[bane]

10,000 of these are contracted to the UNHCR.

I've always found it curious; often innovations in the refugee arena would often be very welcome in other venues: camping, cheap structures, etc. These things are always priced really cheap, but we never see them really entering into the commercial market -- or when they do, they're always going for some kind of 2x the price scheme.

For example, these 188 sqft shelters would be great as a sheds, or workshops in affluent areas. Heck, I'd like to buy one for my parents to use as a storage shed on their property. Equivalent sized sheds (without solar power, or good design) run >$2000.

I see this all the time, nifty water purifiers, portable lights, radios, etc. There's some really interesting stuff being produced for refugees. Instead of crazy 2:1 schemes or whatever, why not just sell these on a 20% markup and donate the profit to buying more shelters? Or just sell them and push the price down due to the greater economies of scale?

The refugee space always seems so weird to me.

[chmullig]

Have you considered that maybe actually selling them to end users is > double the cost?

Massive amounts of risk, supply chain, logistics, all eliminated when selling to the UN like this.

[jedrek]

Also: warrantees and exchange policies.

It's funny, so many American consumers complain about having to pay for car or health insurance, saying that people should pay for what they use... but they would be livid if a store dropped prices by 10-15% but got rid of all exchange policies and warranties. And yet, that 10-15% is effectively insurance against buying a defective product, or even one you're just unhappy with.

btw, I'm extremely happy with IKEA's policies. We bought the wrong bed (with delivery - $20) and only figured it out while I was putting it together. My GF went to IKEA, paid the $10 difference, the delivery company came by the next day, took the wrong bed, brought the right one and confirmed that we had everything we needed. No double delivery charges, no discussion, and all that on a $150 product.

[Retric]

Don't forget about advertising which on it's own often adds 20% to niche items costs.

Also, CC processing might be ~3% but it's added on at the end. aka 3% of manufacturing, 3% sales etc. Which can add up to 10% of the initial manufacturing cost.

[systemtheory]

Some companies minimize advertising budget but manage do do very well. Patagonia spends less than 1% of sales on advertising. (http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/brand-strategy-tha...)

[bane]

That's an interesting idea. I suppose the UN takes care of all the shipping and logistics and that cost disappears from the cost of the shelter?

[atwebb]

Might be tax incentives for any loss of money/lower charge, but I get what you were saying and with Ikea being the one producing these much of the marketing and logistics would be taken care of, right? Though customer support may cost a bit more...

[bobdvb]

If Ikea stocked them in their stores then the logistics could easily be covered with their economies of scale. Importantly if Ikea did stock them it would be a way of raising money for the project. They could sell them for $1500 and give away one to charity for every three sold (assuming 20% overheads and $300 donation).

[afarrell]

LuminAID does this with their LED lights: http://luminaid.com/

[bobdvb]

Gravity Light sell their products, I bought one for my in-laws: http://gravitylight.org/