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A $1k Wheelchair

newmobility.com

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Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#41

Post by mschuster91 »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #3

I just checked online and wheelchairs here (Canada) can be had for about US $500. What am I missing in this $1K “affordable” wheelchair idea?

> What am I missing in this $1K “affordable” wheelchair idea?

Truckloads of paperwork, at least in the EU. Wheelchairs are regulated as "medical devices" since 2017, which does make sense given that people tend to spend a large portion of their day sitting in them and that they tend to be on the upper end of the body weight distribution... but the certifications make them much more expensive than they'd need to be, and they also prevent competition from entering the market.

Additionally, laws of scale apply here as well. Wheelchairs are a pretty bespoke, small scale industry - outside of large orders from civil protection agencies to be used in mass evacuation scenarios (the German THW and Red Cross for example have stockpiles, mostly used in foreign aid/crisis response and WW2-era bomb evacuations), every user has their own specific needs, making mass production all but infeasible.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#42

Post by paulddraper »

changing1999 wrote: post #37

I have no knowledge of this specific product area but wondering what aspect of the wheelchair in the photo results in this seemingly high cost? (to note, I understand that this is still far cheaper than other wheelchairs). Is it the material cost? It looks like it's just a few pipes, a cushion, and a pair of wheels. About the same build as a basic bicycle.

First, have you purchased a bicycle? "High quality" bicycles start at $1,000. (quality dimensions = weight, comfort, durability, flexibility)

Second, small scale manufacturing is expensive.

Third, large-scale manufactured wheelchairs have the same problem as the rest of the medical equipment world: prices are subsidized/inflated by insurance.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#43

Post by gibrown »

fotta wrote: post #16

Custom fit lightweight wheelchairs are expensive. My Ti-Lite (one of the most popular lightweight chair brands) Aero Z starts at $3k and goes up quickly with wheels and backrest and casters and various other options that I need for sitting 16 hours a day without creating more problems. Insurance covers this for me every 5 years, but of course that's not a luxury every one has. Most plans don't cover DME 100%. What Za…

Ya, I was expecting to see something not very impressive at that link, but was pleasantly surprised. My chair is about $7k and while this one doesn't look like it would work for me, it is definitely much better than the cheap hospital chairs.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#44

Post by jeanlucas »

123pie123 wrote: post #38
TrainedMonkey wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is a side project that appears to be grown out of frustration of disabled wife & seeing the shitshow that wheelchair market is While it is absolutely true that he cares, I think you are selling his long term plans short. The primary growth factor for the channel was reviewing phones with the repairability / endurance focus, but somewhat recently he expanded to topics such as plugging abandoned oil wells which…

i think he's a better than average presenter for a youtube channel. I did like his huge bunker videos my biggest annoyance is his plugging or advertising stuff too obviously

Man has to pay bills

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#46

Post by bluGill »

notatoad wrote: post #25
jrexilius wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insurance approved I think is the key differentiator.

the article isn't super clear, but it didn't sound like the goal for the $1000 wheelchair was for it to be insurance approved.

Insurance only pays for one chair every 8 years (IIRC, my aunt who was in a wheelchair died a few years back and so now I no longer have family conversations about these details). The ability to get custom chairs for different purposes would be nice. My aunt had an off road wheelchair for using around the yard, back when she could walk around the house (with a cane), but the doctor warned her she would be full time in a wheelchair around the house before the next time insurance would buy her one. So if you can get the expensive wheel chair for around the yard and afford to buy without insurance a second better suited for around the house that would be useful.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#47

Post by jeanlucas »

Hah, now it makes more sense why Jerry was being so active on GoodTimesWithScar Twitter feed. Scar is also a wheelchair user, but is mostly famous for his YouTube landscaping videos.

Nice to see this, Jerry is not just another YouTuber grifter, he's a maker and has been involved building for his wife for a while.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#48

Post by m463 »

SirFatty wrote: post #11

before clicking the link, I thought it would be something along the lines of a Dean Kamen iBOT chair. Seems like a lot of money for a basic wheelchair.

hmm... looks like the ibot is available? $25-30k

https://newmobility.com/the-ibot-is-back/

also I looked and a walmart wheelchair is $149. Wonder why it sucks.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#49

Post by rtkwe »

fotta wrote: post #33
rtkwe wrote: post #26

It's odd seeing the number of dismissive comments missing that there are whole categories of wheelchairs for different purposes. It's like asking why XPSs exist when there are Chromebooks, something most people commenting here would immediately realize as a silly question because they suit different needs and functions but the idea doesn't come up because it's an unfamiliar problem.

In this case the OP is targeted towards people who are already familiar with this type of chair, so I can sorta understand why the reader who has only ever seen the hospital style chair is confused.

It's the lack of curiosity in not taking the small extra mental step of thinking "what niche does this clearly physically different product address?" that's the most galling/disappointing. Or having done the search and found very cheap alternatives thinking, "clearly the person setting up a business creating and with a partner that using these products daily missed that this already exists" immediately instead of looking at why JerryRigEverything might not be an idiot wasting his money.
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