$1 Universal Remote from the Dollar Tree

No, they are not being sold at retail prices as you thought. They are being dumped at a loss. Shipping, etc adds to the cost for sure. They were upwards of $20 a unit not that long ago.

 

Nope, you're mistaken in terms of what they actually cost to make. A lot of this stuff is maybe 35 cents in quantity. There's nothing in stuff like remotes. Heck, the plastic molds and assembly are probably the single most complicated part of it. The technology and electronic parts are almost meaningless in terms of cost. It's not unusual for there to be a 10:1 ratio between the actual manufacturing cost and the wholesale cost. Even lower if it's a counterfeit.

When you see VCRs being sold for $39 at Walmart, you realize that at best, they cost $15 to make, $2 for packaging, $10 to the distributor, $5 more for shipping, then Walmart makes 10% profit. And the $15 manufacturing cost probably only works in quantities of 50,000+, all hinged on the backs of Asian workers making $5 a day. Not a great business model.

 

Because my Foster Grant reading glasses never ever turn up in the Dollar Stores. And the models I wear are always $20 and up. I don't like the cheap ones at all, they are not the same imo. It's not just shopping center rents, sometimes the lenses and frames are better in the Walgreens endcap than at .99 Only stores.

 

Yes, but how else can we afford things now that everyone's only making $14.50 an hour?

 

Exactly.