Are Cubes Worth Their Price?

acrystal

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Time by time, cubes have been becoming more expensive, causing cubers to slowly result in more of a problem. So why not check if the cubes we have are worth the cost.

The task is simple, list a cube's name/link, at give a rating out of ten/hundred.

We can also indentify stuff that make a cube expensive, like UV coating.

That's all realy, not expecting to make the post last long
 
Time by time, cubes have been becoming more expensive, causing cubers to slowly result in more of a problem. So why not check if the cubes we have are worth the cost.

The task is simple, list a cube's name/link, at give a rating out of ten/hundred.

We can also indentify stuff that make a cube expensive, like UV coating.

That's all realy, not expecting to make the post last long
Actually, cubes that are super good might be worth more than what you think!
There's more than what meets the eye aside from UV coating. It looks nice (I always look for UV versions) but the effort it takes to design a cube, produce it, and ship it adds up. That is why some cubes (like the Gan 16 Max) are crazy expensive. Plus, to stay in business, companies have to make their profit. That is where I think it gets unreasonable. They want too much profit +businesses in general as well as Cubing manufacturers) is the amount of profit from US they try to get
Aside from that I think it is worth paying 80+ dollars to have a flagship model!
 
Time by time, cubes have been becoming more expensive, causing cubers to slowly result in more of a problem. So why not check if the cubes we have are worth the cost.

The task is simple, list a cube's name/link, at give a rating out of ten/hundred.

We can also indentify stuff that make a cube expensive, like UV coating.

That's all realy, not expecting to make the post last long
I agree with this problem

There is no one who would want to evaluate the costing in this way, since many cubers can afford overpriced cubes.
 
Honestly, I believe it just depends on what you value as a consumer, as well as the variety of cubes that you've been exposed to (as in you've actually tried them)
For example, a cuber who has just got into the hobby has most likely seen at least one of jperm's videos, and the first thing you notice about his cube is: it's a GAN.
For most non-chinese people, one of the only recognisable cube logos is always going to be Gan's logo, due to it not being Chinese characters. Along with that, Gan has been a leading cube manufacturer since it is a company that has produced many different world record cubes across many different eras of speedcubing.
So, as a real example, the first thing that I did when I started speedcubing was I asked my mother for a Gan 2x2 as a Christmas present.
I can literally remember her saying: "Why is it more expensive than the 3x3 [referring to a Gan 356 XS that she had ordered as well, my first ever magnetic cube!]??"
This was kind of weird to me but when I got the cube I thought to myself; " WHAT
THIS IS GOOD "
When a cuber hasn't ever tried a cube other than perhaps their own Rubik's brand from home, there is no way at all to know whether a cube is right for them or not, or whether it's any good at all!!
This is a concept that was discussed in Brandon True's podcast with Phil Yu, where they discussed cube marketing stuff
here it is btw
Anyway, I think an important thing to note is that, as a beginning speedcuber who perhaps hasn't gone to a comp yet, when you have a product as recognisable and distinguishable as a Gan cube, and then you watch many youtube videos from faster cubers who are using that cube brand's product, you'll think that a Gan cube is the best option, as "all of the pros use one"


But then....

You realise the video's 5 years old
forehead-slap-slapping-forehead.gif

Either way, fast forward again to the present day, and the world record cube is... a Gan cube? Everybody says Gan cubes were overpriced for their value!!!
Well I guess that's just the reality of things when the sponsorees who are breaking the records literally don't have to care about the prices cause they're sigma like that 😎😎
Okay so... I think a good example of value for money is the recent Warrior big cubes from QiYi. They are literally cheaper than most low-mid range 3x3s, which just goes to show that companies don't need to make their products insanely expensive.
If you value performance over anything else though, there is no argument for "This cube is the best, but it's overpriced." There simply isn't, as if it's the best cube, then it's the best cube, regardless of the price.
There's a reason why Gan makes revenue
 
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