A $1k Wheelchair • Hacker News Board

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#241

Post by jumperabg » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:12 AM UTC

pkphilip wrote: post #214

$1k for a manual wheelchair? and that is considered cheap? I have no idea why a wheelchair should be that expensive. We get them here in India for far less - you can buy pretty good wheelchairs for much less than $100. You can get powered wheelchairs for around $500. https://www.amazon.in/b/ref=dp_bc_aui_C_3?ie=UTF8&node=11365...

I am not a wheelchair expert but $1k is quite a lot, also there are quite a lot of cheap options in Europe for less than ~$350 and some of them are covered by the public health care system.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#242

Post by jillesvangurp » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:19 AM UTC

I just did a search for wheelchairs on the German version of Amazon. I'm not in the market but I was just curious.

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/bestsellers/drugstore/28602980...

There are lots of models with very reasonable prices and features; mostly well below 1000 euros. Including a few electric ones. Manual ones seem to be generally well below 500 euros. At 1000 euros we're talking some seriously tricked out models with all sorts of features that I'd probably want if I was in the market. I'd probably spend a bit more. And I'd be very surprised to not get support from my insurer for this.

The model in the article pretty bare bones in comparison. Not just a little bit. Like really bare bones. I'm sure it's great and ergonomic and really good quality. But what's the real story here? Inept US manufacturing or corrupt US insurers? Or both?

For reference, I just found a very reasonable looking electric wheelchair for 999 euros by a company called WISGING. With some 5 star reviews from buyers. In stock. Would arrive around 9 October if I ordered it now. 20km range, apparently.

The stuff on Amazon looks like it comes mostly from China where they are probably producing these things in large volumes to provide affordable, decent wheel chairs for whomever needs them around the world.

The world is bigger than the US and people use wheel chairs all over the place. The kind of pricing and quality cited in the article in the US would be completely unacceptable in most parts of the world. And never mind the shipping times. Is it not possible to simply import these things? I'm sure there are some tariffs to deal with but even so, what's stopping people here?

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#243

Post by lofaszvanitt » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:20 AM UTC

[flagged]

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#244

Post by pentae » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:26 AM UTC

pjdesno wrote: post #225

Just wondering - why is it that a bunch of tech bros who would think nothing of spending $2-300 on some fancy-ass keyboard because it’s incrementally more comfortable to their fingertips than a $15 one from Microcenter think that a person doesn’t care about the quality of a wheelchair they’re going to be stuck in for all their waking hours?

Why are we assuming that this isn't a quality/comfortable wheelchair?

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#245

Post by Miraste » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:33 AM UTC

HPsquared wrote: post #73

Miraste wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least one guy on reddit did this and is still sending out the files for people who ask: https://old.reddit.com/r/MouseReview/comments/enxzgg/lefty_g... It seems like a massive pain though. Rebuilding a non-symmetrical mouse the other way would take electronics tinkering as well as 3d printing, and probably a ton of work to get all the connections and tolerances right. I am left handed, and I use trackpads with my…

I'd assume the electronics are very modular and probably just clip into place in a single unit. You do need a battery compartment or something though, and the buttons need to fit well. Wheel can come from donor mouse.

Unfortunately they are not. Mouse motherboards are generally shaped like the mouse, i.e. right-handed, and the side buttons are on ribbon cables too short to move to the other side. Impossible to reorient without serious work.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#246

Post by zeroq » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:41 AM UTC

metadat wrote: post #190

nothercastle wrote: post #122

The BOM for this wheel chair is probably 200-300 of just wheels and bearings maybe more. People who say this can be bought for 200$ are completely out of touch. You can’t even buy a decent bike for much under a grad new and bikes have much better scale.

https://bikesdirect.com/ Lots of good bikes in the $300-500 range. I've had one for more than 12 years and thousands of miles without issue or drama. I paid $300 for a single speed road bike from BD in 2012, it looks fancier than it is with a carbon fiber fork. Added some Gatorskin tires and it's worked ever since, I only clean and lube the chain every 5 years so far. Made in Canadia.

Good wheels costs 500-1000 $/E for aluminium, carbon costs more, but for most people is really not neccesary. Premium tires like GP5k cost close to a 150 a pair.

Not saying that the wheelchair is provided with these because I haven't checked the spec, but saying you can have a bike for $300 is like saying you can buy shoes for $10.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#247

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:46 AM UTC

nothercastle wrote: post #234

r0fl wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A decent bike for a child costs more than that these days in North America. You either bought this bike used, stolen, in 1989 or are trolling.

A good Kids bike is easily 300-400. If you want one that weighs less than your kid that’s what you have to pay.

[deleted]

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#248

Post by dfgsdfgwef » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:48 AM UTC

pkphilip wrote: post #214

$1k for a manual wheelchair? and that is considered cheap? I have no idea why a wheelchair should be that expensive. We get them here in India for far less - you can buy pretty good wheelchairs for much less than $100. You can get powered wheelchairs for around $500. https://www.amazon.in/b/ref=dp_bc_aui_C_3?ie=UTF8&node=11365...

Here in Malaysia we can get pretty good quality wheel chair for US$46. I am genuinely surprised to see people consider $1k cheap for a wheel chair!

https://www.lazada.com.my/products/gt-medic-germany-ultra-li...

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#249

Post by roywiggins » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:50 AM UTC

jillesvangurp wrote: post #242

I just did a search for wheelchairs on the German version of Amazon. I'm not in the market but I was just curious. https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/bestsellers/drugstore/28602980... There are lots of models with very reasonable prices and features; mostly well below 1000 euros. Including a few electric ones. Manual ones seem to be generally well below 500 euros. At 1000 euros we're talking some seriously tricked out mod…

it's funny seeing comments like this on the same website where people insist- not unreasonably- that buying $3k ergonomic office chairs and motorized sit-stand desks for office workers is a must. Why can't they sit on piled up packing pallets? It's much cheaper and still kind of chair-shaped.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#250

Post by devjab » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 5:54 AM UTC

zeroq wrote: post #227

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…

I'm a big fan of his channel, but when I saw the price tag, it got me thinking for a moment. Wheelchairs are a great example of why niche products are expensive. I think you're spot on with certifications. I was stupid a few times and needed orthopedic equipment. Each time, the price flabbergasted me. But it didn't matter since the health insurance fully refunded it. In a regulated market, if you can influence the ca…

It’s not that small of a market if you consider how many wheelchairs the European public sector buys. Take your average Danish hospital and they’ll have at least 10 wheelchairs placed at every major entrance. They’re basically like shopping carts in a lot of public healthcare places. These are semi-regularity replaced because of wear and tear. If you could supply them with a cheap, solid be easily repairable version you could disrupt that market.

Of course you’re not going to have a very easy time entering the market. But even though they buy these things on regulated supply deals, they’re not cheap. If you could get a certified electric one on top of a (I’m not sure if it’s called regular), then you would be posed for disrupting the market.