Sector 5 from Element Case order thread.

[ngocnguyen]

looking at the price of this bring me back to the show "Shark Tank" and how each product cost and mark up from each vendor profit can be. $160 to sell would probably cost about $10-15 to make. THIS IS RIDICULOUSLY OVER PRICE

What background and experience do you have to even come up with a $10-15 range on a CNC billet machined iPhone case?

what do you know about machining?

You have 4 individually machined alloy parts..very thin pieces...what's your creative solution in fixturing these parts down being machined?

As far as I know...you cannot have a perfect part off the machine...it will always have a fixture mark. These parts have to be finished properly prior to anodizing otherwise, anodizing shows every damn nick, dent, inconsistent surface..in otherwords, anodizing magnifies a cosmetic problem in the substrate (alloy). So Element must do a lot of hand finishing prior to anodizing. Their parts are beautiful too!

There are 4 plastic parts in the corner...now I imagine this is injection molded..so how much is tooling? $15k? material cost is negligible

stainless steel screws...not that cheap

packaging..how much you think it cost for all the packaging that goes into the cases?

what about the wrench? those are CNC machined as well?

back plates and screen protector included...

usually with their high end cases you get an EVA molded transit case too...what's the cost on that?

So add up all your cost..made in the USA..so they say

I bet your nowhere even close to $10-15 range...I say in the $40-50 range..I bet they're not making much.

If they went overseas, cost would 3/4 less..but I bet quality suffers dramatically.

 

[CanadaEh]

Sexy case but there's no way in hell I'll pay that much

 

[der-kaiser]

http://www.elementcase.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=API5-1012-LL11&trk_msg=UT4L88B81TM4P1DHU80MGLFFAG&trk_contact=385KCR2UAA0PM2SVUD3LBEU9SK

Here's my order link. No longer interested. Gonna get the Deff Cleave instead.

 

[tyork]

just ordered mine! I had the Element Case Formula 4 case on my 4s and loved it! Best case I ever owned. cant wait for the sector!!

 

[Munkypoo7]

http://www.elementcase.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=API5-1012-LL11&trk_msg=UT4L88B81TM4P1DHU80MGLFFAG&trk_contact=385KCR2UAA0PM2SVUD3LBEU9SK

Here's my order link. No longer interested. Gonna get the Deff Cleave instead.

Just wanted to say thanks. Used your link + a 10% off coupon from signing up for the EC newsletter, with one day shipping knocked it down to ~$164

 

[soco]

Do they sell cases for these cases?

If I buy one and drop it and my $160 case gets messed up, i'm gonna be pissed

Late to the game, just saw this: Hilarious.

 

[darngooddesign]

Just wanted to say thanks. Used your link + a 10% off coupon from signing up for the EC newsletter, with one day shipping knocked it down to ~$164

A relative bargain.

I'm not knocking anyone who buys this case as it is quite nice. I'm just not going to spend backup-iPhone money on a case for my main phone.

 

[v3rn]

I'm just thinking to buy this Element Vapor 4 iPhone 5 Case, any suggestion? http://www.thefancy.com/things/205279280056238909/Element-Vapor-4-case-for-iphone-5-Silver-Black

It's a fake. And the fakes will kill your signal and are pretty crappy quality.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

http://www.elementcase.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=API5-1012-LL11&trk_msg=UT4L88B81TM4P1DHU80MGLFFAG&trk_contact=385KCR2UAA0PM2SVUD3LBEU9SK

Here's my order link. No longer interested. Gonna get the Deff Cleave instead.

Where are you going to buy that? Can't seem to find it on the internet, at least from a vendor that I can be sure is legit.

 

[der-kaiser]

Where are you going to buy that? Can't seem to find it on the internet, at least from a vendor that I can be sure is legit.

http://www.dracodesigninc.com/aboutus.aspx

 

[v3rn]

I was pretty sure the Draco bumpers are notorious for dropping a few bars of signal when using them. Either way, the curves kind of ruin the iPhone aesthetics imo.

 

[STiNG Operation]

I was pretty sure the Draco bumpers are notorious for dropping a few bars of signal when using them. Either way, the curves kind of ruin the iPhone aesthetics imo.

