Typhoon H - Further price drop

Gurusonwheels · Dec 30, 2016

PatR said:
Based on the above I assume that goes for things like a DJI Phantom or Inspire? If someone had a desire to review a history of price drops, price undercutting, and new model releases I propose that company is a good place to start... Your comprehension of business appears woefully shallow, and your competitive statement carries no logic.

Business is about making money. A consumer business has silly things like cost to margin factors working all the time. Most successful manufacturing businesses have a pretty high selling price compared to the actual production cost, leaving them considerable room to move with pricing. While interest and demand is high so is the margin. If interest or demand drops the margin has room to move in order to increase interest. Then we have the inventory factor to contend with. Inventory for the Christmas holiday season is increased to assure dealers have stock on the shelves to meet customer demands. Will the season be solid or soft? You target what you hope it will be but if you over estimate you have to clear the excess inventory, especially in states that levy an inventory tax for product you have left on the self.

Using the links to review the lower pricing I see a couple of them are high volume businesses that operate on low margins. Adorama and Beach buy in very large quantities, have lower product costs because of those quantities, and can sell off excess inventory below cost if desired without harm to them to clear out inventory. Another appears to be a business that may well be simply trying to capture a few post Christmas dollars.

There are a lot of reasons to reduce prices, and I suspect some Amazon sellers have a lot more inventory on hand than they want now the peak selling season is past. You might view some of them as "clearance sales", which occur with just about every kind of consumer oriented business there is. Don't buy a new car at the beginning of the model year only to get angry when dealers cut thousands off the prices at the end of the year.

Lol.

Photo · Dec 30, 2016

PatR said:
Based on the above I assume that goes for things like a DJI Phantom or Inspire? If someone had a desire to review a history of price drops, price undercutting, and new model releases I propose that company is a good place to start... Your comprehension of business appears woefully shallow, and your competitive statement carries no logic.

Business is about making money. A consumer business has silly things like cost to margin factors working all the time. Most successful manufacturing businesses have a pretty high selling price compared to the actual production cost, leaving them considerable room to move with pricing. While interest and demand is high so is the margin. If interest or demand drops the margin has room to move in order to increase interest. Then we have the inventory factor to contend with. Inventory for the Christmas holiday season is increased to assure dealers have stock on the shelves to meet customer demands. Will the season be solid or soft? You target what you hope it will be but if you over estimate you have to clear the excess inventory, especially in states that levy an inventory tax for product you have left on the self.

Using the links to review the lower pricing I see a couple of them are high volume businesses that operate on low margins. Adorama and Beach buy in very large quantities, have lower product costs because of those quantities, and can sell off excess inventory below cost if desired without harm to them to clear out inventory. Another appears to be a business that may well be simply trying to capture a few post Christmas dollars.

There are a lot of reasons to reduce prices, and I suspect some Amazon sellers have a lot more inventory on hand than they want now the peak selling season is past. You might view some of them as "clearance sales", which occur with just about every kind of consumer oriented business there is. Don't buy a new car at the beginning of the model year only to get angry when dealers cut thousands off the prices at the end of the year.

Agree to 100% with PatR. Don't forget that Yuneec excists only to earn money - not to satisfy us with drones! The drones are only their "profit tool"

RiverRunner · Dec 30, 2016

I don't understand how anyone can complain about lower prices. Competition is great.

liqrome · Dec 30, 2016

RiverRunner said:
I don't understand how anyone can complain about lower prices. Competition is great.

The only time I'd complain, if I bought a UAV for 2000, and then the next week they dropped it to 1400.. then I'd be a little upset..

PatR · Dec 30, 2016

Something very similar to that happened shortly after the H was first released

Without going into the specifics, the Typhoon H has been very effective at driving down the prices of competitive products. Overall, the lower the pricing of this stuff goes the closer they get to what their true value is

JKru · Dec 30, 2016

So from personal experience running a large R&D division myself and having worked with companies such as Intel and HP in the most recent times these guys cut projects all the time. Will Intel Realsense continue? Most likely not but the R&D behind it will (for Intel) Will Yuneec continue to invest? Probably but only if it means profitability. The Volume that Yuneec can produce for Intel is not worth their time, Yuneec is Intels beta tester. If you like the drone and you feel you got what you paid for than I would say be happy and ignore price drops.

Here is a interesting article:

Is the drone market bubble doomed to burst?

