Wonder how much to manufacture a flashlight.

[dealgrabber2002]

After seeing a couple of clones (new one being EZAA from DX) for ~$13. The original is about ~$50(???). I know the circuit & quality is different, but that's a pretty big gap. It makes me wonder how much does it cost to product a flashlight (not the custom ones).

 

[Marduke]

FYI that "clone" is just a single mode twisty that does NOT function like the original.

 

[yellow]

considering You have to order three "clones" to get one really working light
(because 1st dies very quickly, 2nd else dies later or has crappy output/tint),
getting the "expensive" original is cheaper - on the long run

 

[dealgrabber2002]

Yea. I don't usually buy clones.

 

[dealgrabber2002]

FYI that "clone" is just a single mode twisty that does NOT function like the original.

Thanks for the info. I did miss that.

 

[kelmo]

Depends on where you build your factory!

 

[dealgrabber2002]

Depends on where you build your factory!

CH made INA

 

[bansuri]

I wouldn't dismiss a flashlight based on country of origin. I'd rather every light be made in the USA but that's not happening.
Had some pretty good clones that still work every day at the shop, I've moved on to greener pastures but they're still working.

 

[Cataract]

CH made INA

So is Fenix BTW

 

[xenonk]

I'd be surprised if the total cost of some Ultrafire clone of a 6p exceeded $8. The materials are not expensive wholesale, and Chinese labour is also cheap.

The flashlights themselves don't cost much to make at all, but it's not like anybody can actually afford to sell at cost when there's overhead to cover. They wouldn't be able to afford r&d to design anything, couldn't provide a warranty and would go out of business in short order. Build quality tends to be inconsistent at very low price points as well.

The same holds true for most of the things you buy, not just flashlights.

 

[HELL LIGHT]

I'd be surprised if the total cost of some Ultrafire clone of a 6p exceeded $8. The materials are not expensive wholesale, and Chinese labour is also cheap.

The flashlights themselves don't cost much to make at all, but it's not like anybody can actually afford to sell at cost when there's overhead to cover. They wouldn't be able to afford r&d to design anything, couldn't provide a warranty and would go out of business in short order. Build quality tends to be inconsistent at very low price points as well.

The same holds true for most of the things you buy, not just flashlights.

In order for the Chinese manufacturer to stay in business and make a profit. They have to meet certain standard and have a demand for their products. So I would not consider them cheap knock-off if they can sell them in this country.

 

[xenonk]

.....

 

[Solscud007]

Manufacturing costs for a flashlight is actually rather inexpensive. Take Surefire for example. Once their machines are programmed, they just crank out 6Ps with very little cost. However the real money was spent on tweaking the program for the machines. Prototypes and redesigning the program for the CNC machines involves very skilled and educated workers. Then there are the electrical engineers working on the circuitry. Lots of salary and wages being spent. Look at a simple ford focus. Why is it only $13k when a bmw 5 series is 3-4x more expensive? Quality. Time and money spent on qualty control from step one of the design and manufacturing process.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

I'm going to agree on the quality control ("Assurance, because we assure quality, we don't control (limit) it") being a huge price factor. Let's say that you need a widget to be 1.000 +/- .005. Every widget you make costs you the same, but not all of them are within that range. What about Mr. 1.006 - Is that good enough to put in your product, given a certain increased chance of failure? Can I sell the crummy widgets to a less reputable manufacturer, or to big-box stores under a different brand? Those decisions contribute to much higher manufacturing costs than you'd expect; and also "cheap" versions of inconsistent medium quality.

 

[Marduke]

I'm going to agree on the quality control ("Assurance, because we assure quality, we don't control (limit) it") being a huge price factor. Let's say that you need a widget to be 1.000 +/- .005. Every widget you make costs you the same, but not all of them are within that range. What about Mr. 1.006 - Is that good enough to put in your product, given a certain increased chance of failure? Can I sell the crummy widgets to a less reputable manufacturer, or to big-box stores under a different brand? Those decisions contribute to much higher manufacturing costs than you'd expect; and also "cheap" versions of inconsistent medium quality.

Something most people don't consider. Mass produced lights for example have a very low scrap rate. I imagine Mag's for example are <1%, probably MUCH lower. Many of CPF's favorite brands are not mass produced, but are made in limited production batches. Smaller batches means higher R&D and QC costs per unit. This also means higher scrap rates.

In the industry I work in, where there is no such thing as "mass produced", the EXTREMELY high tolerances for an acceptable product sometimes means scrap rates of >75%.

 

[HELL LIGHT]

Something most people don't consider. Mass produced lights for example have a very low scrap rate. I imagine Mag's for example are <1%, probably MUCH lower. Many of CPF's favorite brands are not mass produced, but are made in limited production batches. Smaller batches means higher R&D and QC costs per unit. This also means higher scrap rates.

In the industry I work in, where there is no such thing as "mass produced", the EXTREMELY high tolerances for an acceptable product sometimes means scrap rates of >75%.

You get what you paid for and if you want it cheap the quality control is going to be cheap. This is the reason why Surefire has such a huge market back in China. People who has money would rather pay more for Surefire instead of the domestic made flashlights.