Hopefully the specs on their page are true about not dropping signal....I'm a little skeptical of the design to but it does seem more ergonomic than box style cases.

All the atomic cases have sharp(ish) edges that seem uncomfortable to hold when gaming or ect.

I used to have an atomic industries for my iPhone 4 and would never get that design type again.

--Just my 2 cents.

Let me edit this lol: No longer interested due to no lip on the Draco case. Why the hell do they do that? This makes the phone so vulnerable you might as well be naked.

 

[der-kaiser]

I was pretty sure the Draco bumpers are notorious for dropping a few bars of signal when using them. Either way, the curves kind of ruin the iPhone aesthetics imo.

I think the lines on the new Draco is much cleaner and pleasing to the eye. The build in volume buttons and mute switch are also a nice touch. Not overly concerned about reception personally as I had full bars even with the original vapor 4.

Not a fan of the sector 5. Especially how the ports at the bottom were done. Messy looking imo. Was holding out for a vapor pro for the iPhone 5 until I found out they had no plans for one.

 

[cardinalryan]

Sexy case but there's no way in hell I'll pay that much

^THIS^

I think it's incredibly arrogant of this company to charge $160 for a case!

If you simply like the case and you are willing to spend the money because you think it improves the look of your phone, then more power to you.

However, if you are buying the case because you think it will protect your phone and preserve resell value then you need to take a personal finance class.

$160 to protect a $199 device...unreal.

 

[v3rn]

^THIS^

I think it's incredibly arrogant of this company to charge $160 for a case!

If you simply like the case and you are willing to spend the money because you think it improves the look of your phone, then more power to you.

However, if you are buying the case because you think it will protect your phone and preserve resell value then you need to take a personal finance class.

$160 to protect a $199 device...unreal.

The iPhone 5 16GB is $650...

 

[Korican100]

^THIS^

I think it's incredibly arrogant of this company to charge $160 for a case!

If you simply like the case and you are willing to spend the money because you think it improves the look of your phone, then more power to you.

However, if you are buying the case because you think it will protect your phone and preserve resell value then you need to take a personal finance class.

$160 to protect a $199 device...unreal.

the iphone 5 is not $199. Now if you are speaking about the subsidized price, remember you are paying the rest to your phone carrier by being locked in for two years.

And like i said before, many people buy this as an extension of design -- aesthetics reasons. And they will tend to it as such -- carefully. HOWEVER, if they do drop the phone, at least the corners will be protected as opposed to people who have naked iphones and are completely vulnerable.

 

[VandyChem2009]

the iphone 5 is not $199. Now if you are speaking about the subsidized price, remember you are paying the rest to your phone carrier by being locked in for two years.

And like i said before, many people buy this as an extension of design -- aesthetics reasons. And they will tend to it as such -- carefully. HOWEVER, if they do drop the phone, at least the corners will be protected as opposed to people who have naked iphones and are completely vulnerable.

That's not really true. You dont' get a discount on any of the carriers if you bring your own device. So since they are charging you the same price for two years regardless of buying full retail or at a subsidy you aren't really paying anything.

So what I'm trying to say if you are planning on being on ATT, Verizon, or Sprint buying the phone for $199 is actually just that.

 

[Korican100]

That's not really true. You dont' get a discount on any of the carriers if you bring your own device. So since they are charging you the same price for two years regardless of buying full retail or at a subsidy you aren't really paying anything.

So what I'm trying to say if you are planning on being on ATT, Verizon, or Sprint buying the phone for $199 is actually just that.

That's the thing. If you bring your own phone, you don't have to be locked in to any contract. Being locked into a contract is how they get your money -- By knowing they will get your money for two years. Its not like you are just paying $199 for a phone. You are paying AND signing a contract to a premium (higher than average) phone package

And then on top of that, those people who are buying phones outright with no contract pay full price. And those people still locked into contracts for two years, that buy full price.

 

[VandyChem2009]

That's the thing. If you bring your own phone, you don't have to be locked in to any contract. Being locked into a contract is how they get your money -- By knowing they will get your money for two years. Its not like you are just paying $199 for a phone. You are paying AND signing a contract to a premium (higher than average) phone package

And then on top of that, those people who are buying phones outright with no contract pay full price. And those people still locked into contracts for two years, that buy full price.

