why are screen protectors so expensive?

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greenhorn

greenhorn

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I was looking through the prices of screen protectors here, and was amazed at the prices. i was expecting the 100ish prices in local markets, but expected cheaper prices on TE and ebay. I mean 100+ for a single screen protector? I can understand for a single one, since shipping might be involved, but no bulk offers ?

I got mine from the uk EMARTBUY SAMSUNG I5700 GALAXY PORTAL SCREEN PROTECTOR: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

And that isnt an exception. prices are in general lesser , especially in bulk there.

Being closer to china, i figured prices would be lesser. but not so. Any idea why?
 
greenhorn said:
I was looking through the prices of screen protectors here, and was amazed at the prices. i was expecting the 100ish prices in local markets, but expected cheaper prices on TE and ebay. I mean 100+ for a single screen protector? I can understand for a single one, since shipping might be involved, but no bulk offers ?

I got mine from the uk EMARTBUY SAMSUNG I5700 GALAXY PORTAL SCREEN PROTECTOR: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

And that isnt an exception. prices are in general lesser , especially in bulk there.

Being closer to china, i figured prices would be lesser. but not so. Any idea why?
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i got 6 for GBP2.5 shipped for zte blade and 5 for captivate for $2.99 shipped.

computer and cellular retail in India is a tight market. these people earn like 1-2% on cell phones with so much competition..

selling accessories is a good revenue generator..
 
and I guess smartphones dont have the same volumes here as they have there.

here's to the free market and competition then :D
 
The screen protector with that frog on its cover retails for abt Rs 70/- and has been serving me nicely.

Offlate the new screen protectors been priced pretty high but are from diff brands. Esp something like these.

These new ones any better than the trusty old Mr Frog's protection ?
 
Do not know about the retail one but i have been getting the screen protector from street vendors for max 30 bucks and those have served me well.
I have not used screen protector on a touch screen phones. So cannot make out the difference for the higher priced ones.
 
Simple answer for your question would be "They are expensive because they protect your expensive phones" :D
 
Not sure about quality but we can get 3 screen protectors full size ones (which you can cut as per need) in Mumbai local trains for Rs 10 :P
 
I personally did not find any difference between the StealthGuard (is this the one that costs 25-300 locally?) and the one that i ordered via ebay mentioned before..

They all seem to be same chinese imports..the one linked by Spacescreamer has exact same labels on the removables before use layers as to how they ere on the chinese imports..

OEM shall cost them 10bucks if bought in bulk, my guess
 
the locally cut ones have bubbles. Had to put one on a friends galaxy ace because we didnt have a choice, and it totally ruins the look

@ madnav - prolly. the cost per unit came to around 15 Rs for my Spica's 10 pack
 
only downside of ordering internationally is that it takes around 4-5weeks to arrive due to strict customs in india. but i guess one anyways used new cell phone with utter caution in that period :P

im yet to order some for atrix, not in hurry since the seller send on with mine.. it is like the zagg..rubbery..i prefer plasticy which fits easily and is smooth.

thinking of ordering otterbox impact case which comes with their scratch guard.. saw a deal for $10-11 shipped within US..now to find who can ship it from US :P
 
Margins on screen protectors are crazy in the indian market. And the fact is that dealers find so many bakras to buy them, so they are unwilling to sell for lower prices even if they can.

A cousin of mine bought a wildfire from a local shop, who generally gives good prices on phones, but his prices for accesories are crazy, so ive never bought any from him myself. So the cousin bought the phone for 13.5k was a decent price. But he bought a 16 GB card for 2.5k, a case for 1k and a screenguard for 300 bucks. I was like :O
 
^ For me too, when i bought the E71 from a retailer here, he quoted 400 bucks for the scratch guard. I was like WTF.
Got a scratch card applied from my cousin at 30 bucks only.
 
I find the cheapo scratchgards get cloudy very soon whereas some of the premium ones last longer. anyway gorilla glass ftw :D no more scratchguards
 
bottle said:
I find the cheapo scratchgards get cloudy very soon whereas some of the premium ones last longer. anyway gorilla glass ftw :D no more scratchguards
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one would think soo..

you will be worried when your pennies scratch over it..:P (no pun intended)
 
No worries, I even took a screwdriver and hacked the glass a few times nothing happened. Most of these phones with glass displays are pretty tough, even my iphone 2g survived my pocket with keys for a long time with no ill effects. Its only the nokias with the plastic fronts that get screwed up easily.
 
bottle said:
No worries, I even took a screwdriver and hacked the glass a few times nothing happened. Most of these phones with glass displays are pretty tough, even my iphone 2g survived my pocket with keys for a long time with no ill effects. Its only the nokias with the plastic fronts that get screwed up easily.
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im not kidding, one of the vibrant i got for a friend has already developed a few scratches due to change in pocket (change as a noun and not as a verb)

dunno how you manage to get the immortals.. the glass is supposed to be scratch resistant only and not scratch proof.
 
Gorilla glass is tough but not invincible... My phone has always had a skin/guard on. Ordered a few from dealextreme. Around 80 bucks for front and back per. Not a bad deal
 
bottle said:
No worries, I even took a screwdriver and hacked the glass a few times nothing happened.
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^^ :O :O :O

I normally use the Rinko Screenguards that one can get for a low as 30 rupees per piece. They last for quiet a long time. The one on my N82 survived for years!!!
 
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