Taiwan-based resin 3D printer manufacturer Phrozen adjusted the pricing on their product line, but in an unusual way.
Phrozen produces six different resin 3D printers, some of which are extremely popular. We first encountered them a couple of years ago when they introduced the popular Phrozen Shuffle. At the time I called it an “inexpensive machine — with extras”. Their main feature was “ParaLED”, a light engine system that provided for light beams parallel with the axis of 3D printing.
That, combined with a low price, meant the Shuffle became a very popular device.
Since then they’ve introduced several new machines, perhaps most notably the Phrozen Sonic 4K, which provides for higher resolution and larger print volume.
While all of their equipment is reasonably priced, they recently issued some interesting statements about their pricing.
First, they raised the price of the popular Sonic Mighty 4K from US$499.99 to US$599.99. They explained that this change was related to supply issues, saying:
“As the cost of raw materials has been increasing, the price of the Sonic Mighty 4K will also be adjusted accordingly.”
Okay. But then, they also decreased the price of the Sonic Mini from US$259.99 to US$239.99, saying:
“Due to reduced costs in the supply chain, the price of a Sonic Mini will now be decreased by US$20.”
Hold on a minute. The raw materials are increasing in cost, but the supply chain is decreasing in cost?
Then the Shuffle XL Lite was dropped from US$599.99 to only US$399.99. They said:
“Similarly, the price of a Shuffle XL Lite will now be decreased by US$200.”
Similar to what? The raw material increase or the supply chain decrease?
Could this, in reality, be simply a sale?
On Phrozen’s website we see that the Sonic Mini is indeed listed as “ON SALE”, but the Shuffle XL Lite is not. But it is priced at US$399.99. Strangely, the Sonic Mini 4K is marked as “ON SALE” at US$349.99 from US$409.00, but not highlighted as such in their release.
I’m wondering if there really are supply chain issues here.
Perhaps the company is simply reducing the price on older designs in order to clear inventory prior to the introduction of a new unit to replace them on the product shelf? That’s a very common and expected practice among all vendors.
Meanwhile, raising the price of one unit because of supply issues while lowering others due to supply advantages just seems a little strange to me. Does the Sonic Mighty 4K have some components that have been rising in price? That’s certainly possible, but by 20% of a US$500 item?
I’m not certain what’s really going on here, but in the end, the price is the price.
Via Phrozen
