5 ms·

See the comments below - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26905472 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26905472 ~$200 for a 6-piece sushi roll.

marricks 5y ago
Ok, well that's way less than thousands of dollars so it's a start! Not to mention, they probably haven't realized the economies of scale yet at all.
- intricatedetail 5y ago
  Exactly. Also if you decided to go on a boat and catch one yourself that easily could end up in thousands...
robotpony 5y ago
That's less bad than I thought the early pricing would be (and isn't far from the highest end sushi I've seen around the west coast here).
- ac29 5y ago
  Its an order of magnitude higher than traditional salmon nigiri would cost though ($2-3/piece in a restaurant).
  - justsid 5y ago
    Sure, but electric cars used to be insanely expensive too. And while still expensive, they’ve definitely become cheaper with more range. That is to say, lots of things start out being expensive, and then as they get scaled up and the process gets optimized, they become cheaper.
jimbokun 5y ago
Is there hope for some kind of law for the price steadily decreasing over time as efficiencies improve, like Moore's law for computer chips or the exponential increase of solar efficiency?
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  Sure, like with anything that goes into mass production. But before that happens, the process needs to be understood and not rely on rare ingredients, for which production also needs to scale up. Are there big suppliers of salmon stemcells?
- Symmetry 5y ago
  The industry term for how prices drop as you make more of something is the "learning curve".
  - WillPostForFood 5y ago
    I'd go with "economy of scale".
    - wizzwizz4 5y ago
      They're different things. I could build my own processor fab for probably around €100 000, and those things used to cost millions – but I'm not exploiting economies of scale. Rather, I can look up how to best do it instead of having to work it out myself, plus I have better other technology available (e.g. a laser cutter can be modified to make parts of it). I'd still have the problem of sourcing materials and disposing of all that toxic waste, though, which probably isn't a problem with the salmon.
      - WillPostForFood 5y ago
        If you can build your own processor fab today for €100 000, you are definitely exploiting economies of scale. It is possible because of the massive existing industry that's created the market for, and driven down the price of parts and tools and supplies that you need to put it together and run it. E.g., that inexpensive off the shelf laser cutter you need to buy.
        wizzwizz4 5y ago
        But that's not “how prices drop as you make more of something is the "learning curve"”.

marricks 5y ago

Ok, well that's way less than thousands of dollars so it's a start! Not to mention, they probably haven't realized the economies of scale yet at all.

intricatedetail 5y ago
Exactly. Also if you decided to go on a boat and catch one yourself that easily could end up in thousands...

robotpony 5y ago

That's less bad than I thought the early pricing would be (and isn't far from the highest end sushi I've seen around the west coast here).

ac29 5y ago
Its an order of magnitude higher than traditional salmon nigiri would cost though ($2-3/piece in a restaurant).
- justsid 5y ago
  Sure, but electric cars used to be insanely expensive too. And while still expensive, they’ve definitely become cheaper with more range. That is to say, lots of things start out being expensive, and then as they get scaled up and the process gets optimized, they become cheaper.

jimbokun 5y ago

Is there hope for some kind of law for the price steadily decreasing over time as efficiencies improve, like Moore's law for computer chips or the exponential increase of solar efficiency?

hutzlibu 5y ago
Sure, like with anything that goes into mass production. But before that happens, the process needs to be understood and not rely on rare ingredients, for which production also needs to scale up. Are there big suppliers of salmon stemcells?
Symmetry 5y ago
The industry term for how prices drop as you make more of something is the "learning curve".
- WillPostForFood 5y ago
  I'd go with "economy of scale".
  - wizzwizz4 5y ago
    They're different things. I could build my own processor fab for probably around €100 000, and those things used to cost millions – but I'm not exploiting economies of scale. Rather, I can look up how to best do it instead of having to work it out myself, plus I have better other technology available (e.g. a laser cutter can be modified to make parts of it). I'd still have the problem of sourcing materials and disposing of all that toxic waste, though, which probably isn't a problem with the salmon.
    - WillPostForFood 5y ago
      If you can build your own processor fab today for €100 000, you are definitely exploiting economies of scale. It is possible because of the massive existing industry that's created the market for, and driven down the price of parts and tools and supplies that you need to put it together and run it. E.g., that inexpensive off the shelf laser cutter you need to buy.
      - wizzwizz4 5y ago
        But that's not “how prices drop as you make more of something is the "learning curve"”.