Why are new match air pistols so expensive?

[Leon]

Whilst I don't regret purchasing my new Feinwerkbau P8X, I really can't see how they arrived at its mega price tag.

Same for Steyr's and other top brands ..

Most of the components are made by third parties and FWB just assembles them. Apart from Pardini, who make everything on their K12s, including the barrels, most other AP manufacturers do the same.

So, let's try and guesstimate the cost of one of these -

Grips = $50
Barrel = $100 (bought by the thousands from Lothar Walther)
Frame = $100
Trigger components = $100
Sights ( front & rear ) = $150
Other components ( shrouds etc) = $150
Plastic case & packaging inserts = $30
Printed material = $15

Total = $695

So, where does the other $2,000 odd come from?

[jbshooter]

Well I own a P8X and am heavily involved in cnc production machining. After considering what the costs are in distribution and resellers margins I'm amazed they can produce what they do for the money.

[spektr]

Coming out of the Aerospace Game as a Manufacturing Engineer, I am very surprised that these
little gems are as affordable as they are. Take a look at the video and imagine all the little parts that
get made to work together perfectly, in a way that they always shoot magnificantly. The tolerances are
very tight and the parts so robust its scary......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj8hCcrAwk4

[JamesHH]

Double the price of everything you listed as its all low volume production, and add the cost of the air cylinders which you missed.
Add 10% R+D costs, 20% manufacturer margin, 20% importer margin, 20% dealer margin, 20% import duties and sales taxes and you're about there.

[kevinweiho]

Double the price of everything you listed as its all low volume production, and add the cost of the air cylinders which you missed.
Add 10% R+D costs, 20% manufacturer margin, 20% importer margin, 20% dealer margin, 20% import duties and sales taxes and you're about there.

James, you beat me to it!


Take into consideration the majority of top brand match airpistols are made in first world countries. The employee wages and benefits come into play, high tech machinery costing millions of euros involved in manufacturing and checking precision components, R&D, marketing, shipping, distribution, export/import tariffs, manufacturer/retailer profit margins, etc., that all adds up to make the 2k airpistol...

[Rover]

For the same reason a dog licks his balls.

[william]

For the same reason a dog licks his balls.

Nobody could have foreseen that.

[slofyr]

For the same reason a dog licks his balls.

Nobody could have foreseen that.

:-) You two.....

[greentangerine]

My LP2 cost £750 back in about 2008.

The price now in the UK is £1250 - that's an increase of about 100% more than the inflation hike over that period for basically the same pistol.

[william]

It's not as bad as it looks. Accounting for the official rate of inflation alone since 2008, the price rise would be over 250 Quid. I don't think anybody gets rich making and/or selling air pistols.

For a great example of what happens when selling price is a major consideration during production, I offer exhibit A. You can browse the forums for tales of woe.

[hurt]

A little levity goes a long way in today’s doom and gloom! I love all my toys that fling lead! Cost almost is irrelevant to the joy! Even the ones i have to fix to be good...

[deadeyedick]

I consider pistol shooting to be the cheapest sport I have been involved in. Even if you purchase the most expensive pistols and decide twelve months later it is not for you then the loss after resale amounts to hundreds of dollars not thousands.

Try shelling out for speedboats if water sports is your thing ..and don’t even look at the cost of purchasing and maintaining an aeroplane if flying seems attractive.

Pistol shooting is even considerably less expensive than golf so I am unsure why so many people are taken back by spending $2000 for an Olympic grade pistol and hamburger money to feed it!

Time to get a grip I think....and I mean on the cost aspect.

[David M]

My LP2 cost £750 back in about 2008.

The price now in the UK is £1250 - that's an increase of about 100% more than the inflation hike over that period for basically the same pistol.

To get a true picture of inflation.

Based on the Big Mac index £1250 is about right.......minus the special sauce.

[greentangerine]

My LP2 cost £750 back in about 2008.

The price now in the UK is £1250 - that's an increase of about 100% more than the inflation hike over that period for basically the same pistol.

I'll stick with my calculation of UK inflation and the additional cost of the pistol above that but acknowledge that for a shooting sport, AP is about as cheap as it gets.

I now also shoot several .22LR rifles in various disciplines, a .308 and also 12g shotguns for clay, and they considerably exceed in financial outlay my on going obsession with 10m AP.