$140 for an extra battery!?!

REBELimgs · Aug 30, 2015

Julius717 said:
Lmao. Solo is not comparable to the phantom. So it doesn't matter.

I stand by what I said. If you just spent 1400$ And that's with zero other upgrades. And you're crying over a 140 battery this hobby isn't for you. You want cheap go to Walmart and buy one. People always cry about the prices,

This hobby is not for the fruggle people.

Personally, I'm in for almost $3,000. I can cry all I want. Just because we can afford to spend $150 on batteries doesn't mean it's not expensive.

If you have something to prove by acting like $150 isn't a lot of money for a 20 min flight time, that's a different story but I'm not with you on that one.

Chris Vedeler · Aug 30, 2015

$149 gives you piece of mind and 100 - 200 charges minimum. That is a very conservative $1.49 to $0.75 per flight. Back in the gas RC planes days you had to deal with all that mess and hassle and cost. These are smart and proprietary batteries. I'm sure DJI is making a premium on them but it is a small price to pay for what we get with the P3.

witold · Aug 30, 2015

wordsmith said:
Well, if it's any consolation, they're just over $200 apiece in Canada. Ouch.

Uhh... no.

They're still $150 American Dollars in Canada.

What it is in loonies is inconsequential. The price is 150 US dollars in both USA and Canada.

REBELimgs · Aug 30, 2015

Chris Vedeler said:
I'm sure DJI is making a premium on them

That's an understatement if I ever heard one.

witold · Aug 30, 2015

Tony Perry said:
The cost of batteries is my only real complaint about the platform. It's sort of frustrating to know that you can buy similar specced commodity batteries for under $30.

Can you point to any place that has 4.35 high voltage 4S lipos so we can compare prices?

I see that Hobbyking is selling high voltage lipos. Turnigy Bolt 2800mAh 4S 15.2V costs $42. They don't even make a 4S as big as a P3 takes, but if we double the price of this one, it would cost ~$80. And if you want to get them as quickly as you can get a P3 battery, you'll have to add another $20-ish for faster shipping from China. $100-ish total, without the "smart" battery board that keep track of cycles/etc.

Cheaper? Perhaps. But it's more of a $100 vs $150 difference. Not $30 vs $150.

REBELimgs · Aug 30, 2015

witold said:
Can you point to any place that has 4.35 high voltage 4S lipos so we can compare prices?

I see that Hobbyking is selling high voltage lipos. Turnigy Bolt 2800mAh 4S 15.2V costs $42. They don't even make a 4S as big as a P3 takes, but if we double the price of this one, it would cost ~$80. And if you want to get them as quickly as you can get a P3 battery, you'll have to add another $20-ish for faster shipping from China. $100-ish total, without the "smart" battery board that keep track of cycles/etc.

Cheaper? Perhaps. But it's more of a $100 vs $150 difference. Not $30 vs $150.

Throwing in the cost of expedited shipping is REALLY reaching. They're expensive and that's that, really.

witold · Aug 30, 2015

REBELimgs said:
Throwing in the cost of expedited shipping is REALLY reaching. They're expensive and that's that, really.

Reaching what? Are you trying to say that getting an item in 2-3 days is exactly the same as Hobby King slow boat that takes 5 weeks? Is that the same thing to you? We are trying to compare same things, right?

When I order stuff from B&H, I usually get it next day. And that includes the batteries. This is what you get when you buy P3 battery, so this is what I'm trying to compare to. Apples to apples. Distribution is a big deal - and it is a cost. It's obviously going to be cheaper if you buy from China and wait. It's going to be even cheaper if you fly to China and show up at the factory door. But it's not the same thing, is it?

What is interesting about Phantom 2 batteries (which I regular 3s) is that despite a bunch of aftermarket sellers, they're not much cheaper. $80-100 vs $130. And the 6000 ONBO is endlessly out of stock, only available from China, for pretty close to $130... If batteries are so overpriced, how come no one is able to make these $30 Phantom 2 batteries?

4wd · Aug 30, 2015

wordsmith said:
Well, if it's any consolation, they're just over $200 apiece in Canada. Ouch.

