Plastic carts - why so expensive?

[bchee]

These plastic carts are kind of expensive, and I rarely see them go on sale. Anybody know why?

Does any manufacturer make a plastic cart but in a bright color, like orange?


http://www.harborfreight.com/24-inch-x-36-inch-industrial-polypropylene-service-cart-92862.html

 

[Underdog]

Price of oil I suppose, steel is probably cheaper.

 

[mrholeshot]

I have had (and still have) several MAC structual plastic carts. Way tougher that steel carts.

 

[1969]

Spray bomb....."Fusion" for plastics.

 

[Ford12508]

I work with one at my job, and it really can hold a lot of weight for how light it is. I loaded up 600 pounds onto it one day, and while it was a pain to push, it definitely could have handled a few hundred more pounds, and it isn't very large at all.

 

[Slip_Kid]

I use a Rubbermaid plastic cart all the time, tough as nails. Chemical spills will not hurt it, I can hose it off to clean it. It does not scratch up doors or other things I bump into to. Mine is over 10 years old, still going strong.

 

[tatra]

we got a few of these at work and the abuse they take is phenomenal....................even the wheels take a pretty good beating...............here in canada they retail for 300 bucks...........

 

[gc11090]

We got one for free on a job not long ago, it is huge and will take a massive beating. Well worth the price in my opinion, holds tenfold what my cheap hf metal one will hold.

 

[Danglerb]

I have the big one from HF, got it on sale for about $90 without coupon. Its exactly the same as the RubberMaid that sells for about $165, very strong, chemical resistant etc.

Planned but not done yet, put a couple rails on the bottom of the top tray so a "busboy" sized plastic tray fits under it. Haven't decided on one big or two smaller, or how I want to mount the rails or what to make them out of, but soon.

 

[pp702nw]

Probably due to low sales volume and the size (cost) of the mold(tool). I would imagine the tool size for the bottom and top (assuming they are the same) would be twice the size of the part and around 4+ foot thick made of tool steel. very expensive, in 100000 range. Add in the molds for the legs and handles and it add up quickly. The Plastic (Polypropylene) is cheap at about $1 a pound. add in *very* little colorant, about $7/lb. Machine operating costs 100+ a hour probably making about 30-40 parts a hour. plus labor. So, either you need to sell lots of em cheaply or less with a bigger price tag to pay for it all.

why it doesn't go on sale i have no idea.

 

[bchee]

They are nice but the colors are boring.

 

[zer0cell]

Personally I have no problem with the color of the grey one but it did seem rather expensive to me. Are they really that durable?

 

[Jaralaccs]

They are very durable.

I got this one mainly for the height.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=storage&item_ID=16864&group_ID=3143&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Don't know why they're so expensive. They feel kinda of cheap. But they're better in every way... lighter, durable, can take just as much weight as a metal one, won't scratch cars if it bumps into them, easier to clean -this one has drain holes on both shelves.

I use a Rubbermaid plastic cart all the time, tough as nails. Chemical spills will not hurt it, I can hose it off to clean it. It does not scratch up doors or other things I bump into to. Mine is over 10 years old, still going strong.

reply 1st, read posts 2nd. I just basically repeated everything you said

 

[bchee]

also no rust

 

[bchee]

Do you guys think spray paint will stick to this kind of plastic (structural foam)?

 

[Strouty]

We got one for free on a job not long ago, it is huge and will take a massive beating. Well worth the price in my opinion, holds tenfold what my cheap hf metal one will hold.

So if you got a steel one for free would it be worth the price too?