If you take your cell phone which you already own and open a verizon account you are paying month to month but the contract charge is exactly the same as a person who walks in a buys an iPhone 5. Now if you don't sign the contract you paid $650 at least for that iPhone 5 and you are also paying for the service which is the same as the person who paid $199 but signed a two year contract. If you and that person keep your service for 6 months you pay exactly the same. If you decide to go you don't have to pay a fee but you still paid $650+service. If the guy who signed the contract leaves he paid $199+service+$290 ETF. So really who is better off. Now obviously if you don't want to use Verizon that's another story.

 

[ngocnguyen]

I think it's incredibly arrogant of this company to charge $160 for a case!

If you simply like the case and you are willing to spend the money because you think it improves the look of your phone, then more power to you.

However, if you are buying the case because you think it will protect your phone and preserve resell value then you need to take a personal finance class.

$160 to protect a $199 device...unreal.

Read my posting to another guy that thinks the Sector5 case is over priced..maybe it will make sense to you, maybe it won't. Nevertheless, these are manufacturing issues that the typical consumer has NO CLUE about.

If you have no experience with machining or any other type of manufacturing, then your statements are unsupported and uneducated.

"
Quote:
Originally Posted by eldo33 View Post
looking at the price of this bring me back to the show "Shark Tank" and how each product cost and mark up from each vendor profit can be. $160 to sell would probably cost about $10-15 to make. THIS IS RIDICULOUSLY OVER PRICE

What background and experience do you have to even come up with a $10-15 range on a CNC billet machined iPhone case?

what do you know about machining?

You have 4 individually machined alloy parts..very thin pieces...what's your creative solution in fixturing these parts down being machined?

As far as I know...you cannot have a perfect part off the machine...it will always have a fixture mark. These parts have to be finished properly prior to anodizing otherwise, anodizing shows every damn nick, dent, inconsistent surface..in otherwords, anodizing magnifies a cosmetic problem in the substrate (alloy). So Element must do a lot of hand finishing prior to anodizing. Their parts are beautiful too!

There are 4 plastic parts in the corner...now I imagine this is injection molded..so how much is tooling? $15k? material cost is negligible

stainless steel screws...not that cheap

packaging..how much you think it cost for all the packaging that goes into the cases?

what about the wrench? those are CNC machined as well?

back plates and screen protector included...

usually with their high end cases you get an EVA molded transit case too...what's the cost on that?

So add up all your cost..made in the USA..so they say

I bet your nowhere even close to $10-15 range...I say in the $40-50 range..I bet they're not making much.

If they went overseas, cost would 3/4 less..but I bet quality suffers dramatically. "

 

[Jasonv2]

lol I don't care how much "experience" you have with machining, a small aluminum band like this is not worth $160, you must be high on bath salts. If you like the look of this case, that's one thing. Personally I find it to be hideous.

 

[ngocnguyen]

what type of car do you drive?

 

[Jasonv2]

The type of car I drive is irrelevant, you'll just try to make some analogy that won't make sense given this topic.

The case isn't worth the asking price, don't be delusional and try to sell yourself into it because you like the case. I understand we buy into more expensive things for the sake of vanity at times. That's fine, but just as long as you're well aware of that, no big deal.

 

[silverpilate]

That case is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. How hard is that to understand? If it was made of straws and cardboard, nobody would be dropping that kind of cash on it. However, it is a precision engineered and manufactured case that appeals to a small niche in the world of phone cases. The fact that they are having to tier their release and take an extensive waiting list is evidence that there are plenty of people who are willing to pay the price they've set. It doesn't make it right or wrong.

Heck, I've seen $5 canvases with $2 worth of paint smeared on them sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is it worth it? Apparently someone thinks it is. Worth is completely in the eye of the beholder. To YOU, it may not be worth $160, but to many many people, it certainly is.

 

[wookiee2cu]

I do like the looks of it a lot and wouldn't have a problem paying the price but the side where the sim card goes bugs me. I don't like it being open like that for things to get in there and scratch up the phone. I'll check back with their site in a few months and see if they have other designs available, cool looking though.