Why is it that slide-in ranges are so much more expensive than the freestanding variety ? There's actually less there , no outer shell , etc , and yet they range from over a thousand - comparable freestanding is around $600 - to over 5 thousand bucks ... Is this one of those payin-for-style things ? I'd lots rather have the slide in , much easier to keep the stove area clean , but I'm not sure I can justify the added cost !
The retail price of items is set by the market, not by how much the item costs to produce.
Slide in must conform to a higher standard for insulation next to a cabinet. Aside from that, I have no idea.
Gas ranges last a long time so get the one you really want and will enjoy for the next 20 or 30 years.
Not so much these days. It's pretty common for the overn portion to get "lit" by an electrical glow plate which... uses 400 or even 500 watts. AND in most cases, this stays energized pulling all that electricity the entire time the oven burner is active [a].
I've had two of these die on my or my friends' units when roughly five years old. And yes, you can (sometimes) get the part, but, etc., etc., etc.
Oh, and when the glow plate is dead, you can NOT operate the oven or broiler.
- the stove top burners tend to use spark gap ignitors, so just go click-click-click-snap-snap, and then they get turned off once the flame is lit. These, too, can fail. But at least (on most units) you can still light the burner with a match.
[a] typically there's a partial duty cycle depending on the temperature. Do at 350 degrees (for illustration) the gas, AND glow plate, might be on for three minutes, then off for two. Rinse, lather, repeat.
On the 17 or so YO Kenmore we have down in Memphis there is a flame sensor , when it lights the glow ignitor shuts off .
What she (and I) would really like is a wall oven and separate cooktop , but those are just ridiculous ! Minimum entry level is over 1800 bucks for a pair and that's just stupid expensive . I suspect this is all a case of high end housing preferring them . Looks like us hillbillies will be buying a freestanding unit and me fabricating some pieces out in the (machine) shop to cover where the stove and countertop meet . TIG up something in stainless ...
If you have time, aren't in a hurry, you can find great deals on Ebay. I bought my Kitchenaid double 36" wall oven on Ebay for less than half of retail. Retail was $2800, I got it for ~$1300 shipped. It was a floor model, but in perfect condition. Being that I was buying it that way, I opted for a two or three year warranty from SquareTrade for ~$60.
If you have room for a 36" oven, I highly recommend it. Same thing with range tops, larger doesn't cost that much more and if you can fit it, it's a big plus if you cook a reasonable amount, plus for resale, etc.
Economy of scale. They make more freestanding, so they can sell them for less.
You could ask the same question about other appliances, eg counter depth refrigerators vs standard. It's just a slightly different form factor, but they cost 2X a regular fridge too. Likely the same factors are at work. Economy of scale and they figure that someone who wants that feature is likely willing to pay more.
Silly boy, you are livng in the past. A past in which things were priced to cover the cost of manufacturing, cost of doing business and a profit sufficient to adequately reward share holders.
Now, things are priced by perceived value...a value largely created by the sellers. Consider refrigerators...
All do exactly the same thing and if anyone says that the degree of increased price of the more expensive ones is justified by the increased manufacturing cost then I have a bridge for you.
The same is true of many/most things now...granite counter tops, autos, other appliances, electronics ad infinitum et nauseum. And let's not forget hearing aids. Oh yeah, hearing aids. A local peddler of same ran four - count'em, FOUR - full page color ads in one issue of our local paper last week, two pages another day in the same week. Anyone besides me think the hearing aids might be a tad over priced?.
Seems to me and most economists that things were always priced to maximize profits. It's human nature and economics 101. If you were going to sell your house, would you price it based on cost, or would you price it based on the highest price you can sell it for? If you started a business with a new product, why would you ever just price it at cost plus, instead of maximize profit? Say you could make it for $1, why would you sell it for $1.10, if you can maximize your profit and make a whole lot more money at $5?
Prices for products have always been set by perceived value, ie determined by how much customers are willing to pay for what they are getting. It's not something new, it goes back to when man first started to trade and barter. A guy wasn't going to give up a bushel of grain for two animal skins, when he could get three animal skins.
IDK that it's fully justified by the differences, but there are substantial differences there. A cheap looking, simple top freeze fridge isn't the same as a feature loaded French door model.
So you think there is no inherent real difference in an $80K Porsche, versus a $12K Hyundai?
And let's not forget
IDK, you can't determine that by looking at ads.
Our old fridge had two doors, two handles. New fridge has two doors, two drawers, four handles more controls. It does cost more to manufacture.
I do agree that the value increases at a disproportionate rate tough. Same with option packages on a car. The top end is probably 25% value for additional dollars spent. Rule of thumb for many consumer items, for every $1 in cost, retail price increases $4.
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