Feeling utterly violated...

[Impaler]

All this talk about supply/demand/overhead/production cost etc, may be true... but it still makes me wish I'd have never opened the thing up lol

[Peter Snowberg]

There's a LOT of labor in the construction process unless all the components (pots, jacks, switches, etc) are on the same board.

Remember the rest of the steps too like buying, inventory management, testing, rework, packaging, shipping, sales, advertising, accounting, and the list goes on just about forever. The difference between hand stuffing a board and using a pick-n-place machine is only the tip of the iceberg.

It's a simple numbers game (with a TON of variables) and you need quantity to make it go.

I'm beyond amazed that as many people try to make pedals commercially as there are. I guess this also explains why most makers only last a few years (at most) before going under. There are exceptions, but not many in comparison to the number of makers at any given time.

For anybody that doubts this, try it yourself , but be ready to loose your shirt.

Take care,
-Peter

[Paul Marossy]

Point(s) well taken Peter.

But, it also depends on where the product is manufactured. Stuff made in Taiwan by relatively cheap labor (like BOSS) is going to cut down costs a great deal. That's one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is the sheer quantity of products you have to sell to make it a worthwhile expenditure. That's where the large corporations have the advantage. No mystery there.

If you're not in the category above, then you need some kind of gimmick. Things like "all of our amps are wired point-to-point using only the finest components available" or "our boxes are hand painted by so and so" or "we only use silver wiring in our amps because it is 7% more efficient than copper wiring is" or "so and so uses our product". I have a lot of respect for people like Z. Vex and the like. Small business is a tough world, especially in the fickle world of musicians!

It seems like the people who make the most money are the distributors who can mark the stuff up 200% or more.

[Jered]

smoguzbenjamin wrote,
     "True... But still $40 is a little over the top if you ask me. I can concieve the idea, buy parts and finish one in an afternoon... So why doesn't everyone give me $40 for my direct box?"

 Well there you go Ben, start crankin em' out and you won't have anymore money problems. Sell them from your website. Your young, get a head start. Its far to late for us old farts.  :^)
    Jered

[GuitarLord5000]

Just a thought, but I would pay more for a product that was hand produced by a reputable small businessman than mass produced by a company in most cases.  (Providing the quality of production is up to par.)  For those of you who dislike the way companies do business, your best action is simply to not buy their product.  You'll probably pay more for a hand crafted product, but it is usually a direct reflection of the work involved in putting out the product.  Not to mention that in most cases, customer service is tremendously better.

[Doug H]

While I agree with R.G. and Peter about the challenges of trying to make a living running a small business I would like to add a caveat or two.

I think a lot of the stuff that gets discussed about this is based on the idea of making a full-time job out of this and (eventually, anyway) quitting your day job.  This makes sense, given that this advice is usually offered in reaction to the inaccurate perception that "those booteekers are livin' large and their prices are over-inflated". Thus, it's a good reality-check for people to understand that, while some of these folks do go on to bigger & better things, many more fail due to many of the same reasons a lot of small businesses and startups fail- mathematics, unrealistic expectations, poor business plan, economics, etc..., and in the end it's just a hell of a lot of hard work with no guarantees...

That being said, I think it is viable to approach this on a part-time basis. You can start pretty informally and build slowly over time. Build and sell a few to your friends. If they like your stuff and you enjoy it, try selling a few through a local music store. Or build a couple and offer them on Ebay. Seems to me you could start pretty slowly, keeping your investment in it low, keeping the business side informal, and go at your own pace. You will find out if 1)it is something you enjoy, 2)your product(s) have any demand, etc. Then you can consider whether you want to expand and pursue it on a more formal level. In that case, you will have to seriously consider the issues R.G. and Peter have already mentioned. Maybe you enjoy it as a small, informal activity and want to stay at that pace. Or maybe you decide it's not your cup of tea. In that case, you are not out much and have probably accumulated a nice parts stash for doing your own hobby projects.

In any case, there are a lot of different ways of looking at this that we haven't discussed yet. I see a lot of shades of gray in how you could approach it.

Doug

[Paul Marossy]

I agree with you Doug. That would probably be my approach, if I didn't have a family to support. Time is my most precious resource these days...
and getting sleep is one of my top priorities. But, if I were still single with "no life" like I was a five years ago, it could be a real possibility. But back then, I had absolutely no interest in electronics, at least at the DIY level. Oh well.   :?

[gtrmac]

I have to say that it's ironic that someone who call himself "Impaler" would feel violated by finding out that his passive DI has few parts inside.

I agree with the idea that it's tough to keep a small business running and would like to add that the stomp box market is relatively tiny and crowded with competition. I would love to quit my day job but with two boys in private school this is not an option at this point.

Anyway, $40 for a DI is only slightly high in my opinion. If it has a well designed transformer it could actually be a good price. Have you ever priced a Jensen transformer for a DIY DI for instance?