I don't think drones are a fad but don't expect that the Typhoon H will maintain value, be a market leader or even be around. Who knows could end up being worth a dollar but in the meantime I'm flying the $&@! Out of this thing

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Dariusmixich · Dec 30, 2016

One could argue that the H has been overpriced and is now finding its price target.

JKru · Dec 30, 2016

Dariusmixich said:
One could argue that the H has been overpriced and is now finding its price target.

Your probably correct. The materials they are using are inexpensive other than the remote. If I had to guess, and they are indeed manufacturing in mainland China, their BOM (build of Materials) is probably about $350 - $500. Then you have shipping (probably by boat, air is insane), support and admin costs. I am purely guessing break even on the H is around $600 without Intel involved. This is just a guess from my experience manufacturing with a couple OEMs in China.

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Rayray · Dec 30, 2016

Interesting that folks who have trouble flying their own drones are experts on big business and the future of everything from soup to nuts. The topic being price drops, and as a couple of you remarked, they seem to go with the drone territory. I paid 1900 bucks for my first, then saw it go to 1500 in a couple months. Did I like that? Could I have used the 400 somewhere else?

Pat mentioned "True Value". Many will say the marketplace value, but that is price. I believe true value is ONLY in the eyes of the beholder, his perspective. When I paid the 1900, I did it with open eyes, and was happy to make the decision. I may read reviews about a prospective purchase, but I make my own purchase decisions when I use my own funds. Those who only see the half-empty glass will see their half-empty happiness.

PatR · Dec 30, 2016

I tend to agree. When I referenced "true value" I was referring to manufacturing cost plus a reasonable mark up that permits profit to both maker and dealer. Individual value changes considerable depending on the use. Like you my first "camera" drone cost ~$1400.00, without a camera. One of the ones I built after that purchase had a frame price higher than the original H Pro price. The auto pilot cost even more.

I don't think RealSense is going to fade. In fact, Intel has it incorporated into the features and functions of a very high end commercial drone of German manufacture. How high end? Basic camera provided is a Sony A7 and gets more expensive from there.

Yuneec is not going anywhere but up. There will always be people that complain about a price they can't afford to pay, who desire entry into a game they can't afford to play. High end photography is not cheap, just as high end RC flight is not. Personally, I love seeing prices become lower. When I pay for something I did so thinking the price was fair at the time. Had I not thought that I would not have bought whatever it was. Even with an unshipped unit sitting at a dealer, I feel what I paid for what was ordered was fair. I can't wait long enough for all this stuff to become free

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Tuna · Dec 30, 2016

I'd hesitate to talk down the value of the H. Consider that, for the price, you get the equivalent of a GoPro camera, a full android tablet, two Wifi access points, an R/C controller, a gimbal, a Sat-Nav unit and a hexacopter, as well as a custom charger, extra adaptors and memory cards. The cost here is not just the individual parts, but the fact that they've got them all to work together, run custom software and broadcast decent quality video. That's a lot of work for a product that has a relatively short shelf life until it's obsolete. On top of that, with the industry moving as fast as it is, if they want to stay in the game they have to produce twice the camera, half the weight, increased reliability and more sophisticated software for the next model.

Now if you want to take the view that it's only worth a few bucks, fine - don't buy one. But don't expect that the company will be around to make the next new model that you 'would have bought' either. I read a lot of people who think that just because the parts can be found cheap on ebay that the end product magically should be cheap too. If that were true, try setting up your own company - you'll make a killing!

RayRay is also right. When you buy a product, buy it because you get what you wanted at that price. No-one is forcing you. There were a whole bunch of people around when the Typhoon first came out who were unhappy that they drone they'd just bought didn't peel grapes and produce Spielberg movies. You have to be realistic that it does only what you see in the reviews, that you can't guarantee upgrades or anything special in the future, and that you can be sure there will be a better model around soon enough. Buy with that in mind, and enjoy the drone you have.

JKru · Dec 30, 2016

I paid 1600, and happy I personally look for value which I personally feel I got; I got what I paid for. Intel realsense as a technology I predict won't be adopted as it is today but it will probably be adapted to other purposes perhaps continued drone use, who knows, IMHO on both Intel and HP cutting me off on chips they were developing for protective electronics they look for large volume usage probably laptops is my guess. Nothing guaranteed but in the meantime I'm enjoying the value I got. Hope I'm wrong and R&D continues.

