Why are Kites so damn expensive

[Sarda]

Reading peasants woes about cost or acting like they remotely know anything about it.

Bit like this forum!.

[SENDIT!]

I had an online shop many years ago.

Trust me, in theory it looks like you can make a lot of money. At the end you just can survive.

[GregK]

Yep, reminds me of the old joke told in the industry :

Q : How do you make 1 million dollars with a windsurf/kiteboard/SUP/surf shop ?

A: Start with 2 million.

[Kitemenn]

The only way to save money seems to be cutting off layers...every step needs to make a living! Also keeping stockand staying with left overs adds significantly to the costs I assume

[Ice101]

Is the reedin 9m smaller than the pivot 9m?
My SM1 9m doesn’t feel as grunty as my old old 9m pivot did. Feels more like an 8m kite compared with all other 9m ones I have owned previously.

[Ice101]

Long time reader of the forum and now finally the need to write something made me create an account.

Maybe you want to ask your local dealer why he is selling a kite for 1349 while he is paying roughtly 660 for it. I wonder how much he pays for the other ones listed.
I also wonder how much the company pays for the production of the kite in china and how high the material cost are in the end. If you cut it down: same margin for reatailer, company and producer you´ll end up with your life hanging on 150 bucks of material.

This is simply how the world works. The material is only a little part of the costs.
You have manhours, R&D, transport, storage, administration, taxes, profit, ...
I'm still amazed about how little people know about this.
Look at restaurants, look at how much you have to pay there and look at how much you have to pay when you make it yourself at home.
Huge price difference right? Wow they must be scammers then, the material cost is so little

The world runs on demand and supply.

Thanks Dice that maybe the best explanation on how the chain works and where the price difference comes from material to actual product!

That being said there is a lot of money lost in the chain which some small brands cut out and this saves you in the end a big deal! Buying a 3 quiver kite duotone is with discounts still 3500€ where the smaller brands this is around 2200€ thats still quite a lot of money which can be spent better somewhere else

9m is £350 from the factory.

[grigorib]

which can be spent better somewhere else

Really?

Like food? Car? Watch? Party? New TV?

For some, like me, there is nothing better on this planet besides KITEBOARDING...so any dime spent on it is worth it.

[PeaBody]

Its not all about the factory price, do you think no R&D happens? Are the kites the same as 2002 no. All development costs money, even development or prototypes that don't make it to market, that we never see because it did not work. This all needs to be paid for, or no one would survive.

I guess this late to the party you would have far less R&D, but nonetheless, I doubt they would survive by changing the colours every year... one to keep an eye on.

[Havre]

Depends on what "from the factory" means. If it is ex works (incoterms) - then that would include all costs including R&D. If it is what the factory charges per kite then it would be different.

It would have been interesting to know how much money companies like Duotone, Core etc. make. My guess is not a lot, but I'm pretty sure it can sustain a good life for those that are successful. Especially if you combine it with social media etc. like Kevin.

[Toby]

Depends on what "from the factory" means. If it is ex works (incoterms) - then that would include all costs including R&D. If it is what the factory charges per kite then it would be different.

that doesn't make sense.

Ex Works is a term to determinate the costs, like who is responsible for insurance, shipping and customs.

It has nothing to do with R&D.

The difference between sales price (e.g. Ex Works) and buying price (wholesale price) for a company has to pay for all costs for administration, marketing, R&D etc