The grift that keeps on grifting.

[BlairAir]

The props that came on my M3 had some physical deformation on the trailing edge. Two were visibly "wavy" and you could feel it with the tips or your fingers.
While we get plenty of Spares the the Fly More combo, I was unhappy to be using them out the gate, and I should be getting credit to replace them soon.
Out of curiosity I checked DJI prices for M3 Propellers. $19 USD. Per pair. Yes the are a bit bigger than, say the Air 2S. But those are $11 per pair. $22 a full set vs.$38 for Mavic 3. What did they do? Take turns spinning a wheel that has profit percentage amounts on it?

I think DJI got offended that Autel was charging $18 a pair and thought "Oh yeah? well ours MUST be better, so if they get 18, we go 19. Take that Autel!" If someone at that meeting asked "but what about the loyal customers?" it was obviously met with "exactly! They will pay it without question!"

Consider; Autel's 7.9", 2000NITS Display Smart Controller is $1200. RC Pro, is now the exact same price, in spite of the fact that build costs must be similar to the original SC, and the processor, while upgraded, it's not a Snapdragon 888 or something, yet they added $460 to the price...

I love DJI engineering and innovation, but I still get this image; not of the engineers slapping each others backs and high fiving each other on this release, instead I picture the accountants eyes gleaming and rubbing their hands together. "Today we add 50% to price... tomorrow we double it!" When profits become paramount, things that used to be important slip.

Thanks for listening to my sad lament of a rant of a whining about pricing... I'll go back now to figuring out if I need the wide angle add-on lens ($179) first, or go for another battery ($209) now. Both? Have to keep the accountants happy.

 

[mschaffer66]

I've seen quite a few posts about the price point of various aspects of the M3 from the bird itself to the bag now to the props. It kinda sucks that all of this stuff seems unreasonably expensive these days, but start making a list of things that haven't drastically gone up in price over the last 2 years and see how far that goes. It's going to be a pretty short list.

Covid, supply chain issues, material shortages, the semi conductor shortage, labor issues, inflation, etc... I think all of those things have just created a perfect storm for prices to explode. I'm sure there are plenty of companies padding their bottom line a bit on top of passing along increased costs to the consumer, but a lot of companies also lost a ton of revenue over the past two years as well.

I don't know...it is what it is I suppose.

 

[CanadaDrone]

The appropriate price for a product is whatever customers are willing to pay. Supply/demand factors determine pricing in a free market. If DJI (or any company) can sell everything they can possibly make at double the price, then that is an appropriate price. As a customer, of course we don't like paying higher prices, but if the roles were reversed we'd all be doing the exact same thing.

The biggest thing affecting the supply side right now is the global pandemic. Virtually everything is in short supply, from labor to production capacity to parts, which makes everything more expensive. Shipping costs from Asia to the USA have increased more than 500% compared to pre-pandemic, and that is just one tiny part of the overall picture. I can't think of many products that have not increased in price over the last couple years - vehicles, electronics, even food are all more expensive than pre-pandemic. There are also many products that have been perpetually sold out for over a year now, and to get one you need to be on a waiting list for months. Some are just barely starting to catch up to pre-pandemic demand.

In some ways I'm actually surprised the M3 isn't more expensive when you look at the price increases some other products have experienced over the same time period with seemingly no effect on demand.

 

[mschaffer66]

The lead times on some things is just mind blowing these days. I've seen things that places would have had in stock or been able to get in a couple weeks and they are like 28-30 weeks out.... It's insane.

I work in the automotive field doing automation and assembly lines. There are so many things that go into building an assembly line to build cars that you just CAN NOT get right now.

This supply chain issue is going to have long lasting affects...years...

 

[BlairAir]

All good points, but if all these factors are responsible for price hikes, why have literally none of the existing products had price increases. If supply, shipping, labor, covid as a general term for all that ails things, why hasn't the Air 2S propellers nearly doubled? or increased at all? Canada Drone said it best. Trust me, it wasn't 2 weeks ago that I was patiently explaining that DJI arrived at these prices by careful market analysis, down to what that perfect balance is that maintains profit in spite of losing a percentage of sales to folks unwilling to pay x amount. That doesn't mean I have to like it. Thank you DJI for soaking me scientifically, may I pay another?
DJI deserves these riches, as it was their intellectual property that earned the reputation that now earns the riches. I just hope that the main thrust of their work continues to be game changing innovation, vs profits as the reason DJI functions. Microsoft engineers and executives in the late 80s, early 90s drove crappy cars (many... not all) slept at the office and did so because they felt they were changing the world. That is nothing like Microsoft by the millennium that 1 in 10 employees were millionaires, but the focus on the product as a money machine corrupted the mindset of MS workers.

 

[GtoJon]

I noticed a couple of mine had those same deformations .... not happy with that. I think they are all deformed ... some more than others The trailing edge.

Cheers, Jon

 

[mavicn00b]

If you're getting deformed props out of the box, I'd start a case with dji as that can be a safety hazard and serious defect IMO. Wasn't long ago dji was shipping the Mini with a case that would deformed props if not stored correctly resulting in drones u commanded descent into the ocean. Would hate to have the same thing happen on such an expensive (5-6x cost of the Mini)

 

[msinger]

The props that came on my M3 had some physical deformation on the trailing edge. Two were visibly "wavy" and you could feel it with the tips or your fingers.

Are you able to post a photo showing what you're describing? Curious to see what that looks like.

 

[BlairAir]

Not easy to photograph - need to get the light right across the section, but these give an idea what I mean. I think its common, but some are obviously better than others. At $19 a pair I expect better consistency.

 

[GtoJon]

Yup, that is what mine look like

Cheers, Jon

 

[Sky Angels]

Run it!