And £148 in UK = $227
If they were $148 - under £100 - here it would be a delight.

Julius717 · Aug 30, 2015

REBELimgs said:
Personally, I'm in for almost $3,000. I can cry all I want. Just because we can afford to spend $150 on batteries doesn't mean it's not expensive.

If you have something to prove by acting like $150 isn't a lot of money for a 20 min flight time, that's a different story but I'm not with you on that one.

Lol. Again show me another drone with "cheap" batteries and more than 20min flight time that compares then I will consider your argument valid. go buy a knock off 40$ battery and watch your **** fail and fall from the sky. Bet you rethink that 40$ spent on crap.

JoeyJoe · Aug 30, 2015

4wd said:
And £148 in UK = $227
If they were $148 - under £100 - here it would be a delight.

But just think of all of the consumer rights you have, and free medical care.

Sorry, that was out of line......

Julius717 · Aug 30, 2015

REBELimgs said:
That's an understatement if I ever heard one.

Maybe you should make and start selling your own batteries. Since they should only cost a couple bucks right.

REBELimgs · Aug 30, 2015

Julius717 said:
Maybe you should make and start selling your own batteries. Since they should only cost a couple bucks right.

Well I guess nothing has ever been to expensive in your opinion, otherwise you just made your own, eh?

Real good idea there.

REBELimgs · Aug 30, 2015

Julius717 said:
Lol. Again show me another drone with "cheap" batteries and more than 20min flight time that compares then I will consider your argument valid. go buy a knock off 40$ battery and watch your **** fail and fall from the sky. Bet you rethink that 40$ spent on crap.

If you've seen batteries for custom drones, you'd know how cheap they were... But they're not called "smart" so I guess it's okay for them to be cheap.

Sammynels · Aug 30, 2015

What's a troll???! Lol. I honestly don't know what a troll is.

phantom13flyer · Aug 30, 2015

The market dictates the price. I'll save you guys a lesson in supply and demand.

Volkhard · Aug 30, 2015

While I agree, that the price for the batts are on the very high side, it is the typical business model of charging what the market will accept. Would I like less expensive batteries? Of course, and I would own more of them.
The thing I don't agree with is to make the "smart" part of the batterie a throw awaypart , when we have reached the 100+ charging cycles. One would hope manufacturers are coming up with a smarter (more environment-friendly) design for their smart batteries. There are numbers floating around in the 6 figures anout the amount of P3 sold. Imagine the number of batteries that goes with that. I am sure it would possible to design something that allows to just change the cells and resuse the electronics and the plastic housing. That would be responsible manufacturing and would even allow recycling or proper disposal of the cells. If the drone revolution continues we will soon have a lot of batteries going into our landfills..

phantom13flyer · Aug 30, 2015

It wasn't that long ago people were paying double the price for a p3 battery.

Tony Perry · Aug 30, 2015

3dr followed DJIs lead on battery pricing. Solo batts are the same price.

Dirby · Aug 30, 2015

i paid 1408 for a phantom three profesional.
delivered to my door.

REBELimgs · Aug 30, 2015

Volkhard said:
While I agree, that the price for the batts are on the very high side, it is the typical business model of charging what the market will accept. Would I like less expensive batteries? Of course, and I would own more of them.
The thing I don't agree with is to make the "smart" part of the batterie a throw awaypart , when we have reached the 100+ charging cycles. One would hope manufacturers are coming up with a smarter (more environment-friendly) design for their smart batteries. There are numbers floating around in the 6 figures anout the amount of P3 sold. Imagine the number of batteries that goes with that. I am sure it would possible to design something that allows to just change the cells and resuse the electronics and the plastic housing. That would be responsible manufacturing and would even allow recycling or proper disposal of the cells. If the drone revolution continues we will soon have a lot of batteries going into our landfills..

What's this?! A reasonable post on the topic?!

Someone who admits they're expensive while acknowledging the fact that people will pay what people will pay.

It would be even nicer if the next Phantom used the P3 batteries... Unless of course they manage to make a longer lasting battery.