Massive Price Comparison

[The EGE]

Because I am an incurable miser with far too much time, I've compiled a pretty massive spreadsheet with prices for LPR, MPR, and small HPR stuff cross-referenced with prices from six vendors.

It contains prices for:

Estes BP motors
AT SU MPR motors
AT RMS cases and reloads 18mm-38mm (except RC cases)
CTI Pro29 and Pro38 cases and reloads
AT, Quest, and Estes igniters

All accurate as of Nov. 29.


The vendors are:

Apogee Components
Balsa Machining Service
Discount Rocketry
Giant Leap
Hangar 11
Hobbylinc
Red Arrow
What's Up Hobbies
Wildman

I'd like to add more; however, there's already about 160 items on the spreadsheet, and that represents almost 1000 prices (not all vendors have all products) to keep track of.

So, what I'm asking for is a few people to help me add more items and keep track of it all. I'd like to add Quest motors, complete CTI and AT up through 98mm, and possibly add AMW and Loki, and after that all you'd need to do is go through and check a column or two of prices every few months, which shouldn't take too long. Just PM me with your email if you're interested, and once I get a few people I'll upload it to google docs and add editors.

Thanks much.

~~~~ The EGE

View attachment Comprehensive LPR-HPR prices.xlsx

 

[Mikus]

Awesome. Thanks!

 

[jadebox]

Of course, shoppers need to be aware that there are other factors to consider such as the cost of shipping which can vary among retailers.

-- Roger

 

[dixontj93060]

Hmmm... Can you say: Too Much Time On My Hands?

 

[troj]

While I think this is an interesting exercise, my personal opinion is this...

I'll shop with the suppliers who A) support our local club by attending launches, and B) provide good customer service.

If I have someone who's coming to our launches, and who charges a fair price, I'm going to give them preference on my purchases.

Ditto those that I know have provided me great service in the past, and I have a level of confidence they'll do so in the future. Customer service costs extra; I'm willing to pay for it.

On rocketry supplies, and many other things, I shop based on service, not price. My DSLR was purchased at a local camera shop, and I paid about $200 extra for that. Why? Because they take great care of their customers, and I know that if I walk in with questions, I'll be treated well.

My opinion, and my opinion alone. Others may agree, or not.

-Kevin

 

[rstaff3]

Nope, not your opinion alone.

 

[evil ed]

Ditto

 

[The EGE]

While I think this is an interesting exercise, my personal opinion is this...

I'll shop with the suppliers who A) support our local club by attending launches, and B) provide good customer service.

If I have someone who's coming to our launches, and who charges a fair price, I'm going to give them preference on my purchases.

Ditto those that I know have provided me great service in the past, and I have a level of confidence they'll do so in the future. Customer service costs extra; I'm willing to pay for it.

On rocketry supplies, and many other things, I shop based on service, not price. My DSLR was purchased at a local camera shop, and I paid about $200 extra for that. Why? Because they take great care of their customers, and I know that if I walk in with questions, I'll be treated well.

My opinion, and my opinion alone. Others may agree, or not.

-Kevin

I agree. I buy from a local independent hobby shop when I can, and when there's vendors at a launch I'll buy from them. But my local club launches don't have vendors, unfortunately, and I'm a teenager on a limited budget, so I'll order for lower prices as long as the customer service is good, which I have found it to be with Apogee, BMS, Hangar 11, and Hobbylinc, the 4 dealers I've bought from.

This especially goes with HPR stuff, where a few percentage points difference means a lot more money, especially when some vendors may be 30 and even 50% more expensive than others.

Even if you don't care about the prices, it still should be halfway useful for determining where you can buy what.

 

[Boosterdude]

Very useful data.

While it's always nice to by from your local vendor, or hobby shop. It's also nice to make sure the prices are staying some what competitive. Service is always important, but competitive pricing is always important.

 

[Peartree]

Any chance you could save that as a .xls file so I can open it?

 

[The EGE]

Any chance you could save that as a .xls file so I can open it?

Here ya go. I forgot that word 07 uses the stupid xlsx format.

View attachment Comprehensive LPR-HPR prices compatible.xls

 

