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Turntables, tonearms, phono preamps, SUT's and lastly cartridges.
My vote goes for cartridges....
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I would've guessed cartridges.
Maybe not strictly vinyl related, but what about cable? I see some absolutely insane prices on so-called "audiophile" wire.
I don't know about now but decades ago there were 1 cent sales with a turntable. Cartridges that retailed for $35 had costs of $5. I don't believe this is anywhere that today though. And even then the more a cartridge cost the less the mark up percentage wise. Cheap Shures were marked up multiple times. But the V15 was sort of normal; cost was about 60% of retail.
Pure water and a drop of detergent probably for $45. I would be surprised if the fluid costs 1 penny and the bottle and brush 1 dollar.
...and then switched back to Stylast.
I had gotten the Lyra as a Christmas gift. I felt guilty even asking for it. $45. Give me a break.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
... but I have to say, I actually hear a difference between this and LP#9 that I used to use when I first got my cartridge. Just a clearer, more revealing sound. But not only is it a high markup, it also applies to the brush very inefficiently so I'm guessing I only get to use half of it if you don't count the waste. It make me crazy but I'm hooked on the stuff. In combination with Zerodust before every listening session, it's really made my stylus last noticeably longer.... that is to say my Delos is holding up better than my Helikon did which was cleaned with the Magic Eraser and LP#9. Maybe the Delos is just a better stylus design but I stick with what I'm pretending works :)
I'm using LP#9 and the Magic Eraser and it keeps my stylus sparkling clean. I hadn't thought of trying anything else, but now you've got me thinking.
I am working on a Rek-O-Kut Rondine 2 (early belt drive) the thickness of the belt is critical and the ones I could get are too thick. I ground one down the the point where the speed is correct using some "ghetto" machining which involved the turntable itself and a Dremel. It was tedious and time consuming. I'm not sure that I could pay myself minimum wage and be under $30.
Phil
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Yes, but it's at the north end of the Copper River Highway.
When I sold gear at a local high end dealer back in the 80s, cartridges had the highest percentage of mark up (retailers profit).There's the manufacturer's profit margin, for which I have no idea.
Also, there's often a distributor or representative in between the manufacturer and the retailer who also gets a percentage....
Edits: 07/19/12
Really begs the question, highest markup on what?
If markup is based on raw material costs, labor or both. If both, what is labor worth. As noted below labor has to be marked up, in the US at least, aprox. 60% to include all payroll & labor related costs including taxes & benefits.
Once you include cost of labor the equipment that is hand made will cost the most just because the raw costs (including labor) are higher.
A better question may be what component produces the highest % return to the seller.
I think it's a crap shoot.
Opus 104
nt
$6.99 in 1968 translates to $43.37 in 2010. looks like LP's are behind the curve. Audiophile LPs ought to cost $100, in other words, twice or more what an ordinary LP costs. :)
Where did they cost that much in 1968? We paid just over $4 for them back then in the D.C. area.
Pop records that I bought on sale were cheap. And they went on sale every week so that was when I bought them. I didn't pay more than $6 for a pop album until the mid-70's. You could buy the #1 single every week for $0.69 at the record store!
nt
have you tried to make one of these yourself?
I think cartridges are expensive because they are "precious" components...and well, one doesn't sell that many cartridges, so, one has to make a living somehow...
I think of all these components, whether analogue or digital, and what it would take for me to make one of these things. If the answer is that "I can't make it no matter how hard I try" or "its not cost effective to make one" then, well, it's not too high of a mark up, is it for a component that you want and can't produce yourself. Think of it this way, let's say you make $50 an hour, and you think the company or boss is cheap because you deserve more! Well, that $50 gross wage they have to pay for you, plus benefits (health, dental, life) not to mention payroll taxes, etc...that's normally another 20-40% on top of your $50 that the company pays, so, now for every hour of your time spent at work, on the computer and these forums, the company is paying you roughly $65 - $75 an hour...
Now think, are our rates a high mark up????
YES!!!!
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