3 ms·

I want one badly, but this is simply too expensive. $100 for that little device in plastic and $300 (3x more) for it in metal? Outrageous.

by gsibble 13y ago

marssaxman 13y ago
Think of this pitch as being less like a normal retail product and more like a self-organized kickstarter campaign. You are not paying for the device, you are paying for their living expenses and prototyping costs while they spend the months it will take to get the device ready for production. Hardware engineering is an unbelievably slow and tedious process if you are used to software development. On top of that, the material costs can be substantial. It is not uncommon for the cost of a pre-production prototype to be 50-100x that of the final manufactured version. I happen to be working on a design for a small electronic device in my free time. It is a much simpler device than the Trezor, and the ultimate manufacturing cost per unit will be around $5, despite its simplicity, because I'll only be making a few dozen of them. Cost for the first prototype will be close to $90, accounting for my time at $0/hr. If I get it wrong, I will have to redesign it and build another one. Hardware is expensive.
- ruswick 13y ago
  >Think of this pitch as being less like a normal retail product and more like a self-organized kickstarter campaign. You are not paying for the device, you are paying for their living expenses and prototyping costs while they spend the months it will take to get the device ready for production. This is why I'm not as infatuated with crowdfunding as everyone else. Because individual customers are supposed to supplant traditional investors, initial costs are much higher for customers because we have to subsidize research, cost-of-living, etc. Moreover, we also incur all of the risk (which is formidable, considering the volume of failed projects and the ubiquity of scams on many crowdfunding sites). I don't understand why I, as a consumer, would prefer a system where all of the cost and all of the risk are precipitated onto me, instead of onto the country's investment apparatus. Better all these guys spend some rich VC's money than spend mine.
wmf 13y ago
It's the Tesla Roadster of Bitcoin wallets. Somebody's gotta buy it for the price to come down. (Heck, I've got nothing better to do with my BTC.)
- ruswick 13y ago
  Convert it to USD and buy shit?
rplnt 13y ago
The metal one is CNC machined according to this http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1gc5xh/trezor_presales_just_started/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1gc5xh/trezor_presa... hence the price.

I want one badly, but this is simply too expensive. $100 for that little device in plastic and $300 (3x more) for it in metal? Outrageous.

by gsibble 13y ago

I want one badly, but this is simply too expensive. $100 for that little device in plastic and $300 (3x more) for it in metal? Outrageous.

marssaxman 13y ago

Think of this pitch as being less like a normal retail product and more like a self-organized kickstarter campaign. You are not paying for the device, you are paying for their living expenses and prototyping costs while they spend the months it will take to get the device ready for production. Hardware engineering is an unbelievably slow and tedious process if you are used to software development. On top of that, the material costs can be substantial. It is not uncommon for the cost of a pre-production prototype to be 50-100x that of the final manufactured version. I happen to be working on a design for a small electronic device in my free time. It is a much simpler device than the Trezor, and the ultimate manufacturing cost per unit will be around $5, despite its simplicity, because I'll only be making a few dozen of them. Cost for the first prototype will be close to $90, accounting for my time at $0/hr. If I get it wrong, I will have to redesign it and build another one. Hardware is expensive.

ruswick 13y ago
>Think of this pitch as being less like a normal retail product and more like a self-organized kickstarter campaign. You are not paying for the device, you are paying for their living expenses and prototyping costs while they spend the months it will take to get the device ready for production. This is why I'm not as infatuated with crowdfunding as everyone else. Because individual customers are supposed to supplant traditional investors, initial costs are much higher for customers because we have to subsidize research, cost-of-living, etc. Moreover, we also incur all of the risk (which is formidable, considering the volume of failed projects and the ubiquity of scams on many crowdfunding sites). I don't understand why I, as a consumer, would prefer a system where all of the cost and all of the risk are precipitated onto me, instead of onto the country's investment apparatus. Better all these guys spend some rich VC's money than spend mine.

wmf 13y ago

It's the Tesla Roadster of Bitcoin wallets. Somebody's gotta buy it for the price to come down. (Heck, I've got nothing better to do with my BTC.)

ruswick 13y ago
Convert it to USD and buy shit?

rplnt 13y ago

The metal one is CNC machined according to this http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1gc5xh/trezor_presales_just_started/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1gc5xh/trezor_presa... hence the price.