Commercial tax?

[Nutball]

An Echo DCS 5000 18" electric chainsaw costs $200 new, can make up to 200 4"x4" cuts on a 5Ah battery.

An Echo DCS 2500 12" electric chainsaw costs $430 new, can make up to 60 4"x4" cuts on a 2.5Ah battery.

Theoretically they have very similar durability and the same amount of engineering gone into both saws, but the 5000 will require more resources, therefore more production cost, to make the heavier, larger, more powerful saw. I really doubt it makes much difference in cost if they make and sell more 5000's than 2500's because they will make and sell a ton of each to sell globally. Enough that it should keep production cost per unit to a minimum.

So, are they just charging more for the model that is most likely to be used in a high production commercial setting to take advantage of your business' profits? Or do they have such good intentions that they want to discourage Joe Homeowner from buying the potentially more dangerous to use model, when he has likely had little to no chainsaw experience or safety training? Quite often it looks like tools intended for commercial use cost much more, not always because they are built tougher, but because they know they can get that much more money from someone who will use it to make money.

 

[lxskllr]

There's often stratification in product lines that don't pertain to cost of manufacture. In some cases(thinking of computers here), they'll physically cripple a part to sell it at a lower price point, therefore costing more money(trivial, but still) to produce the cheaper version. Basically, they charge more cause they can.

edit:
To expand on that a little, pros are less price sensitive than homeowners. A pro needs what they need, and they're gonna buy it regardless of (reasonable)cost. A homeowner will go elsewhere if he doesn't like the price, and a lower profit margin is better than no profit at all.

 

[Nutball]

The problem is how it adds up, and is, in my opinion, unnecessary. You are one of the top 3 chainsaw manufacturers, or one of the top (fill in the blank) commercial equipment companies, and you charge more just because you can, just because people buy your stuff to make money with it, when the consumer grade profit margin is sufficient? Like as if life isn't hard enough on the working class. A chainsaw isn't so bad, but when they start overcharging on every piece of equipment, then you have to start buying things with loans, which means they cost even more because of the interest, then you have taxes on top. How about being the top saw manufacturer, have the most sales, and still charge double what number 3 charges when number 3's quality and performance is only marginally less.

They can sell a lot for a little, or a little for a lot. I imagine it adds up similarly in the end, or at least not different enough to justify the greater burden put on the businesses that use the products. Commercial users should actually be getting a discount. Joe H just needs one saw every 20 years, while a small tree company may need at least 2-3 every 2-5 years. At least some do offer quantity discounts, but the discounts still don't add up. the DCS2500 would still be around $150 more than the bigger more powerful 5000. Echo wants a $5000 order for 20% off, Husqvarna is content with 3 saws, Stihl used to offer a good discount on 10-20 saws, or basically a $20,000 order (yeah, like that helps), but now they've excluded saws from such discounts, if I remember correctly.

 

[lxskllr]

The way I see it, bigger equipment, and stuff like climbing gear is somewhat a niche market. They have to make their money where they can. It isn't stuff *everyone* buys. For the saws, and smaller power equipment. Echo is about the cheapest legit maker around. They already undersell the big two.

Stihl has the leading name. Whatever you think of their saws, they're top dog in mindshare. That commands a premium, sometimes *demands* it. The higher price communicates quality and luxury, and can stimulate sales. A lot is made of their prices, but they really aren't much more than Husky for a complete saw price. Parts seem to be a good bit more though.

It's all a business decision made by people that are trained to make those decisions. I'm not qualified to question them, but I don't think the small equipment(saws, cutters, whatever) are out of line for prices on the pro gear. It's all quality stuff that'll do a lot of work over its' useful life. It costs far less than the cheapest, most useless employee on the payroll.