Q: So how much does one really cost?
A: The actual cost for each unit may vary considerably depending on when you purchase a unit. The prices for parts (components) we use to build units changes dynamically over time and as a result of the volume we purchase. Since we buy many of our components from bulk distributors who sell many different types of parts, we use our total volume purchasing power to drive down costs to their lowest possible point. Since many pieces have a relatively flat price whether we build a few or very many units, the costs are quite often most affected by the volume of units produced in a single production run. The bottomline is that it costs us more per unit to make a few units (say 100) than it costs us to make many units (say 1000) since the setup and production line costs are basically the same for 100 as they are for 1000).
The major difference to an end user buying a single unit is that if a unit was from a lot of 100 or 1000 units, the 1000 unit lot is likely to be as much as 20% cheaper than the 100 units because the setup and production line costs are spread over the number of units produced and because the minimum purchase volume of some components and the price breaks we get for meeting a minimum purchase on a per-component basis is greater with the larger production run. It is possible for low production volumes to far exceed (double or triple) the per unit cost of high production volume runs.
The important factor for determining your actual cost per unit is a very difficult process on our side. We take our total costs to purchase products and very accurately evaluate our production and sales costs divided by the number of units in the particular production run then add $20 to that amount arriving at a price tag per unit.
Note that the final price you pay for a unit will be the actual COST + $20 (before audit) that we incur in producing and selling the unit. Since we take advance orders no more than 30 days in advance of a production run, we will have already established the costs from our vendors before your unit is built. The amount you are quoted for your unit when placing an advanced order should not increase, however, as a result of many factors, including building more units than initially planned for a run, your cost may actually go down! Since you are billed at the time of your order, you may receive a refund in the event that there is an appreciable (Greater than $1.00) difference between the quoted price and the final cost of the unit including transaction fees if any. Note that shipping charges are always completely separated from the cost of the unit. You may elect any of the prepaid shipping methods that we support (UPS, FedEx, US Mail, DHL). Note that units are shipped prepaid only.
Q: What does "target price" mean?
A: The target price is that price which we will try to keep the actual price from exceeding. Our current estimated target price for the units, depending on configration, range from about $699 to $799 USD in smaller production volumes.
