Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018) • Hacker News Board

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#21

Post by pstuart » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 6:20 PM UTC

Aloha wrote: post #5

I'm an avid radio listener, literally every room in my house with a power outlet has one or more tabletop radios in it. Why would I want a radio that only tunes to one channel? I tend to use vintage (80's era) clock radios at home for my tabletop radios, because of their decent pricing.

Maybe you're not the target market. I only listen to radio in the car, so I'm not that market either.

That said, it's a brilliant idea and I can see the appeal to many who do listen to one public station all day.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#22

Post by arbuge » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 6:23 PM UTC

The key part seems to be this:

> In other words: We’re making a piece of consumer electronics just-in-time in the US.

It is indeed hard to bring down costs that way, but when each unit needs to be individually programmed, as in this situation, this is a sensible way of doing it.

This is also a good way to do low volume production in general for hardware side-projects and the like. My own Relay (https://foundrytechnologies.com/relay.php) is made in the same way - the components come from China but the assembly and firmware upload is done in the US. This also keeps the firmware confidential, which works well for IP protection. For higher volumes, I'd think we'd eventually move the assembly offshore, but not the firmware upload.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#23

Post by pstuart » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 6:25 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #4

This product just seems... like a throwback to the first decade of this century. A time when we rebelled against over-advertised, and over-priced Gillette Fusion cartridges. Not by growing beards (that would come in the 2010's). But rather by shaving with $100 German double-edge razors, badger hair brushes, and artisial shaving soaps instead. This here is a cheap pocket radio, like you could find at Walmart for $5. E…

My 16 year old daughter has a spotify premium account yet has discovered vinyl and now is collecting it (yikes).

I think it's about the overall experience: tactile, "old fashioned", and functional.

Pressing play on an iPhone is a thoughtless experience. Lifting the needle or grabbing a knob is more engaging.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#24

Post by pencerw » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #4

This product just seems... like a throwback to the first decade of this century. A time when we rebelled against over-advertised, and over-priced Gillette Fusion cartridges. Not by growing beards (that would come in the 2010's). But rather by shaving with $100 German double-edge razors, badger hair brushes, and artisial shaving soaps instead. This here is a cheap pocket radio, like you could find at Walmart for $5. E…

(Note: I co-created this product, wrote this blog post, etc)

Your skepticism is something I hear a lot, and something I make it a rule not to argue with. A lot of people look at The Public Radio with disdain, and at least as many look at it without any emotional reaction at all (which is arguably worse). This was never meant to be a mass market product, and it's okay that not everyone likes it.

I will say, however, that our customer base might not be as young, bearded, and IPA-drinking as you might expect. We do sell a lot to Brooklyn (I live in Brooklyn; Kickstarter is in Brooklyn; etc) but one of our biggest customers to date is KUER, which is Utah's NPR affiliate. We've also sold large orders to a pop station in Singapore, an Orthodox Jewish community radio station in New Jersey, and to someone's grandma in rural Nebraska who makes mason jars into light fixtures that look like fireflies (one of our first customers, back in ~early 2014).

As to whether the market's going away: As I mentioned in another comment, I'm continuously surprised when I see The Public Radio in the wild and can say without reservation that we have sold way more of these things than I ever expected. And if it were someone else's creation, there's a good chance that I'd look at it with furrowed brows as well.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#25

Post by ExBritNStuff » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 6:43 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #4

This product just seems... like a throwback to the first decade of this century. A time when we rebelled against over-advertised, and over-priced Gillette Fusion cartridges. Not by growing beards (that would come in the 2010's). But rather by shaving with $100 German double-edge razors, badger hair brushes, and artisial shaving soaps instead. This here is a cheap pocket radio, like you could find at Walmart for $5. E…

I don't think there is a problem with the product per se; as others have mentioned I only listen to one radio station ever. That isn't a limiting factor for me, and I like the design and aesthetic it gives off. The kicker for me is I can't justify the cost, even if I understand 100% why it costs what it does.

That being said, there are still a lot of people out there in a certain age bracket with a certain life style for whom $60 isn't a big deal and they would be be more than happy to pay that much for something that 'brings them joy'. The Farmers Market set is still out there and living large, even if it isn't quite as rampant as it was a few years ago.

