4 ms·

Why is your kit $80 when the individual components can be bought for less than <$40 and even less in bulk? Maybe $50 or $60 would be a reasonable price, but $8

by ygd 16y ago

Why is your kit $80 when the individual components can be bought for less than <$40 and even less in bulk? Maybe $50 or $60 would be a reasonable price, but $80 is pushing it.

noonespecial 16y ago
$40 for parts, $40 to support their customers in a satisfactory manner. Charge what its worth to your customers, not what it costs to make it. Add $40 in value and you'll have plenty of takers.
- compumike 16y ago
  Yup... we've helped a lot of people get started with electronics and programming, and had a lot of fun doing it! We don't make money on parts. We see it as a combination of content (our non-free PDF guide, and our free video tutorials) and support (via e-mail and our forums (http://www.nerdkits.com/forum/) http://www.nerdkits.com/forum/)). We wrote the book, which took a lot of time and continues to evolve. And we have to deal with a dozen suppliers, testing the incoming microcontrollers, LCDs, USB cables, etc., picking dozens of different little resistors and LEDs and such into a bag, and assembling the kits and taking them to the post office. Then handle support questions, marketing, and hope to have a little time left in the day to make some progress toward a new video tutorial and/or kit! And last but not least, I'd like to be able to pay my rent and eat lunch. I think that the HN community understands that profit is not a dirty word, and information is valuable. More generally, as a business lesson: for a business selling physical goods, even when zero to minimal post-sale support is needed, I believe it's fairly well known that the business must set the retail price at typically 3 to 5 times the cost of the raw materials. This can vary a bit depending on the level of manufacturing/assembly/post-sale action/non-physical value-add needed, but it usually isn't too far from the 3-5x multiplier on either end. Too low and you can't cover costs (labor, marketing, etc), and too high and a competitor is likely to try to eat your lunch.
  - jfoutz 16y ago
    Sold. I hope my kit helps a bit with your rent.
- mike_h 16y ago
  Speaking as a customer: it's a very nice deal. "$40" to have these guys gather and package all that equipment for you is a deal in itself, but the real value is in the awesome tutorials they've written and filmed that go hand-in-hand with the hardware package, the responsive support, and the vibrant community. To get back to chime's original question: I'd certainly recommend the NerdKit as an efficient, hands-on crash course in electronics. Fun too.
- ambiate 16y ago
  Out of the norm customer support is well worth the extra $40. I posted a small issue I was having with my nerdkit in reply to an arduino thread (when spark fun had its free day). That same day: I received a reply on HN and my email resolving the issue. There's a decent community. There's a pdf that goes through the basics of electronics, but also has hands on exercises. I can buy a washing machine for $400, but why not toss in the extra $90 for the warranty/support for the years to come? I found EE to be too expensive for my tastes. I was working on an idea with the WiiMote presentation fundamentals as my core. Few hundred infrared leds + UV detectors + computer = awesome pc game!

by ygd 16y ago

Why is your kit $80 when the individual components can be bought for less than <$40 and even less in bulk? Maybe $50 or $60 would be a reasonable price, but $80 is pushing it.

noonespecial 16y ago

$40 for parts, $40 to support their customers in a satisfactory manner. Charge what its worth to your customers, not what it costs to make it. Add $40 in value and you'll have plenty of takers.

compumike 16y ago
Yup... we've helped a lot of people get started with electronics and programming, and had a lot of fun doing it! We don't make money on parts. We see it as a combination of content (our non-free PDF guide, and our free video tutorials) and support (via e-mail and our forums (http://www.nerdkits.com/forum/) http://www.nerdkits.com/forum/)). We wrote the book, which took a lot of time and continues to evolve. And we have to deal with a dozen suppliers, testing the incoming microcontrollers, LCDs, USB cables, etc., picking dozens of different little resistors and LEDs and such into a bag, and assembling the kits and taking them to the post office. Then handle support questions, marketing, and hope to have a little time left in the day to make some progress toward a new video tutorial and/or kit! And last but not least, I'd like to be able to pay my rent and eat lunch. I think that the HN community understands that profit is not a dirty word, and information is valuable. More generally, as a business lesson: for a business selling physical goods, even when zero to minimal post-sale support is needed, I believe it's fairly well known that the business must set the retail price at typically 3 to 5 times the cost of the raw materials. This can vary a bit depending on the level of manufacturing/assembly/post-sale action/non-physical value-add needed, but it usually isn't too far from the 3-5x multiplier on either end. Too low and you can't cover costs (labor, marketing, etc), and too high and a competitor is likely to try to eat your lunch.
- jfoutz 16y ago
  Sold. I hope my kit helps a bit with your rent.
mike_h 16y ago
Speaking as a customer: it's a very nice deal. "$40" to have these guys gather and package all that equipment for you is a deal in itself, but the real value is in the awesome tutorials they've written and filmed that go hand-in-hand with the hardware package, the responsive support, and the vibrant community. To get back to chime's original question: I'd certainly recommend the NerdKit as an efficient, hands-on crash course in electronics. Fun too.
ambiate 16y ago
Out of the norm customer support is well worth the extra $40. I posted a small issue I was having with my nerdkit in reply to an arduino thread (when spark fun had its free day). That same day: I received a reply on HN and my email resolving the issue. There's a decent community. There's a pdf that goes through the basics of electronics, but also has hands on exercises. I can buy a washing machine for $400, but why not toss in the extra $90 for the warranty/support for the years to come? I found EE to be too expensive for my tastes. I was working on an idea with the WiiMote presentation fundamentals as my core. Few hundred infrared leds + UV detectors + computer = awesome pc game!