[troj]

Any chance you could save that as a .xls file so I can open it?

FWIW, if you're using Office 2003, there's a free add-on available from Microsoft that will allow you to work with 2007 format files.

Definitely worth downloading.

-Kevin

 

[madsen]

I like it! Very handy--a lot of work--I want more.

 

[Peartree]

FWIW, if you're using Office 2003, there's a free add-on available from Microsoft that will allow you to work with 2007 format files.

Definitely worth downloading.

-Kevin

Sorry, still using 2000.

 

[H_Rocket]

Kevin wants to make you work.


I appreciate lazy


Here you go, some formatting may be "different" as Office 2K7 has formatting options that are not supportable in earlier versions.

 

[sunward]

.... LPR, MPR, and small HPR stuff cross-referenced with prices from six vendors.
......
All accurate as of Nov. 29.
.....
The vendors are:

....

I am impressed with the work you have done. But this is not a very good idea.

As stated, it doesn't include items such as shipping, turnaround time, stock availability, membership fees, additional features, and levels of service.

As the list is static, it won't reflect any sales or price increases.

And the list of vendors is too small and specific. Where are the rocket kits available from other companies? Parts you don't have listed? Unique items someone would want? Motors from other companies?

Well done, but I think your work would have more benefit doing something else for rocketry.

( and I don't like the fact I am not on the list)

 

[The EGE]

I am impressed with the work you have done. But this is not a very good idea.

As stated, it doesn't include items such as shipping, turnaround time, stock availability, membership fees, additional features, and levels of service.

As the list is static, it won't reflect any sales or price increases.

And the list of vendors is too small and specific. Where are the rocket kits available from other companies? Parts you don't have listed? Unique items someone would want? Motors from other companies?

Well done, but I think your work would have more benefit doing something else for rocketry.

( and I don't like the fact I am not on the list)

There's no way you can quantitatively spreadsheet things like shipping rates, which vary based on different criteria, and service. I have personally had good experiences with every vendor I've bought from. If I want an opinion on a vendor, I'll check here with people versus a spreadsheet.

I try to update the list every once in a while, and that's why I asked if there was anyone interested in helping keep it updated.

And yes, it currently is small and specific. It started out as what I buy - Estes motors and small AT reloads - and I gradually expanded to a wider selection. I do plan to add Quest, Loki, and AMW motors because they're commonly available; hybrids and smaller vendors like Roadrunner I prolly won't because so few companies carry them. Sunward isn't currently on the list, because the current spreadsheet deals almost entirely with motors, and you don't sell motors.

There is a huge variety of parts available, and everyone seems to carry different versions - one vendor might have 3-packs of certain parts, and another sells them singly, and I'd have to have some way of noting that. Even if I do add parts, it'll be on a different spreadsheet, including different vendors, including Sunward.

Kits I'll likely never do. Why? There are literally thousands of kits on the market, and few manufacturers have more than a few distributors, and many sell all their wares themselves. It'd be a huge spreadsheet with a lot of blank spaces; the best I could realistically do is cross-reference what vendors carry what lines of kits. (There's also not as much price variation with kits as there is with motors).

Even if you don't like the price list, you're still free to use it as a list of who sells what. Nothing is more annoying than finishing up a giant order and realizing they don't sell one thing that you still need.

I do try to contribute to the general rocketry community as best I can; this was not intended to be part of it, but once I finished it for myself I figured there'd be someone else out there who could use it. If you don't like it, fine; it's here if you want it.

~~~~ The EGE

 

[Mikus]

Bah, pay no attention to the naysayers. :grinch:

Good job. :santa-smile:

 

[Darian Rachal]

A number of years ago years was a site you could go to and get a lot of good information about what different vendors charged for rockets, as well as motors. This was back when Rocketry Online(ROL) was quite popular.