I take a royalty for the products that I designed and prototyped for Stein. There are several. Its not a lot, but between them all it adds up to something. My work and ideas are not free. Without me, those product wouldnt exist. I doubt that you work for free either.
I suppose if they decided to breach our contract and rip me off, that would be a cost saving on the retail price for the end user. Cool. Then they could perhaps cut out the dealers and sell directly from the depo....that would cut out delivery cost too, not just the dealers markup. Maybe stop paying products liability thereafter. Set up a workshop, learn to fabricate aand powdercoat, and cut out the engineer altogether. At the end of all that the trolley would definitely be cheaper for the end user, but alot of bridges would be burnt and people after blood. There's a lot more involved than just producing this one product.
Out in the the field we get asked all the time why we charge what we do to take a tree down, the suggestion always is that it should be much lower. This is usually from people who have no idea how a business works and the costs involved of staying afloat. The manufacture and retail of arborist equipment is not much different....only, there's a lot more liability and red tape.
Doobin, in a sense you are right, but in the way you meant it. The Arb industry is very small, comparatively speaking. These are not house hold products being sold to the masses. To get things cheaper you have to do massive numbers....and then you're usually forced to go down the Chinese road to be competitive. I have a grappling hook that I paid $250 for. Trust me when you see the size and material involved you automatically think WTF ? But again, its a low production item, much less than the trolley Im guessing. I bought it for what it does though, for its ability to make my job easier, save time and make money. I wouldn't be without in in the current environment where I work.
Sorry for the drama Matty. Only you can really decide whether or not a trolley would be cost effective for your business. Its really what you make of it. Couple of recent pics.