Do you think electronics cost too much?

[Turfwrench]

As I sit and watch my big screen tv and think about what I paid for it, I ponder why marine electronics seem to cost well above that. We have televisions in plasma and liquid crystal in a magnitude of sizes, computors that can do virtually anything for us, phones that keep us in contact anywhere and apps that do amazing things on those phones. The price of these electronics are in reality quite affordable. Now on the other hand lets look at marine electronics. The bigger the screen the higher the price, much more so than other electronics. So the manufacturers make a basic model with a small screen and a base price, add a couple bells and a few more dollars, add a couple more whistles and a few more dollars, add a larger screen and bam.......big dollars. Just doesn't seem right or on par with the price of other electronics. Yep, I would love a nice large screen for my plotter and fishfinder. If the cost between screen size does not create such a huge gap in price, why so in marine electronics??

So the poll goes on how you feel the prices are. Feel free to add your opinions too.

[pbrktrt]

Your couch takes more of a beating than a TV. Marine electronics have to be built very tough to withstand the environment they are used in. That reliability that we expect, costs a little more.

[Paulywood]

Plus, there is a lot less volume in marine electronics than TV's.

[Nailer]

Every thing cost to much these days.

[Priority1]

What is available to us amazes me. It wasn't too long ago that only commercial vessels could afford the stuff we have on our rigs today.

[Rodm]

I voted affordable, but would also say I find what I want is to high! You can get some great affordable stuff that does a lot more, a lot better than what I started out with. If you want the best, the state of the art, the newest gadgets you'll always pay a premium.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Bill, I agree, but I see both sides of the coin too. I just have written it off to the usual reason, it's "marine" grade, so charge double or triple. The costs to make this "china mfg." stuff, is way lower than 25 years ago, even with advanced technology. However, the profit motive has quadrupled since 25 years ago, so go figure. Maybe someday......still waiting after 35 years.

[sherman51]

im sorry but i believe anything to do with having fun coats way to much. buy anything for a boat and the price is jacked way up. if you can find the same part for a car or truck it will be 1/3 the price for the part for the boat. same thing for an rv, you get something for an rv it will be 1/3 the price if you can find it at an auto parts store for a truck. marine electronics are able to charge just whatever they think the market can bear. my depthfinder/gps has a 8" screen. i paid almost 2 grand for it. i could have got about the same thing with a 4" screen for around 700.00. so yes they set the price where they can get the most money. now i admit there is alot of money spent on research and development. but it never seems like they make alot of changes in one year. they just add alittle something each year so they can jack the price up alittle and get us to upgrade our units.

my depthfinder/gps was a major investment for me. so even tho it has been upgraded a few times now, i am stuck with my old unit untill it just craps. but as i spent about 4 times what i could really afford when i bought mine it still does what i need it to do. it shows the fish it shows the thermocline it shows me the borders and it shows me where i caught fish in the past. and when and if this one quits before im ready to quit, i will probably have to buy something cheaper the next time as i dont work anymore and have to live on a small fixed income.

go get a good 5000 to 7000 watt generator for home back up. a good one is going to cost around 800.00 to 1200.00 go get one for an rv or boat, your looking at 4000.00 to 5000.00. so everything is set up where if you want to play you pay. the marina where i just had my boat worked on charges 75.00 per hour. the rv shop where i had to have my generator fixed charges 80.00 per hour. the shop where i get my auto repairs done charges 45.00 per hour.

when they were working on my generator after the 1st couple of things they said would fix it, they started giving me the part numbers for the parts i needed. i went on ebay and bought the same parts for hundreds less than there parts. they wanted like 480.00 for a voltage regulator, i got one off ebay for 260.00. that didnt fix it either, they then said it was the stator. it was going to cost around 1100.00 with them. i got the same part number from ebay for 750.00.

i just had alot of parts put on my boat. the water hose from the outdrive was like 23.00. all it was is about 1' of heater hose. they changed the shift cable and bellows and gimbel bearing and u joints. then when they pulled the outdrive the drive coupling was bad. so i had to replace that. they gave me the bill, it costed me 2018.00 for parts and labor. i looked on ebay and could have saved around 500.00 for all the parts. and this is for the same part numbers. but im just not able to do the work anymore. so i had to pay there prices.

so its not just our electronics, its anything to do with having fun. they know they have most of us over a barrel and they know we are going to buy something. the people that can afford the big screens are going to pay for them, and everybody elce is going to spend as much or alittle more than they can really afford.

sherman

[floorboy]

Very few times have I ever been worried about if my big screen tv quit my life could be in jeopardy. At the same time very few times have I ever been worried that if my plotter quits my life could be jeopardized but at the same time thousands of dollars are at stake everytime we go out in the dark, fog, rain through breakwalls, bouys, narrow channels which impairs our vision enough that we could very likely wreck alot of stuff if not endanger somebodies life. It's just nice to know that it will work when I want/need it to. Put an LCD/plasma tv in a 20 ft boat and run it 10 miles in a 3 ft chop and see how long it lasts. I have never had any major problems with any of my electronics that couldn't be traced back to something I more than likely did to it. I have what could probably be considered mid-grade electronics at best considering what is out there. (1197si & lcx37) I will pay a little more next time I upgrade more than likely.

[sherman51]

Very few times have I ever been worried about if my big screen tv quit my life could be in jeopardy. At the same time very few times have I ever been worried that if my plotter quits my life could be jeopardized but at the same time thousands of dollars are at stake everytime we go out in the dark, fog, rain through breakwalls, bouys, narrow channels which impairs our vision enough that we could very likely wreck alot of stuff if not endanger somebodies life. It's just nice to know that it will work when I want/need it to. Put an LCD/plasma tv in a 20 ft boat and run it 10 miles in a 3 ft chop and see how long it lasts. I have never had any major problems with any of my electronics that couldn't be traced back to something I more than likely did to it. I have what could probably be considered mid-grade electronics at best considering what is out there. (1197si & lcx37) I will pay a little more next time I upgrade more than likely.

i pretty much agree with what you say. i have the lcx 38c hd and it has took a pounding. but still it only has a 8" screen, and i paid almost 2000.00 for it new. i think that is alittle high when the same technology has been there for a few years now. that doesnt mean it hasnt been worth what i paid for it. if i couldnt replace it with something as good as it is i wouldnt sell it for the same price i paid for it about 10 yrs ago. but i still think they overcharged for it. just my opinion. they could drop the price and still make alot of money. but alot more people would buy something like mine if they only costed a few hundred, then there would be no market for the smaller cheaper units. they have to have some way to keep people buying the smaller cheaper units. and the only way to do that is keep the prices higher on the larger units. and it works pretty good, we all just buy the best and biggest we can afford. it took me a few yrs to justify spending the money for my unit. i worked 70 to 80 hrs a week for along time before i bought mine. i paid every dime of it with overtime money. so i hope it never brakes down. i would be lost with one of those 4" or 5" screens,LOL.

sherman