 

[mschaffer66]

All good points, but if all these factors are responsible for price hikes, why have literally none of the existing products had price increases. If supply, shipping, labor, covid as a general term for all that ails things, why hasn't the Air 2S propellers nearly doubled? or increased at all? Canada Drone said it best. Trust me, it wasn't 2 weeks ago that I was patiently explaining that DJI arrived at these prices by careful market analysis, down to what that perfect balance is that maintains profit in spite of losing a percentage of sales to folks unwilling to pay x amount. That doesn't mean I have to like it. Thank you DJI for soaking me scientifically, may I pay another?
DJI deserves these riches, as it was their intellectual property that earned the reputation that now earns the riches. I just hope that the main thrust of their work continues to be game changing innovation, vs profits as the reason DJI functions. Microsoft engineers and executives in the late 80s, early 90s drove crappy cars (many... not all) slept at the office and did so because they felt they were changing the world. That is nothing like Microsoft by the millennium that 1 in 10 employees were millionaires, but the focus on the product as a money machine corrupted the mindset of MS workers.

Based on how people are reacting to the "updated for covid times" pricing strategy of the M3 could you imagine the poo storm that would follow if they also increased the price on drones that have been out for a year or more? Maybe the M3 increases offset the "loss" they are getting on still selling legacy stuff that costs more to make and land?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

DJI don’t lose $ on any product, probably similar margins throughout the various drone and other products.
There comes a time when a drone or stabilisation gimbal or action cam becomes obsolete from technology advances, and they drop it pretty fast.
Production capability old vs new would dictate that I guess, and sales figures.
Seems to take 3-4 years for that cycle with drones, but the M2 will probably go longer considering the replacement in a level up (or supposed to be).

 

[Paradigm]

Not easy to photograph - need to get the light right across the section, but these give an idea what I mean. I think its common, but some are obviously better than others. At $19 a pair I expect better consistency.


View attachment 138917View attachment 138918View attachment 138919

Wow. Almost looks like someone took a heat gun to them.

 

[Deleted member 77603]

Dilbert: Why Test When You Can Ship. Let the users be the beta testers

 

[RocketBrew]

From what I have seen, DJI makes massive production runs to get cost reduction on volumes, then ships that run for years. I received a P4P from them that showed a manufacturing date almost five years earlier!

So their manufacturing costs haven't gone up for models they are already selling from some huge Raiders of the Lost Ark warehouse in China...

Takes a lot of up-front capital to do that, but they obviously can do it.

All good points, but if all these factors are responsible for price hikes, why have literally none of the existing products had price increases. If supply, shipping, labor, covid as a general term for all that ails things, why hasn't the Air 2S propellers nearly doubled? or increased at all? Canada Drone said it best. Trust me, it wasn't 2 weeks ago that I was patiently explaining that DJI arrived at these prices by careful market analysis, down to what that perfect balance is that maintains profit in spite of losing a percentage of sales to folks unwilling to pay x amount. That doesn't mean I have to like it. Thank you DJI for soaking me scientifically, may I pay another?
DJI deserves these riches, as it was their intellectual property that earned the reputation that now earns the riches. I just hope that the main thrust of their work continues to be game changing innovation, vs profits as the reason DJI functions. Microsoft engineers and executives in the late 80s, early 90s drove crappy cars (many... not all) slept at the office and did so because they felt they were changing the world. That is nothing like Microsoft by the millennium that 1 in 10 employees were millionaires, but the focus on the product as a money machine corrupted the mindset of MS workers.

 

[BlairAir]

Hey, looks like DJI was listening and was so upset about me, the great influencer - I have over 130 subscribers on my YouTube channel -that they dropped the price on propellers down to $15, from 19. But they are out of stock. The drone price hasn't budged though. So now the props are priced more reasonably, but you can't actually buy them. Much better.

 

[Paradigm]

Hey, looks like DJI was listening and was do upset about me, the great influencer - so you know, I have 130 something subscribers on my YouTube channel -that they dropped the price on propellers down to $15, from 19. But they are out of stock. The drone price hasn't budged though. So now the props are priced more reasonably, but you can't actually buy them. Much better.

So the waviness is a performance issue?

I noticed mine are the same way...

 

[BlairAir]

From what I have seen, DJI makes massive production runs to get cost reduction on volumes, then ships that run for years. I received a P4P from them that showed a manufacturing date almost five years earlier!

So their manufacturing costs haven't gone up for models they are already selling from some huge Raiders of the Lost Ark warehouse in China...

Takes a lot of up-front capital to do that, but they obviously can do it.

View attachment 139010

That's interesting approach, if you are correct, and somewhat against the grain. It's risky in multiple ways, since they have to assume cost per unit will go up and not down, that the units built will all sell or close to it. A lot of future prediction/actuarial number crunching and the exact opposite of Just In Time manufacturing which has been heavily bought into since Japan introduced it in the 1980s. Interestingly that method was so prevalent, that in the US, it caused the huge empty retail shelves when the pandemic hit. It's things like pandemic effects that make long term predictions a fools game. Are you certain you didn't just get NOS? Hard to base a theory on a single instance, unless you had other data, not of the anecdotal type. Not saying it isn't so, but it indicates an unusual and more risky investment principle in manufacturing.

 

[BlairAir]

So the waviness is a performance issue?

I noticed mine are the same way...

I'm not sure performance would be affected, at least in terms of flight speeds, ability to produce thrust, but possibly less efficient, reducing flight times. Master Airscrew spends a year trying to squeeze 5% extra flight time with their props. My main concern is my observation that any wavy edge like I see here produces noisy props. My Evo 2 had a few similar props and they were noticeably louder.

Bottom line: If the waviness was desirable they would all be like that. My replacement came Monday with exactly one prop like this. The others are razor straight.