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Rodenators, Warrenaters, BurrowBlasters, Varmitgetters, Tunnel Busters, WarrenBlasters - They all deliver a mix of gases to a tunnel system for ignition to cause a blast. But how well do they stand up to the job?
Pricing of Burrow Blasters in the U.K.
The long view on the prices follows. The short view is at the bottom of the page.
There is no easy way of placing a value on this type of product. It is often the case that the prices do not reflect the actual manufacturing cost. It also follows that the lower the quality the product the less the manufacturing cost and the cheaper it is to buy. Other factors that impact on the price include warranties, onsite demonstrations, service centres, sales force, trade shows, advertising and the volume of sales.
There has been a lot of chat about why these products cost so much when they are made up of very few components. The simple answer is that the volumes are low and the maintenance costs high. Insurances, workshops, demonstrators, sales reps, office and advertising costs for these products are overheads that must be supported by a small number of sales. You can see from the Rodenator price movements that they have increased their price for the most popular device they sell, this could be a reflection of the low volumes and their move to sell the device through remotely located demonstrators.
When you scrutinize the Rodenator website, their prices start at £950 for the hand held device and until recently they had their R3 available for £1250 delivered. However during the months before the start of Spring their price rose by £400 to £1650 for the same device. Their 'top of the range' product (which is almost identical to the R3) is priced well over £2000.
By contrast to the Rodenator, the Varmitgetter priced 'from' £599.00 is in our opinion - unsustainable. First, the low volume of sales being experienced in the U.K. multipled by the £599 price are unlikely to cover the manufacturing and operating costs. The implications of that may not be good for longterm support.
It is also unclear from the Varmitegetter website what it is the buyer is getting for the £599 (on the surface) it looks as if the £599.00 delivers an incomplete product.
There is no physical address for the Varmitgetter sales and support office in the U.K. on the website. Warranties and delivery costs are also absent.
As with the other products, if you are looking to buy a Varmitgetter which they now call WarrenBlaster or BurrowBlast, you should insist on a demonstration first. Then make sure you understand your warranty and support options and obtain detailed information about the location to which you will have to send your device for Warranty repairs.
Summary
Warrenater Price all in for all tunnel sizes with excellent warranties and an established operation in Kent - £1290 plus VAT delivered.
Rodenator - From £950 to over £2000 - you will need to make sure you fully understand what you need before you will be able to settle on a price. They have a long established support service in the U.K.
Varmitgetter seems to be offering a an entry price of £599. You just need to check and see what you are getting for this price. Most Farmers with Rabbits, Rats and Moles may need a lot more than that included in the £599.00 picture on the site. The net is that it is hard to tell from their website what the full price for a working system will be, so use the checklist to obtain a complete quote.
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