--Purchasing from Companies vs Buy/Sell/Trade section--

[sablehilt]

Why is it that most laser company websites offer 1Watt 445's for almost DOUBLE the price of what builders here on this forum sell their builds for.

For example 1Watt spartan from Dragonlasers = $240

I saw someone selling a 1.2W "Blue Ice" laser here on the forums for $120~

So why are the companies so expensive? I mean most builds here on the forum have focus adapters so you can focus your laser where as most companies do not offer this feature.

I have the 1watt spartan and I cannot complain about it.
The host on it is absolutely gorgeous and sturdy, but it lacks a focus adapter.

So why do laser companies seem to sell their products for 2x the price when you can get the same if not greater powered laser on this forum for cheaper.

 

[gillza]

Because the companies have more fees to pay than individuals I'd think.
Taxes, registration, legal fees, premises, etc. And also because they can.

 

[webdev77]

Companies usually look to make a higher profit than individuals because they have more advertising costs. Posting on a forum is free, while paying for a marketing campaign will cost a bit. Basically they just want more profit.

 

[thatguynate]

Well the company wants more profit, but I would imagine that because that profit is defrayed by all the additional costs above, they need to have a higher margin than any of our users here. Plus, that profit needs to be spread out among more than just one person. Most of the guys around here probably arent doing this JUST for money, but because they love what they're doing and want to spread it around to other people. While that may be how some of these companies started, it likely isn't the stance they all have right now.

 

[eb2phkingood]

Def here.... no question about it

 

[jeffreythe00]

Alot of companies like Dl dont actually make their own lasers. They order them from a manufacturer and have to hike the price up a bit to make money. They are also marketing tward the general public so demand would be a bit greater than a forum.

You are also paying for someone to sit behind a computer, answering phonecalls, emails, and sometimes even live chat. They sometimes even have other employees working for them doing various other things.

Here most people you deal with do not deal with large orders and do this on their free time you the forum. So they are donating their time "like i am now to post my explanation" and most people here do their own manufacturing, Quality assurance and so on.

So the difference between prices is basically you are dealing with a businuess vs someone who does this for a hobby and doesnt mind doing more than half the things a company would normally indirectly charge you for.

If you dont have to depend on lasers to pay the bills, you can generally charge a bit less than a company

 

[CDRGlock]

Why is it that most laser company websites offer 1Watt 445's for almost DOUBLE the price of what builders here on this forum sell their builds for.

For example 1Watt spartan from Dragonlasers = $240

I saw someone selling a 1.2W "Blue Ice" laser here on the forums for $120~

So why are the companies so expensive? I mean most builds here on the forum have focus adapters so you can focus your laser where as most companies do not offer this feature.

I have the 1watt spartan and I cannot complain about it.
The host on it is absolutely gorgeous and sturdy, but it lacks a focus adapter.

So why do laser companies seem to sell their products for 2x the price when you can get the same if not greater powered laser on this forum for cheaper.

Marketing and overhead. People sell here because it's their hobby and they enjoy it.

I have a Wicked Lasers Arctic and a few made by people here. There is a world of difference between a production and one made by an expert/custom. I cannot wait to see the collaboration between two makers here that I have ordered. The price is the same as a Wicked but will be much higher in quality and capability.