would you be willing to pay 300% for a job where you likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I was able to explain to you the differences, and how it was better?

The conversation then went into detail. After discussing everything, he understood that the difference between what I was delivering and that which was the absolute best I could possibly deliver was virtually imperceptible, but very expensive. There is no way he would have paid 3x for that.

That is the difference between the best, and the next best. Imagine if they were charging a 300% mark-up on Sitka. How many people appreciate the last little bit enough to pay that much money for it. They will gladly pay a 300% markup on the tier 2 stuff. Ultimately, price is determined by the spot where the supply and demand curve intersect.

 

[Dented]

Women.....
Waaaaaayyyyyy overpriced !

 

[Traveler]

Base layers are one of the main ones I see. Can find comparable Columbia, north face, under armor layers for less than big name camo layers typically. My guess is scale, but who knows.

one of the main distinctions I see is durability and longevity, which many people won’t use things enough to see the value in. Boots and bows come to mind. If you only use them 15 times a year you may not be able to see the difference compared to 180 days a year.

On the flip side…

Cabelas flies, particularly terrestrials, suck and aren’t worth a penny.

Original red and white daredevil spoons have caught me more pike than any red/white knock off for less.

 

[RockAndSage]

Ammunition - why is rifle ammunition so much more expensive than shotgun ammunition, when there are more components and a higher amount of material in shotgun shells, that are also heavier and cost more to ship?

 

[MTguy0341]

vehicle prices are one that comes to mind. What guys are asking for a 90s truck with 250k miles is insane. New diesel pickups going for 100k, no thanks. I’ll keep my pre emissions diesel

 

[Aces11]

Taxes

 

[displacedtexan]

It's crazy, but the high end stuff has so much attention to detail and r and d that it has to cost a ton.

I run a company that does design build remodeling and other that does carpentry. I specialize in jobs that other contractors say are impossible.

I was once asked how I did a perfect job and managed all the details. I had a very good relationship with the customer, I was also his customer, and we had shared some pretty deep stuff. I was honest. I said, my jobs are not perfect, they are good, but I can do better. He asked, why not do the best job you can (speaking in terms of quality)? I asked, did you feel this project was expensive? He said yes, but the quality is very good.

I responded, if I did the best job I knew how to do, I would need to charge 3x the price to make the same profit. You already feel as though the job is perfect. Would you be willing to pay 300% for a job where you likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I was able to explain to you the differences, and how it was better?

The conversation then went into detail. After discussing everything, he understood that the difference between what I was delivering and that which was the absolute best I could possibly deliver was virtually imperceptible, but very expensive. There is no way he would have paid 3x for that.

That is the difference between the best, and the next best. Imagine if they were charging a 300% mark-up on Sitka. How many people appreciate the last little bit enough to pay that much money for it. They will gladly pay a 300% markup on the tier 2 stuff. Ultimately, price is determined by the spot where the supply and demand curve intersect.

I run a similar business and tell people regularly that I strive to balance production and perfection.

I see expensive consumer goods in a similar way.

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

Everyone's a free market economist until it's time to price at what the market will bear.

 

[EastHumboldt]

DDowning nailed it in post #11. Almost all the time the cheaper stuff is just that, poorly made using poor materials. Sometimes …. Rarely… you’ll find something that’s cheap and good.

The other trend I’ve noticed, if a manufacturer makes a run of 70000 widgets in purple size A, they will usually be a little cheaper than the same widget with a run of 150 in yellow size B. Economy of scale,

Lastly if it’s built in a country with a high standard of living and the company that makes/sells it pays a living wage, it’s obviously gonna cost more than a very comparable product made by slaves, or made by a company which is subsidized by the parent government.

Sure, Savage rifles will shoot good groups ….if you can get them to go off. because they apparently pay attention to making good barrels. I’ve personally witnessed one from the factory with failure to fire due to light primer strikes, and heard a number of stories of the same.

 

[Yoder]

The reason everything costs so much is because we are all spoiled. We have to have everything we want cost be damned. It's why insane people pay $90k for a truck that is only worth $30k. Just think of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka. That's us.