On 10/15/2015 5:30 AM, Francois Labreque wrote:

>>
>> So essentially you're saying it has nothing to do with the manufacturing
>> costs at all, and it's all about what it will cost to design the thing
>> versus what they can sell it for. (?)
>>
>
> You've heard the expression "supply and demand" before, right?
>
> If customers are only willing to pay X for your widget, you have to
> manage to make it profitable at price point X, or invest in an expensive
> marketing campaign to convince your customers that it really is worth
> 2X, and the really cool people don't mind paying 2X for it because look
> at all the chicks they get!
>
> This works a lot better in the cell phone business than the treadmill
> business, where in fact, a 1080p touch screen might even be seen as a
> flimsly doodad that will stop working the minute it's been splashed with
> sweat (or that antibacterial spray you're supposed to use once you're
> done) and actually be detrimental to your marketing campaign.
>
> Unless, of couse, it's cloud-enabled.  Then it's a sure win.  Everything
> has to be cloud-aware nowadays.  The Internet-Of-Things is upon us!

Its, sadly, worse than that even. There are often multiple price points. 
There is the, "everyone can buy one", point, the, "everyone will buy 
one", point and the, "we make huge profits at this price point, even 
though it places it out of the range of many people.", one. I would also 
argue that we suffer a lot from the delusional, "I am making huge 
profits at this price point, so I can't imagine why people complain its 
too expensive!", one as well, in far too many companies - all of which 
presume that, as long as they are making a profit, they *have* the right 
price point.

Its a bloody mess, and only made worse by the other end of the coin - "I 
pay enough so they can buy this right? They only had to save money for a 
whole year for it after all!"

-- 
Commander Vimes: "You take a bunch of people who don't seem any 
different from you and me, but when you add them all together you get 
this sort of huge raving maniac with national borders and an anthem."

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