Why are wheelstands so expensive?

Is there a good reason for this?

Minimum price for one is like $130, and that's for one without a seat.

Guess I'm stuck with 2x4s until the prices become reasonable. My current stand works fine and was built entirely for free. but I splurged and spent $1.50 on spray paint.

I just feel like some of the real wheel stands would be way more solid, it's a shame that they've always been out of my price range.
 
I have seen some laptop stands made into wheelstands with very little fabrication. I can't find them now, but they used the keyboard holder for the wheel deck and took the laptop holder/platform off and used it for the pedal plate, which strenghtened it overall, if I remember. Took the wheels off.

It was a Walmart brand, under $40. It was quite impressive. ;)
 
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Most places that sell wheel stands probably sell full seat rigs as well. So they'll try and make the price difference between the two as small as possible, to make it seem like it's worth spending that little bit extra to get the full rig.
 
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No reason they should be this expensive. Take the Wheel Stand Pro for example, few pieces of metal and tubing. Distributor in Texas probably pays $80 or so from manufacturer and sells them for what, $165. I think they are way overpriced for what you get.
 
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Guys, really....

People assume buisnesses make masses on products, and if you work on the cost of raw materials ONLY it might work that way, however, they have to invest £1000's in tooling, pay for out of house processes, consumables, TAX, faulty items from suppliers that are too cheap to return (adds up over a year), DEVELOPMENT COSTS! advertising costs, phones, paper, internet, website building and maintenance, electricity, gas, water, RATES, premises, WAGES (they dont work for free, do you?) and a whole host of other costs.......... and this assumes they have no EMPLOYEES

OH and BUSINESS is also supposed to make a reasonable profit LOL! Add to the fact as a manufacturer myself, I know all this and can also tell you I normally work up to 16hrs a day often 7 days a week! The SMALLER businesses such as those who supply niche markets like simracing work hard for it :)
 
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Guys, really....

People assume buisnesses make masses on products, and if you work on the cost of raw materials ONLY it might work that way, however, they have to invest £1000's in tooling, pay for out of house processes, consumables, TAX, faulty items from suppliers that are too cheap to return (adds up over a year), DEVELOPMENT COSTS! advertising costs, phones, paper, internet, website building and maintenance, electricity, gas, water, RATES, premises, WAGES (they dont work for free, do you?) and a whole host of other costs.......... and this assumes they have no EMPLOYEES

OH and BUSINESS is also supposed to make a reasonable profit LOL! Add to the fact as a manufacturer myself, I know all this and can also tell you I normally work up to 16hrs a day often 7 days a week! The SMALLER businesses such as those who supply niche markets like simracing work hard for it :)
Well said! My wheelstandpro is worth every penny....almost $200 with shipping. (I bought an extra wheel mount to fit a backup wheel.) The day I got that stand, my lap times improved, as I was more comfortable, and could play longer.
Like Senad said, it is a niche market as well.
 
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just try making something it see how long it takes..
I had to make 60 euros worth an hour for me to be classed as proffitable for my boss... Fabricator welder mig, tig, stick, gas. and am fully verse with most machine shop tools and equipment
... and there no way i could make a wheel stand pro for under 200 euros if i had to make all the parts and then spray it ..and i do this for a living.. mass production of components by a group of people brings the cost down but you talking hundreds of each part.

We all think i doesn't take long and i have often thought about doing it as a side line in spare time ... i can make something for my self no problem, time is not important only material costs. So i can take lots of time to make something over 3 weeks in my dinner hour... but put it into production id be making a loss on each one made...

I had a full machine shop to play with at work cnc banks to saw machines. just try drilling 4 x 12mm diameter holes in a 30mm diameter tube correctly with a hand drill...You may drill the holes but will they be in line and sit flat when assembled...
I looked at building my own rig but looking at the plans for what i wanted 30 hours +(each component was dawn) it was cheaper to buy one that was pre made for me..
i would of spent many weeks making it in my spare time when all i had to do was work 25 hours overtime and it was paid for ...that a 360 pound rig for example..

I know these things seem expensive but as what was stated above by other posts, its cheap when you think about it logically...
 
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just try making something it see how long it takes..
I had to make 60 euros worth an hour for me to be classed as proffitable for my boss... Fabricator welder mig, tig, stick, gas. and am fully verse with most machine shop tools and equipment
... and there no way i could make a wheel stand pro for under 200 euros if i had to make all the parts and then spray it ..and i do this for a living.. mass production of components by a group of people brings the cost down but you talking hundreds of each part.

Chain production helps, but when I look at the wheel stand pro, I bet 90% of the pieces come pre-made from some Chinese factory, so yes, chain produced, I doubt they make each part themselves.

If I see the wheelstand pro, 164$
url


I notice that most of the fundamental parts are not far from this, which costs 30$ (and probably has more metal weight).
41A9cUbnB9L.jpg


There are 134$ of difference. Yes, the garment rack is cheapo quality as hell, but you can double the price of it and still 100$ cheaper.

You can also compare the prices of racing seats and find that a plastic padded with foam and covered in acrylic is more expensive than many leather armchairs.

It all adds up to: the market for racing rigs its small and not very competitive, pound for pound and piece for piece wheelstands are expensive.
 
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Chain production helps, but when I look at the wheel stand pro, I bet 90% of the pieces come pre-made from some Chinese factory, so yes, chain produced, I doubt they make each part themselves.

If I see the wheelstand pro, 164$
url


I notice that most of the fundamental parts are not far from this, which costs 30$ (and probably has more metal weight).
41A9cUbnB9L.jpg


There are 134$ of difference. Yes, the garment rack is cheapo quality as hell, but you can double the price of it and still 100$ cheaper.

You can also compare the prices of racing seats and find that a plastic padded with foam and covered in acrylic is more expensive than many leather armchairs.

It all adds up to: the market for racing rigs its small and not very competitive, pound for pound and piece for piece wheelstands are expensive.


Again, as a manufacturer myself, I can say that the comparison is way off. The clothes stand is nothing like the same in materials / quality plus its open to a way bigger market anyway.

The big thing though is the manufacturing processes involved, cutting heavy plate steel, welding, all metal through joints, much thicker tubes. It might seem similar, but it just SEEMS that way. Believe me, IF I could make my products cheaper to be able to sell to a wider range of customers, but without affecting the quality, I would :) Any manufacturer would!
 
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The big thing though is the manufacturing processes involved, cutting heavy plate steel, welding, all metal through joints, much thicker tubes. It might seem similar, but it just SEEMS that way. Believe me, IF I could make my products cheaper to be able to sell to a wider range of customers, but without affecting the quality, I would :) Any manufacturer would!
I'm not so sure Bose feels the same way:)
 
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