For the record, our rigid mount bumper cost $395 in bare steel form. $425 w/ powdercoat. We add light tabs, flag mounts, etc. for FREE. A fully integrated skid plate (which we don't show in ANY advertisements) is $75, and the clevis mount option w/ clevis is $50. With that said, the most one of our bumpers could possibly cost is $550...
More power to you if you want to rig up your own contraption, I'm the same way in my personal life. No offense, but if you're going to knock anyone, at least get the facts right.
Some people just don't want to mess with it. That's were we vendors come in. As big as the UTV market is, it's not like we're producing millions of our parts. Therefore, the cost of keeping the lights on, building heated, toilet flushing, rent, loans, phone, fax, internet, accountants, taxes, vendors and employees paid, insurance policies held, materials on the shelf, equipment working, R & D in motion and the shop truck running, has to be split up evenly over the number of products we put out. And last I checked, it isn't illegal for a guy to make a couple extra bucks in profit to put away in a saving account so maybe he can retire some day, or buy his own idea of a toy. So I think this "utv tax" I hear people refer to time and again might just be a matter of supply vs. demand. Maybe at some point as this market grows, we'll be able to lower our prices a little bit due to the fact we need to find ways to produce volumes more efficiently. That would be great for everyone. Until then, feel free to build your own parts. Heck, give me a call and I'll even set you up with tabs. But for the other 80% of UTV owners, us vendors are sitting right here by the phone ready to help you with whatever you'd like. We’re happy to do it since it’s you who keep our families fed with the money you’ve worked hard enough to save for your toy.
Thank you,