Antigen Test Cost Rip Off

superbigal

Just got this alert from one of my customer/suppliers.   The 99.3% claims will be ridiculous but shows the profiteering going on by those that are charging up to £100 for these kind of tests.  You can now obtain them for a tenth of those prices as a complete DIY system.

With the spread of COVID-19 increasing and the huge strain being put on to the NHS and other vital services, it is imperative that we keep everyone as safe as possible. The new FlowFlex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Tests are used across the country in airports and other areas where a need for a fast result on a COVID-19 test is required.  These high-performance kits use a nasal swab to take specimens and offer results within 10-20 minutes, meaning that as a business you can quickly identify anyone who may be infected and therefore need to self-isolate regardless of whether they are showing symptoms or not.

 

Details:

 

Convenient nasal swabs Fast results in 10-20 minutes Excellent performance and reliability  Room temperature storage 99.3% accuracy Designed for professional use

 

Pricing:

 

25 tests  -  £8.00 per test  400 tests - £7.25 per test 800 tests - £6.50 per test

 

25 tests per box - 32 boxes per outer. Stock availability within 2-3 days.

cattie

Unless I'm missing something I'd hardly call it a rip off. I was expecting to see prices quoted at £100 or more per test.

superbigal

cattie said:

Unless I'm missing something I'd hardly call it a rip off. I was expecting to see prices quoted at £100 or more per test.

Clearly you are missing the point.
I am comparing to tests that cost £100 at the airport (Rip off) when you and i can buy a pack of 25 for only £200

eskbanker

You could make essentially the same argument about any form of retail - if you cherry-pick the underlying wholesale net unit price paid to distributors and compare it with the fully-loaded retail price (including staff, rent/rates, taxes and all the other business costs), there will always be a substantial discrepancy, which is inevitably exacerbated in an environment such as airports where customers are captive (but overheads are also higher).  The bottle of water sold in an airside WHSmith at £1.50 probably cost the company 10p from the wholesaler, for example, but the same fundamental principle applies for pretty much any retail environment even if actual margins obviously vary....

cattie

superbigal said:

cattie said:

Unless I'm missing something I'd hardly call it a rip off. I was expecting to see prices quoted at £100 or more per test.

Clearly you are missing the point.
I am comparing to tests that cost £100 at the airport (Rip off) when you and i can buy a pack of 25 for only £200

Ah, I see, I missed that! It's all clear to me now.

mattyprice4004

As above, it's really not out of the ordinary for that kind of cost vs. retail price discrepancy.
Good margin = good business, and these companies doing testing have staff and other costs to pay.

sheramber

But why pay £200  and have  24 tests that you do not need? Cheaper to pay the £100

Nebulous2

I think you are comparing apples with pears here. The £100 will see someone process the test for you and provide you with a certificate with the result. That will get you on a plane. 

The pack of kits you buy will come with instructions of how to use them for your own reassurance and I can’t see anyone else accepting the results. 

Thrugelmir

Will people test themselves correctly. Many most likely not. 

p00hsticks

Thrugelmir said:

Will people test themselves correctly. Many most likely not. 

The OP says that the tests mentioned are 'designed for professional use'. They sound very much like the tests our local council is facilitiating for the large businesses in the area. A requirement is that the business has an Occupational Health team or willing first aiders who would be trained to conduct the tests. 

Davesquire

eskbanker said:

You could make essentially the same argument about any form of retail - if you cherry-pick the underlying wholesale net unit price paid to distributors and compare it with the fully-loaded retail price (including staff, rent/rates, taxes and all the other business costs), there will always be a substantial discrepancy, which is inevitably exacerbated in an environment such as airports where customers are captive (but overheads are also higher).  The bottle of water sold in an airside WHSmith at £1.50 probably cost the company 10p from the wholesaler, for example, but the same fundamental principle applies for pretty much any retail environment even if actual margins obviously vary....

I get where you are coming from, but come on! You don't in any way believe that there isn't a teensy teensy bit of 'captive audience with no alternative' exploitation going on? Really?