from the link that
@Nigel provided
.... that's nothing more than greed ...
... speaks volumes about how greedy they are
Greed. Lol. Aren’t we ALL?
One of my favorite quotes: “don’t judge others just because you choose to sin differently.”
I recall you frequently calling out or accusing other companies for this, that, or the other thing. And I always respectfully asked you whether you were speculating, or whether you knew from actual facts. And you never gave straight answers to what I truly felt were genuine and polite questions. Years later, that has always stuck with me about you (and obviously your brand).
You’ve now stated multiple times that Aukey and their ilk are driven by greed. How do you know? Now, I’m not denying they are or aren’t driven by greed (they very well could be — wouldn’t surprise me — nothing does). But how do you know to repeatedly assert so vehemently? We all now know for a fact that they are at least driven by deception. To what end for what purposes, I don’t know. How do you assert and repeat such a claim with so much conviction? Greed for what? Money? Market share? Hegemony?
Do you know why I have never even CONSIDERED purchasing a single SG camera? Because I always felt it was a grossly overpriced product that, to me at least, seemed to be primarily driven by greed. Now, I would never claim such a thing or accuse you of such a thing because I don’t know you nor have I asked you explicitly. But I’ve always felt that way. And you never said or did anything to change my mind (nor, by any means, were you obligated to). But I hope you see the irony here (something about glass houses ...)
I remember the days where a single SG cam was over $300 (may still be, haven’t checked). I have 4 cams that cost me less than that, COMBINED, and they’ve all more than served their purposes admirably and continue to do so.
So, let me ask you what I’ve never asked you before. Do you use exceptionally unique components, rare earth minerals, or have some proprietary technology that others don’t to justify such prices? Or maybe it’s your great customer service that justifies it? Is that worth a 4-6x premium than the others who presumably don’t? What if I never use the customer service part of your product? Is it fair me for me to “prepay” for it? In my eight years of dash-camming, I’ve used customer service exactly once, and that was to ask a couple questions BEFORE I even bought the product. Am I pre-paying for your future R&D? Or maybe it’s for the constant firmware tinkering and IQ improvements? I have two cams that are still on their original firmware as the manufacturer simply doesn’t do or offer updates. Hasn’t posed a single problem for me.
Some or all of those things may justify your prices. I’m simply asking what. Seriously, genuine question: what justifies your prices — at least when compared to similarly spec’d cams like, say, Viofo’s latest line of products? Are SG products 2-3x the quality of Viofo? Or, is it, as you say — greed? Maybe a little greed? Is that better than a lot of greed? Is Aukey more greedy than, say, Blackvue, or Thinkware?
I remember buying Dropcams in 2012 when they first came out (well before Google acquired them and Nest). Those camera were $200 each. And I gladly paid for them because there was nothing like them on the market. Years later, I eventually bought several Wyze cams for $25 each, while Google was still pricing theirs at or near $200 (+/- $25, and much cheaper now). What justified that? They’re certainly better cameras, but were they 7-8x better, and with today’s prices, 5x better? I suspect it would be futile for me to even ask.
Greed? Probably. Lol.