Area10 said..
I agree with Colas. In Europe it isn't unusual to have to wait 3-6 months for delivery of a production board. 6 weeks for a custom sounds like no waiting time at all to me.
The five main reasons why all people don't buy custom boards are probably:
(1) resale value.
(2) the perception that more R&D may have gone into a big brand board, so it's less likely to be a dog.
(3) lack of demo boards available from your typical shaper, meaning you can't try before you buy.
(4) lack of marketing often means that people simply aren't aware of what is on offer from custom shapers.
(5) perceived worries about warranty and back-up services from local shapers.
If local shapers were to address these issues, and could handle the extra orders that would ensue, then they would probably not be "local shapers" for very long, but would be well-known (like eg. Mark Raaphorst) in no time. But in my experience many local shapers have chosen a particular lifestyle, and this is not necessarily compatible with competing directly with professionally run international brands.
Not doubt that's true, and more to the point, if we all abandoned the big brands and everyone wanted local shapers to provide boards for them, the first thing that would happen is that 6 week waiting periods would become 6 months, and the shaper would eventually be forced to expand and bring in worker bees and a larger factory. That would require significant capital expenditure, a bank loan or possibly a white knight venture capitalist. If someone like Mark Cuban or Warren Buffett took a look at the business model of a local shaper, he would no doubt advise the shaper that the margins are way too low. It's good for buyers to be getting such bargains but it isn't sustainable in the event of massive expansion. But as you say, that isn't the lifestyle the average shaper desires.
