Why do we see in Apple premium resellers or other mobile chain stores that sometimes iPhone cases or screen protector for iPad or MacBook bags or VR gadgets look almost identical but cost differently? Of course, we’re not talking about luxury brands, like Boss, Kenzo, Ferrary, Bugatti, and so on. In this case accessories are always more expensive even if products aren’t unique. People buy these accessories because of the brand image, cool logo or at least to maintain their own status.
In this article we’re going to talk about accessories of medium and premium level.
So, why do products, which copy other brands, are sold for cheaper prices? Does this mean that a famous brand sells us his goods for higher prices than it should? No, it doesn’t.
There are a couple of reasons for that
Let’s take the manufacturer. Except the production equipments factories has, usually they don’t do marketing research, no advertisement, no idea how to create a brand and how to develop it. To put it shortly, usually factory has no human resources with marketing knowledge and brand image development experience.
For the manufacturer who decided to copy some idea everything’s rather simple. If an item is sold well, need quickly make a copy and enter the market.
That’s a simple reason
But why are such products cheaper? It’s not surprising: there were no initial expenses and investments. We mentioned it in the article “Brands Cuts Range” VS “New Ideas”.
In short, there were no investments either for market research or product designing and development, – these all are huge expenses and they take much time. Obviously, it’s easier to make a copy of a popular product. It’s risky, but we’ve seen this happen for the last 3 years.
Now let’s imagine another situation. There are two similar accessories from different known brands but for different prices. Both brands are famous (no one copied anything) but the price difference is big.
What’s the reason for that?
It may happen because of investments for tooling (mold). Sometimes, to create a product with a unique feature or functionality, you can spent 1000$ and 10000$ or 30000$.. etc. It depends as well on such expenses as testing, certification, etc. Even packaging, though it seems simple, still affects retail prices.
Let’s give an example
In printing factory packaging may cost 0.5$ or it may cost 3$. Then, the difference of retail prices in shops can reach up to 10$, meaning the second product will be 10$ more expensive. But why would someone make expensive packages? Maybe, it has something to do with the brand image or they want the product to be noticeable.
In order to reimburse the investments of the company, in the end, different products may cost differently.
So if you have an Apple device and you’re looking for a leather band for your Apple Watch, a charger for your iPhone, a case for your iPad or something else, don’t be surprised when you see in stores similar products for different prices. Usually, there are reasons for that. It would be helpful to find reviews for that product and estimate yourself its quality and functionality, if you think that it costs more than it should. If you have any comments or questions, please, write us.
