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perryizgr810/02/20242 repliesview on HN

$1000 is exorbitant for a non-motorised wheelchair. Here's [1] amazon.in offering a lot of options at ~$50. I bet these guys could import it from India and it wouldn't cost them more than $200.

[1] https://www.amazon.in/s?k=wheelchair&crid=22DWLE90LFB7O&spre...


Replies

roywiggins10/02/2024

How many ergonomic office chairs go for $50?

Wheelchairs take several orders of magnitude more abuse and need to cope with several orders of magnitude more complex needs than your average office worker and your average nice ergonomic office chair is hardly cheap.

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delfinom10/02/2024

Can you ask the Amazon seller how much it costs to custmoize the wheelchair to my specific dimensions?

While you are at it, can you ask them how much it costs to make the frame out of a single piece of bent aluminum so there are no risks of welds snapping and leaving me stranded?

You know in the west that wheelchair users actually go outside right? We legally mandate that buildings and transportation require accomodations for wheelchairs. People in wheelchairs even drive cars.

Wheelchair users that are active need far better quality frames than "hospital wheelchairs" you can find for $50. And you can already buy these on Amazon.com US. There is no need to get into a game of trying to compete with the existing importers.