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CraigCam · Dec 31, 2016

JKru said:
I paid 1600, and happy I personally look for value which I personally feel I got; I got what I paid for. Intel realsense as a technology I predict won't be adopted as it is today but it will probably be adapted to other purposes perhaps continued drone use, who knows, IMHO on both Intel and HP cutting me off on chips they were developing for protective electronics they look for large volume usage probably laptops is my guess. Nothing guaranteed but in the meantime I'm enjoying the value I got. Hope I'm wrong and R&D continues.

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Horizon hobby has stopped selling large camera drones with the Chroma being the last one and those are now mostly gone. They gave up because their own source was yuneec and the Q500s are a better platform. The H sealed the deal. I'd be more worried about the companies that have no commitment to customer service making it then Yuneec. DJI is strong but has its own issues and we need the choice and competition to push R and D at companies.

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Omar Dairky · Dec 31, 2016

No one beleives me a new H is on the way not sure if it will be called the H but a few things I was told is better motors and some more upgrades they werent able to say much but once revealed youre gonna say idroneudrone was right...they also stated either revealed at ces or soon after

HedoBum · Dec 31, 2016

I bought my H a month ago for $1299 and 2 weeks later I see that same store selling them for $899. I talked to the manager and he just told me to bring my receipt in and they'll reimburse me the difference. Lucky break.

Gurusonwheels · Dec 31, 2016

This had nothing to do with price be to cheap or etc . . only price drop is a indication that yuneec has no intention of growing the H with it modular design like everyone thought .

Paladin · Dec 31, 2016

You guys have to look at it this way.

I got mine when they first shipped. I paid $1300. I think that was the average price. It is for this discussion. i

i

That price linked by the OP is $799 but that is for the original version with the old ST16. Same as we got. So at first it seems we lost $500.

However look at it this way, the Pro version, in that same link, with RealSense is $1370, which is about $70 more that what I paid for my H.

So for $70 more than I paid originally you would gain the updated ST16 and RealSense.

Now if it costs say $70 to upgrade my ST16, adding the extra antennae, that would be a wash. Roughly. That is the only difference as far as I know.

So now adding the RealSense costs $300 right now, the price really only dropped about $300 if you look at it that way.

So I am also waiting for the realsense to drop even more then I will add it to mine. So if I can get that for $200 or so then I am actually not behind that much.

Yes I look at it that way. i

i

I understand the prices drop, it hurts a bit, but for me it is only because I never got to really fly mine aside from around my yard, so gained little. If I was able to fly it a lot out in a large field then I would have felt I got my money out of it.

So if you got it early and have flown it a lot then I think you already got the $300 price difference in enjoyment out of it. i

i

PatR · Dec 31, 2016

If Yuneec suddenly popped up with a new model they would only be following what has been common to the consumer drone market from the beginning, but bear in mind Yuneec has been doing what few others have done by continuously adding capabilities to an existing model.

Aside from 3DR, who are now gone, if you wanted a new feature or function you had to buy another model, or some App developed by an unaffiliated developer that links you to their server and whatever may reside within it. Yuneec has significantly expanded the H from what it was when first released. Even if a new model is released ask yourself if what you have serves the purpose you bought it for. If it does, and it should since you qualified it before buying, do you truly need another? What you have still fills the intended purpose.

These things are no more than tools for those half way serious about what they do and no one tool suits all jobs. Those that have been at photography awhile know this well. They have an assortment of tools to capture images in the manner they desire, just as a carpenter has different types of hammers for the jobs to be done.

No business remains in business by selling the same product forever. If they do those companies that provide something new periodically eclipse the old guard in short order.

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JKru · Dec 31, 2016

PatR said:
If Yuneec suddenly popped up with a new model they would only be following what has been common to the consumer drone market from the beginning, but bear in mind Yuneec has been doing what few others have done by continuously adding capabilities to an existing model.

Aside from 3DR, who are now gone, if you wanted a new feature or function you had to buy another model, or some App developed by an unaffiliated developer that links you to their server and whatever may reside within it. Yuneec has significantly expanded the H from what it was when first released. Even if a new model is released ask yourself if what you have serves the purpose you bought it for. If it does, and it should since you qualified it before buying, do you truly need another? What you have still fills the intended purpose.

These things are no more than tools for those half way serious about what they do and no one tool suits all jobs. Those that have been at photography awhile know this well. They have an assortment of tools to capture images in the manner they desire, just as a carpenter has different types of hammers for the jobs to be done.

No business remains in business by selling the same product forever. If they do those companies that provide something new periodically eclipse the old guard in short order.

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