Now if it was $25, I would probably get one in a heartbeat, because that's my 'this isn't going to hurt me and if I enjoy it, why not' price.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#26

Post by tim58 » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 7:05 PM UTC

i_am_proteus wrote: post #13

StevePerkins wrote: post #4

This product just seems... like a throwback to the first decade of this century. A time when we rebelled against over-advertised, and over-priced Gillette Fusion cartridges. Not by growing beards (that would come in the 2010's). But rather by shaving with $100 German double-edge razors, badger hair brushes, and artisial shaving soaps instead. This here is a cheap pocket radio, like you could find at Walmart for $5. E…

A Merkur 34 costs $40 and blades are $6/100. I broke even vs. cartridge razors in three months, a decade ago. This is not a throwback to the safety-razor hipster era of yesterday, this is a manifestation of the artisan-chic post hipster/hipster-yuppie/yupster reality of today. Alternate take: in an increasingly complicated world, people are coming to value simplicity and aesthetics, and will pay for these things.

Chiming in on shaving.

The double-edge safety razor can either be something that's cost saving compared to Gillette or an expensive hobby. I personally know people that spent $750 in shaving equipment, only to go back to an electric Phillips within five years.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#27

Post by hatfortguy » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 7:22 PM UTC

pencerw wrote: post #18

vyrotek wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it is tunable which breaks the whole 'statement' for me.

That's fair, but if I were to guess I'd say only 5% of our customers are even aware that the radio is re-tunable. It's not a secret by any means, but we don't really promote it and even if you did once know about it you could easily forget that it's an option at all.

I really like this. The fact that it's re-tunable makes this reusable for people who would otherwise have to buy a replacement and throw this one away.

We recently moved house and had to return our radio, even just to stay on the same station (they broadcast on slightly different local frequencies across the country to overcome local noise).

I'm seriously considering buying one of these but wouldn't be if it wasn't reprogrammable; I'm not into throw-away electronics because of the environmental impact.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#28

Post by iancmceachern » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 7:35 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #4

This product just seems... like a throwback to the first decade of this century. A time when we rebelled against over-advertised, and over-priced Gillette Fusion cartridges. Not by growing beards (that would come in the 2010's). But rather by shaving with $100 German double-edge razors, badger hair brushes, and artisial shaving soaps instead. This here is a cheap pocket radio, like you could find at Walmart for $5. E…

I think it's a throwback to the B. Braun days when Dieter Rams was in charge. The product is more than the task it performs, it is a piece if art.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#29

Post by liability » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 7:48 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #4

This product just seems... like a throwback to the first decade of this century. A time when we rebelled against over-advertised, and over-priced Gillette Fusion cartridges. Not by growing beards (that would come in the 2010's). But rather by shaving with $100 German double-edge razors, badger hair brushes, and artisial shaving soaps instead. This here is a cheap pocket radio, like you could find at Walmart for $5. E…

I bought a double sided razor for $10. A pack of blades was only a few dollars more, mere pennies per blade.

This idea that non-cartridge shaving is an expensive hipster pursuit is probably FUD promulgated by the companies trying to sell you razor cartridges. Everything I currently own for shaving cost me less that a single pack of replacement cartridges.

Re: Why The Public Radio is sixty dollars (2018)

#30

Post by greenyoda » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 8:05 PM UTC

pencerw wrote: post #15

vyrotek wrote: post #10

For those confused as I was, you can switch the current station but it's not convenient or meant to be done often. You can basically disassemble the radio and press a button to cycle through available FM stations and leave it on the one you want. Why this button isn't just available on the lid is beyond me. While I do appreciate simplicity I really don't understand the value of a single station radio either. > https:…

Hey! Co-inventor of the product (and author of the link) here. The reason that the button isn't on the lid is because that makes the lid uglier and, more importantly, undermines the philosophy behind the UI - which is to keep the device as absolutely simple as possible. The idea came from my partner (Zach Dunham) and was inspired partly by Radiolab's 2008 episode, "Choice" - it's a bit of a deep cut but I recommend l…

> Lastly, you should note that a lot of our business now comes from selling The Public Radio to radio stations (again, mostly NPR affiliates) to give out as fund drive gifts.

Here in NYC, we have two NPR-affiliated public radio stations that often play different content, WNYC AM and WNYC FM, and their parent organization also runs WQXR (a classical music station) and NJ public radio. So even if you only listen to public radio (like I do), an untunable FM-only radio wouldn't be enough. ("Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.")

My ideal "simple" radio would be one that worked like my car radio: you can preset any number of AM/FM stations and then select them with forward/backward buttons. (And once you have a display that can indicate the station, it would be sad if it couldn't also be an alarm clock.)