Are Pedal Companies Ripping Us Off Video Response

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-AmJUQ1m0

Thought this was interesting. Josh talks about unit economics in pedals.

There's nothing expensive inside 90% of pedals... but having PCBs etched (or surface mount boards completely assembled) and boxes professionally drilled and finished adds up. Getting the best price on semiconductors, switches, pots etc is best done in gigundo orders which means more money up front in order to reduce the cost per finished unit. There's an economy of scale. What's your time worth to you?

I'll have to watch the video (I'm sure Josh is a nice enough guy but he gets on my nerves) but I would say that it depends on the pedal and the markup. Keep in mind that in order to take advantage of those economics of scale a budding manufacturer needs to take a substantial risk. You could be stuck with a garage full of merchandise if your latest, greatest tubescreamer slayer fails to catch the eye of the fickle influencers in this crazy market. Maybe you pull it off for a little but then someone reverse engineers your circuit and either grips it off or discovers you stole it yourself... word travels fast and has broken a lot of pedal entrepreneurs. Then there's those tariffs coming... most semiconductors are chinese right now. Josh has a good thing going for himself but at any time he could be ruined by circumstances outside his control. I was actually just talking about this topic with a techy friend of mine... neither of us even do repair work for anyone but ourselves anymore. It's too hard to give an accurate quote or even be sure parts are currently available.

I think it takes brass ones to jump into the world of pedals.

Wheew