Originally Posted by
Jiten
I'm actually a little baffled (I don't have any business sense, after all) why Dahon, if they had any choice at all, chose to follow Tern's pricing range and compete with Tern there exclusively, rather than keep some of their more popular and better-selling bikes (like the Speed series) at the lower price range, where they possibly would have had that piece of the market to themselves, since Tern does not seem to playing for that market.
this is pretty much why i don't get the huge increase in pricing.
imo, pricing sometimes says a lot about how you want to position your product. it is not always about quality. it's often about audience and perception. most of us know that pricing something too inexpensively makes people suspicious of quality but it also means lots of people can afford it.
pricing things high gives the impression of quality and exclusivity. there are people who often want what's exclusive or what is supposed to highend, anything to set them apart from others - look at all those people carrying paper bloomindales shopping bags or paying for knock off designer watches.
i can't help but think the price increases have a little to do with this, especially considering the crap dahon get for manufacturing in china - as if most things aren't made there.
the cynic in me also believes this is an opportunity to raise prices when they see the demand might be high. i'm just wondering what they think the sweet spot is for price.
i'm also disappointed in the price increases because i think dahon should position itself as the honda/toyota of folding bike makers - they have the market with the most sells, biggest profits, and they manage to come up with innovations before others. they seem pretty happy making good quality cars for the masses.
the spinoff lexus and acura lines are for the "luxury" segment.
i for one am considering picking up an a current bike with the old price.