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Old 12-19-2008, 01:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by color0 View Post
XXX, You are right and not quite right all in the same line. If you feel like reading my thought process, please continue, but if not, save yourself the eyestrain because it's lengthy.

Our original pricing was for $129.99 because it was necessary to offset the costs of making all the parts in the USA (Penguin RC and Exotek Racing). But with delays and that pricing problem -- I didn't like it either! -- I said screw it and went with PN Racing to help me make the chassis, which brings us down to the current chassis-only price of $109.99. And I'm barely breaking even.

Consider 1/12 pan cars: they sell for $250 because people are willing to spend on a machine that handles great, looks great, and can win races. Because the MRCG's tiny, though, customers expect the cost to scale down. Not so. 1/12 pan cars don't cost much more than an MRCG to produce. Smaller parts are harder and more expensive to manufacture. And take a look at the dNano, which is 1/43, has a plastic chassis, and is barely more than half the size of the MRCG. It costs about $250 (!) to get one running. It's also produced in a very small batch, which 1) hikes up manufacturing costs and 2) hikes up the "exclusivity factor". The MRCG is in the exact same situation, which is why it sells for $109.99.

Though you may not think so, there are plenty of people who consider the MRCG an absolute steal. The TGR Sinister (a pan chassis from last year) costs about $95 but requires hours of modification before it can even drive properly. The Pro-Z V8 costs $130, and the InZane P28 (Europe's premier pan chassis) costs a healthy $160 for the same chassis-only package. None of those chassis can compete with mine on RCP, which makes the $110 MRCG worth it for my target customers.

Plus, RC Driver -- possibly THE most widely read RC magazine -- is reviewing the MRCG. And if it's a positive review, then there are plenty of people out there who want the latest cool thing and will spend the money to get it. And then, (please forgive me for being overly blunt) I really don't need to care if one or two people think it's too expensive.


So to sum it up, 1) There's not much room to push down the price, 2) the current price is a good place to be, and 3) I actually don't need to worry about sales, as long as I think for the longer term.

I agree. like i said I understand why it is so expensive, and I hope your product does very well. Its just at the 1/28 scale the market isnt as big as for a sinister or somthing. The only real good market at this scale is slot cars. So I think it will be harder to sell at the higher cost. What I think you should do is invest in a cnc machine. You can get a smaller good setup for around 600$-700$ and you could cut them yourself instead of paying larger manufacturing costs. You would be able to drop your retail price by as much as 30-40% and still get similiar profits. THAT would be the best thing to do. Again it is a great product but I think there is more then 1 or 2 people who think it is expensive. Good luck, and i hope to have a MRCG chassis on one of my cars one day.
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