GEN 2 OVERPRICED BUMPERS

[12ozcurls]

@Sig Fanboy - amen to that post. Three years is my attention span. I’ve had some wild rides but I’ve always had one pickup in the stable. I do genuinely like the raptor (despite some of its shortcomings) and I was nearing my attention span when I decided why not make some mods to reinvigorate my interest in it. That’s when I discovered the problem that is the subject of this thread. If these dudes (SVC and ADD) would be sincere with their pricing I think they’d find that far more folks would purchase the bumpers. Seems like I recall something about quantity of sales vs price from college econ and business classes but what do I know. What I do know is the price of steel, the price of labor and that I am half tempted to break out of early retirement (I’m early 50’s) and start something. I wonder if either company would entertain a 40% discount if a group buy hit a certain number.

 

[HighwaySentinel]

Based off of previous group buys on here, it was not a big discount. Might have to just create your own.

 

[Gumby]

R-- rase
A-- adjusted
P-- price
TO
R- ridiculous

 

[Sunchild714]

R&D. Not much R&D on a bumper. The available mounting points are what they are.

So you would be good with selling me something and standing by your product and telling me it can withstand what Baja has to offer? Without much R&D? Might as well stick a "Made in China" sticker on it.

 

[12ozcurls]

So you would be good with selling me something and standing by your product and telling me it can withstand what Baja has to offer? Without much R&D? Might as well stick a "Made in China" sticker on it.

A bumper has no moving parts. If steel and /or aluminum is of sufficient thickness and quality, welds are good and appropriate hardware (bolts) are used how much R&D does it take? I am admittedly a hack welder but I’ve seen numerous very impressive bumpers fabbed for $500 including powder coating. We’re talking bumpers. Not suspension systems, transmissions etc etc etc. A sheet of steel, a wet jet and a moderately good welder gets it done. Make one that works well and looks good - done. Template and manufacture.

 

[downforce137]

A bumper has no moving parts. If steel and /or aluminum is of sufficient thickness and quality, welds are good and appropriate hardware (bolts) are used how much R&D does it take? I am admittedly a hack welder but I’ve seen numerous very impressive bumpers fabbed for $500 including powder coating. We’re talking bumpers. Not suspension systems, transmissions etc etc etc. A sheet of steel, a wet jet and a moderately good welder gets it done. Make one that works well and looks good - done. Template and manufacture.

you'd think so, but most of these guys are using CNC tubing benders and laser tubing cutters and then of course into a jig .. so there is quite a bit of CAD and scanning to get a repeatable piece. theres a lot of moving parts to get a completed bumper shipped out the door...

that said, $2000 for a bumper seems a bit crazy, but thats how much they are.. if you can build a better one, you might as well..

 

[12ozcurls]

@downforce137 - crazy is right.

 

[ToadSmasher2K1]

They’ll keep charging as long as we keep buying.

 

[GordoJay]

I have vehicles that are simply transportation and since about 2020 I’ve had the luxury of having a vehicle or two that have no practical purpose other than they make me happy, so really just a vanity vehicle. I don’t want to see another vehicle identical to my vanity vehicle, my goal has always been to personalize it, therefore I modify them to suit my taste and differentiate them from other vehicles of the same model. Not really sure what that says about me, but it’s the truth. And insomuch as they say you can’t get your investment in modifications back I’ve always had pretty good luck with finding a buyer willing to pay extra for the mods, it’s a good thing, I’ve established a pattern of getting bored with a vehicle after 3-4 yrs and moving to something else.

That works too. The Raptor for me is just transportation. I like to go far off road and it takes me there in style.

 

[StangGT5]

Something to consider is that there is limited demand and therefore limited volume they can sell. Basic econ covers demand vs supply, but it also covers inelastic demand. If they invest the time to make a repeatable product made with CNC machines, plasma tables, etc. they're trying to make that back on a relatively small market that is willing to pay up for a cooler truck. With that said, the Raptor tax is real. Just how much of it is due to "we charge because we can" is up to debate.