Why are Kites so damn expensive

[iriejohn]

Fallacious

If you care to look back through the thread you will see the fallacious comparisons between automobile and kite manufacture.

fallacious
/fəˈleɪʃəs/
adjective
based on a mistaken belief.

[Havre]

Please stop irie. I don't think anyone cares.

You had a choice between informing the rest of this board of what might be the correct way of looking at things (which people might have found interesting and that could have given us a better understanding) or focusing on how my profession influences the validity of my example. And whatever I have given as an answer to my profession we all know it wouldn't have changed how you feel. So the question wasn't an honest one. Tells us all we need to know about you really.

Please stop answering these silly posts on my behalf. I could not care less what irie thinks about things. After all I don't even understand basic science so I'm not sure why he is so obsessed with me either.

[Matteo V]

Please stop answering these silly posts on my behalf. I could not care less what irie thinks about things. After all I don't even understand basic science so I'm not sure why he is so obsessed with me either.

I am actually very curious as to iriemon's take on the argument you have made. My attempts to get him to contribute to the discussion are not directly in defense of you. He has made a few good contributions in the past. He has also had many threads where he posts without adding to the conversation.

To me he doesn't seem so obsessed with you, as much as being obsessed with defending a weaker point of view. This type of person is as valuable, if not - the most valuable, in a discussion of this type, if they present an actual defence of thier position. But there is also a tiny bit of value when thier defence breaks down into personal attacks. The personal attack actually indicates their argument has been shown to be indefensible from a rational point of view. Though, a more knowledgable person may have the ability to defend that position further - which is how a particular position is tested and proven via disproving other arguments against it.

And, not for nothing, this is an open forum where the debate standards of one user are guaranteed to not meet the debate standards of another. Best not let that get you worked up too much. Personally, I prefer it, as this adds a bit of the "real world" and "diversity of human thinking/interactions" into these discussions.

[jumptheshark]

OMG right?

I swear, if it weren't for you two, this place would be the Worst!

[Matteo V]

OMG right?

I swear, if it weren't for you two, this place would be the Worst!

Thanks for the compliment, jumpy! As I stated, I appreciate forum users such as you.

[Greenturtle]

I personally have never ever had an issue finding the kite I wanted either very lightly used or on closeout for a very reasonable price. Like $500, which honestly, still seems high to me for what it is !

Im surprised that china, making these after all, hasn’t latched onto a couple good designs and pumped them out direct, at the same quality, for a dime on the dollar like so many other products these days. With kite designs basically stagnant, seems time could be ripe for that to happen in earnest. I suppose the volume is just too low to catch attention.

Although it isn’t me, Somebody must be paying msrp once in a while, and Im sincerely glad for the shop owners who can earn a modest living doing what they are passionate about.

I realize kite gear has evolved a LOT in a pretty short time, but not so much in the last five to ten years. I can’t say I am aware of any other product that has a more insane variance in price, for new stock , just to get this years color scheme etc. Actually I can’t even say Im aware of another product that goes from v1 v2 v3 every few minutes like kite products do. Other things Im involved in mostly just have literally the exact same product in the exact same color with the exact same model number - ten years later. Chainsaws for example haha! When I drop a grand on a big ol’ 90cc saw, I know THAT is money well spent, that thing is going to LAST and get some serious f’n work done, and Ill easy get 60% or more of that back ten years later when I trade in for the EXACT SAME SAW. Anyway that’s perhaps not the best example but, its an example of something that has basically reached a point where there really isn’t much refinement left , so it stays the same and does the job.

Do I wish kites were less expensive? Yes and No
Do I think they are overpriced considering what they are? Yeah
Are they priced based on the customer base of stoked people who have the luxury time to get out and use them?
Yeah probably thats it.

[or6]

Think about the amount of accidents with 100€ kites....still, would be nice

[Havre]

You mean chains saws aren't getting quicker, lighter, more agile etc every year?

Would be cool to know how much work actually goes in to these incremental changes of kites. I have no idea.

And you got to wonder if the push for yearly updates means there isn't time to do more drastic changes?

[Greenturtle]

Think about the amount of accidents with 100€ kites....still, would be nice

Yeah thats basically the “Wish they were cheaper but glad they aren’t” part...

[Flyboy]

Same discussion shows up regularly on Kiteforum. It's pretty clear that nobody's making a ton of money manufacturing, or selling kitesurfing gear. That suggests to me that the factors at play in the kite industry do not lend themselves to massive profitability. The reason for this is (presumably) primarily that kiting remains a niche activity without the number of participants to generate large scale production ... or large scale profits. Most of the players in the industry - like Kevin Langeree - are there due to personal interest & commitment. The attempts to create large, anonymous, profit-centred companies in the industry don't appear to have met with much success.

Margins for retailers are low compared to most "luxury goods". It seems to me that the larger retail/web outlets adopt the strategy of buying volume from the major brands at a discount, often at the end of the season ... & then heavily discounting them to retail buyers. I'm not sure how many retail buyers consistently buy "full-price", new gear - some, I assume. Companies like Best, Switch & more recently Gong attempt a direct sales approach, eliminating the middle man to offer much lower prices. Gong appear to be enjoying great popularity at the minute our to their business model ... however, this does not mean that they making huge profits. What their longer term success is, remains to be seen. And once again, Gong is the creation of an individual with a personal interest & commitment, rather than an anonymous, profit-centred business plan.