Type 81
- Thread starter rethius
- Start date
rockport guy
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Riverview NB
I am waiting on a folder right now... but have been thinking I may like a fixed... Now that tenda will be selling... will there be a reason to buy from TI?
Ti's claims of having an exclusivity deal with Polytech indeed... One more accurate statement in a long list, I guess.
Not if you don't mind waiting for Jan 2018.
I'm sure it's no coincidence TI has been trying their best to give the "impression" most everyone's rifle would be in the mail by today, the same day Tenda goes public with their own. Otherwise they'd risk having a large percentage of remaining orders cancelled and re-ordered with Tenda just out of spite at this point. Can't cancel if it's been shipped or would be less likely to cancel if you are under the impression it has been shipped.
Sure seems like it.
Yeah, I hate to say it, but that sounds fairly plausible.
Yes. Go check their dealer forum for details. Same price though.
I would pre order that
Nice! Lolwaaaaay ahead of you on that one lol
No, I'm not an insider, lol.
I laugh every time I hear posters guessing how much they made on this shipment, as high as $750,000.
The guessing stems from an article in guns and ammo a decade ago but if factor all the variables, I think claven2 comes close. Imho.
With the extra mags, slings, $200 cheese graters, etc absolutely they made a killing on this.
Why is it so hard to understand? Look at what Romanian AK's retail for in the US, $400-$500. Is Chinese labour and materials cheaper or more expensive then Romanian? Is manufacturing harder or easier with a T81 vs AK?
Look at T97's, retailing for $700-$750 and that is going through 2 hands before it gets to you. Same factory that made them made these. TI is the importer and distributor, no middleman. I'd be shocked if the rifles cost them anymore then $300/unit. The markup on the slings/mags/cheese grater is probably even higher....A Daniel Defense FF tube for the AR15 retails for less then that POS clamp together Chinese rail.
If anyone thinks Chinese manufacturing is anywhere close to costs in first world countries well I have an Iphone X to sell you for $1000....lol
I'll buy that ###y phone!
It's a fair question, but here's my logic:
Each rifle: $350-400 in China to account for labour cost inflation over the last 10 years when we know from published material the PLA used to charge $200 per rifle in large quantity orders.
Each rifle's shipping cost across the pacific: $50 (remember, they were shipped in bulk)
Each rifle share of brokerage fees: $10
Shipping from BC to Alberta in bulk: $10 per rifle
Cost per rifle for the alberta subcontractor to assemble orders and ship: $30 each.
That add up to around $500 per rifle. They are selling them at $1000 plus tax and shipping, and most people bought extra mags & stuff, which is likely bringing a fair margin. But ignoring any margin, they are clearing $500,000 on this deal right off the top if my above math is close to reality. And they did it all with free money they didn't pay any interest on for TWO YEARS.
It's really quite a payday for TI and they are doing their best not to spend a single penny more than they need to on things like an efficient and effective shipping operation with extra staff and reasonable warehousing space.
Good for them, we all put up with the cr@p service b/c there is no other way to get one of these guns, and they are reaping a huge windfall.
To be fair to TI, I'm OK with the price I paid. I have no issue with their profit margin, even if my estimates are correct. I'm just pissed at the SLOWWWWW.... customer service and poor customer messaging.
PS: I still have no shipping notice, order status still just deposit received
People tend to forget that the Gross Profit is not the same as net Profit.
Gross Profit= what an item costs you compared to what you sell it for, not factoring any other expense. So I might buy something to my door for $1 and sell it for $2 so my Gross profit is $1. Actual profit is after I do everything else that involves business and NET profit is completely different.
So you feel that costs to TI per rifle delivered to their door = $500
This doesn't account for any other business expenses. Not paying for staff, telephone calls, a computer, turning on the lights or flushing the toilet.
A $500 item to your door is probably going to cost you $650 or more in the end.
Did they make a killing? I sure hope so. Otherwise it wasn't worth their efforts to bring this rifle in. If it was easy, we all would do it.
BTW, I bought a fixed stock because it looks like an AK, and that's what I wanted. It's nowhere near worth $1000. I can get a far better rifle for that money. But it costs what it costs, and I wanted it, so there it is...
