cost of leds

ok, flashlight newb checking in - I'm wondering why different bin leds cost more than others. Everywhere I look I see people offering various lights for sale with a stock bin led with an optional "upgrade" to some more desirable tint. Is it harder to make certain leds? Do they grow on special trees? Can they only be dug out of special rocks? It seems like they should all cost about the same (within the same voltage ranges, etc) to manufacture, does anyone have an explanation for the obvious disparity of costs?

Also, why is it always that nicer colors cost more? It's never cheaper for the whiter color...

I'm certainly not trying to complain or anything, this is just something that I've wondered for a while.

Thanks!

-Brian

It's like PC parts - You're paying for the technology, research and development. Although PC parts tend to drop faster in price than LEDs do.

I would love to get a red-orange, green and amber PR-LED for my Maglite, but I'm not paying 35 bucks a pop to do it.

High-bin LEDs are both less common and more desirable than the average bin. This is what makes them more expensive, not more costly materials or processes.

It's never cheaper for the whiter color...why? because everybody want's the best

Maybe this will help -

Manufacturers set up a production process for a technologically advanced LED emitter, and despite all their best efforts there is a slight variance in each and every unit. The chemicals, dyes, substrates, whatever interact in ways that just cannot yet be perfectly controlled. Therefore, even though they all light up, some of the emitters will simply be more desirable than others for tint and electrical performance.

What follows is pure economics. The manufacturer prices the better units higher than less desirable units so that demand will match their production output. After all, they've gotta make at least a little dough on those greenish stinkers!

I get the impression, though, that manufacturing processes are improving. It seems the LEDs today are bighter, whiter, and more uniform than they used to be. I think we can expect the bins to get more and more finely detailed until they become irrelevent, and every unit manufactured is practically identical.

thanks, I didn't realize that they don't make the "bad" bins on purpose. I thought they could just choose which one they wanted.