Vexilar Price

[Truckie]

Can anyone explain to me why vexilars cost so much?

It seems like very basic electronics for the price.

Sorry for the rant, but I don't get it.

Trucke

[pushbutton]

They have a great historical track record as far as reliability, incredible branding due to no major slip ups from their pioneering days to present, and in turn have built a up great degree of loyalty amongst their customer base. Very understandable why people continue to choose what they are familiar with and trust….especially if the product performs at a high level. At this point people are still willing to pay a premium because of that. Not being a homer and do not own one….just saying

[Coryy]

If you compare the price of the Vex vs. Marcum, vs. Humminbird you will find that they are all very close.

You are also getting what you pay for. A high-end machine that will take your fishing to a new level.

You have to think of it as a one-time purchase that will last you a long long time. The technology is always improving, however the flasher technology at its core remains the same so you are not "out of Date" like you are with some of your soft water sonar units.

[Truckie]

Cory,

I guess you hit the nail on the head. The flasher technology has been around for years. I used to have a "Green Box" flasher about 30 years ago and it was about 5 years old when I bought it. I guess I thought that over the years the price would have come down by now. If you look at other electronics (T.V., phones, soft water sonars)they are getting better and cheaper in general. Flashers are kind of a dated technology. No disrespect, just saying.

Truckie

[Wes Ellis]

Bigboys Toyland has 269.99 FL-8 not to bad!

[Charlie Mason]

Made my first Trap championship with an FL-8slt, made two more with it, then made another with the -8se when guys were breaking in the FL-18 with the first split zoom model on the market. Both those -8's are being used everyday by friends on Saginaw Bay and Lake St. Clair, over a decade of use and still going strong.

Since then with FL-20's and -22 HD's with dual split mode, made more NAIFC championships and this year looking forward to continuing that tourney tradition with the FLX-28 and its improvements. Point is in fourteen year on one trail or another, have seen nothing hold up like a Vexilar, and we beat the heck out of them because time is the most important factor, so we push the speeds to the limits.

Not going into other brands by specific, but have seen numerous transducer failures, things breaking inside the units and some general breakdowns. Honestly believe Vex makes the most durable units, and as leaders in the industry, always offering newer and better options within their unit lineup.

As far as pricing goes, you would be shocked by just how small of a company Vex really is, even with their incredible reputation, they do not produce the numbers like the phones, TV's or open water units to where they can buy the bulk components and get the pricing like those other items. I get what you are saying Truckie, but the comparison isn't a fair one. Look at the FL-8, 14 yrs ago it would have cost you $279, it has only gone up 20 bucks since then. Compare that to inflation and giving their work force a fair wage over the same time period.

As far as the dated tech, you can look at the -8's and maybe even the -18's now because they have been around so long, but look at the advancements from the FL-20's on up, and they have improved the tech by leaps and bounds. Why would they make improvement on such an old concept, simply because nothing beats a flasher when it comes to jigging and ice fishing. Some will even notice that I haven't mentioned the advancements Vexilar has pushed through the ceiling when it comes to transducer technology.

great question, hope I was able to give you a good answer as to why quality counts

[Truckie]

Thanks for the replies. Not trying to start anything just curious.

You are correct when you speak of quantities that are purchased for components on other products and I guess the price has not gone up that much.

Truckie

[minky]

If you ever decide to get one you will never regret it.

My first fl 8 took my ice fishing to a whole new level!

[harvey lee]

If people are willing to pay the high prices every year, they will only continue to go up.

These elec units are out of sight for what they charge.

[Jdjulik]

It doesn't help that most people buy them and use the same one for 15+ years before upgrading... This means they don't get a lot of recycled customer other than those just looking to upgrade.

[mainbutter]

supply v demand. There's a niche for lower cost units and the market is just waiting for someone to fill it.

[Corey Bechtold]

1) Quality

2) Durability

3) Performance

4) Dependability

5) Ease of use

6) PROVEN

[bobbymalone]

I don't think it's supply and demand. I think it's mostly a niche market where they charge what research has determined people will pay.

I also think there being really only three players makes it easier to keep prices static if not inch them upward with every new "feature" rather than some sort of legit competition driving prices down

.

[pushbutton]

Knowing absolutely nothing of industry profit margins, will play the devils advocate here and say there is really not enough demand. Locally …sure, but ultimately not enough cold weather real estate to open it up to substantially bring down the price.

[Coryy]

Let me throw this one at you Pushbutton, The vex is an awesome open water tool as well. There are many people using them to put fish in the boat both for recreation and for tournaments. Guys like them for vertical jigging for sauger and walleye as well as locating schools of crappie that are suspended. It just take a few extra components and your flasher is a year round unit.

I know guys that fish deeper lakes from boat docks during the summer and kill the panfish. Just set the unit on the dock drop in your ducer and now you can hammer those crappie that are hanging in and around the docks.

Also I may have not explained myself very well about the technology. The flasher technology itself doesn't change much, but the options, capabilities, and transducers all have made huge leaps and bounds. With the split zoom, weed modes, interference rejection, and fine gain adjustments the Vexilars of today have taken advantage of this upgraded technology and have brought fishing to a whole new level.

I don't want to sound like an ad for Vexilar, but I am going to anyways. I have run a bird unit and it was nothing compared to the Vex units I run.

[Lusid]

Definitely not supply and demand.

There are three maybe four competitors in the market. As a result they can dictate their pricing.

So back to your question - why is it so high?

Pretty simple - low competition in the market = high prices.

[Corey Bechtold]

When I bought my FL-18 I think I paid around 489.00 for it. That was in 1998. I used it till I bought a FL-20 since my kids needed a locator as they often came fishing with me. So I used it, Bailey used it, Brooke used it, now Cole is using it AND in Summer I use it in my boat!

So my question back to all of you is "Was it worth the money?"...

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[nofishfisherman]

I'd agree with it being a competition issue. All the big players charge high prices because they can. If you want a new flasher you have to go with 1 of 3 companies and all of their prices are in the same ball park for comparable units.

I am guessing that the lower end units like the FL8 could probably be sold for a lower price and still provide a healthy margin for vexilar. However, that's not likely to happen because they don't want to create a large disparity in pricing between the different levels of the product (FL8, 12, 18, 20, etc). If they offer the FL8 at something like $150 and then still have to charge $450 for the FL12 it becomes too difficult to upsell someone to the FL12 or other higher end units. Its hard to convince someone that the FL12 is worth 3x the price. If they keep the pricing higher on the FL8 they enjoy a higher margin on the product and they also help create more sales for the FL12 and FL18 as well.

[rockman]

When I bought my FL-18 I think I paid around 489.00 for it. That was in 1998. I used it till I bought a FL-20 since my kids needed a locator as they often came fishing with me. So I used it, Bailey used it, Brooke used it, now Cole is using it AND in Summer I use it in my boat!

So my question back to all of you is "Was it worth the money?"...

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

Absolutely. I bought my FL-18 for quite a bit less than that during a clearance-closeout. I still have it for open water use, and as a back up hard water unit. I will use it until it doesn't work anymore. It was definitely worth it.

[Lusid]

When I purchased the FLX28, I was going to sell the FL18, but I kept it for backup. Plus my GF uses it now.