[Skatophilia]

How come BlackBerry's are usually on the more expensive side compared to other phones? The Z10 could have been sold off contract for $500 I think, but are the phones priced higher in hopes that they'll sell and BB will make a greater profit?

[pkcable]

I disagree with this. I think the cost is comparable to other high end phones. BB could and should price their phones a little less though to help get them to sell!

[Aljean Thein]

Because the world isn't fair

Posted via CB10

[kidplanet]

They're usually considered "premium" phones. I wondered the same thing too though when I saw the Q10 for $599 before tax off contract. I think they should be a lot cheaper considering the position they're in.

[the_igg]

Tools not toys????

[SK122387]

The new phones should have been $99 on a 2 year contract. They would have probably sold more, and has already been said...more users=more developer interest=more apps=even more interested users.

[fearmantis]

They are more secure.

BB Z10 Rocks!

[BravoZuluDelta]

Things produced at lower volume tend to be more expensive. Contracts with suppliers are based on how many units are purchased. Unit price for an order of 10 million will be less than an order of 1 million. Another example, try buying a beige toilet - same model as a white one, but more expensive because they move in fairly low volumes, therefore the margin needs to be higher to cover costs.

That being said, I have stated in the past that I think BlackBerry needs to follow the strategy of Honda and Hyundai. Sacrifice a few premium options to put out dirt cheap - yet decently reliable - products. Build up the userbase again before asking premium prices. Currently, aside from the keyboard experience, there is no big draw to bring over users from other platforms, especially those invested in an ecosystem. Hub and flow are not enough, as they are just more efficient ways to do what can already be done on other platforms.

Posted via CB10 on Q10

[jdcfinisher]

Volume differently gets a discount and in Samsung's case they get an extra discount because they build a lot of the parts themselves. In BlackBerry 's case they say what they want and write cheques .

Posted via Z10

[ajst222]

I think BlackBerry phones are priced pretty comparable to the rest of the competition. However, I think what BlackBerry doesn't realize (or is truly starting to realize) is that they are the under dog and if they want to gather peoples' attention and sell phones it might be best for them to price their products a bit lower and more competitively instead of the typical $199.99 on contact, $599.99 off contract.

[LWKING]

The phones are expensive because one of the primary concerns of the company was to increase its cash reserves, not to take a financial hit with every device sold by under pricing it. They did what was best for the company. This also would explain the lack of funding on marketing. I agree that the phones should be priced cheaper in order to gain recognition, but understand that this was not the goal until now. Looking back at it all, I agree with the way they handled it.

The strategic alternatives that they have been looking into are meant to increase the adoption of BB10 phones. That's what all the fuss about acquisitions are about. If I'm right (and I've been wrong many times with this confusing company), we should see some proper advertisements now that 10.2 is rolling out. The strategic alternative that I'm personally hoping for is that they license out BB10 to other companies so they can get additional hardware out there.

Additionally, the materials used to make the phone aren't cheap relative to the competition. BlackBerry makes good hardware. The process used to make the "glass weave" back cover wasn't easy. That glass weave consists of black fiberglass fabric which can be found Black Fiberglass 50" wide in stock for same day shipping | Fibre Glast combined chemically with an epoxy and hardener. If I remember correctly, DuPont makes Motorola's composite backings. I think BlackBerry made theirs in house. Kudos.

In comparison, Samsung most likely just used a form of injection molded plastic. At the top of my head, I can't think of a cheaper process. So yes, the added cost is warranted.

I may have strayed off topic a bit, but I hope this helps. I get carried away sometimes

[Roo Zilla]

Because BBRY sees themselves as a premium product.

[Roo Zilla]

Things produced at lower volume tend to be more expensive. Contracts with suppliers are based on how many units are purchased. Unit price for an order of 10 million will be less than an order of 1 million.

Although that might be true when you're talking about 10 compared to 100 or 1000 units, it's not so true when you're talking about 1 million compared to 10 million. Component manufacturers, Qualcomm for example, have price sheets where you pick and choose the features you want. For example, you want LTE, you check the box that says "LTE." Once you reach units in the 100,000 or so, prices are all the same. That means that BBRY will pay the same as LG or Sony or Xiaomi for a Qualcomm part. Since the vast majority of the parts in a smartphone are commodity parts, BOM for most high end phones are very similar, usually within $20-$30.

A lot of people mention Samsung as having a price advantage because of the way they're vertically integrated. It's not really a price advantage. They can easily sell their production to other phone manufacturers at market prices and also make money that way. There's opportunity cost in using the manufacturing capacity themselves. Their advantage (and it's huge) is the fact they can preferentially produce for themselves. If they have a hit product and need another 10 million memory chips, they can do it. It might cost them overtime pay, but they can do it. Other companies would have to scramble to find a supplier with excess capacity, and most likely would have to wait, by which time, the demand might have dissipated. New smartphones are introduced every month, if you're forced to wait a month because of lack of supply, you might very well lose the sales to a competitor. Samsung has the advantage in that whatever they need, they can produce in house to suit demand.

BBRY charges more than others because they see themselves as a premium product. There's nothing wrong with that, if your customers are willing to pay. That's how Apple prices themselves and it's been working for them so far. Multiple Chinese manufacturers are charging significantly less (like half) for similar products, because they don't have the brand recognition of Samsung or Sony, and many of them have been very successful with that strategy.

[R Field]

It's not produced en mass in China at huge economies of scale. That and its priced and marketed as a premium device.

CB10- BlackBerry Z10 - 10.2.0.1047

[Jerale Hoard]

How come BlackBerry's are usually on the more expensive side compared to other phones? The Z10 could have been sold off contract for $500 I think, but are the phones priced higher in hopes that they'll sell and BB will make a greater profit?

According to CNNMoney the BlackBerry Z10 price is competitive with Apple's iPhone 5.



Posted via CB10

[Roo Zilla]

It's not produced en mass in China at huge economies of scale. That and its priced and marketed as a premium device.

CB10- BlackBerry Z10 - 10.2.0.1047

You don't need huge economies of scale when making a phone. All you're really doing is assembling it. With the exception of huge conglomerates like Samsung and LG, nobody makes their own parts, they're all either bought on spot market (commodity things like memory, screws, screens), or ordered from various manufacturers to spec (SoC, housing, battery). Typical assembly costs are less than $20 per unit when talking about anything over 200,000 or so. That's less than 10% of the BOM of a typical phone. Even if you say BBRY pays double that (highly unlikely), you're talking an extra $20. That's not the reason BlackBerries are priced high. They're priced high because as you stated at the end, they see themselves as a premium device.