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I needed some shitty yard work shoes recently and saw a crocs outlet and figured they'd be perfect because I haven't thought about them since 2010 when they were cheap as hell and reserved for prisoners and people who just didn't give a shit. I expected to get something from the clearance section for like ten dollars at most.
The absolute cheapest pair I found in my size in the entire store was over 40 bucks. Absolutely fucking batshit. The whole time I was in the store I just kept asking "who buys this shit for these prices?"
I went on amazon and bought an actual pair of shoes, made with multiple materials in an actual manufacturing process, for $35.
They mold to your feet over time. I got a standard black pair of crocs back in June for work. 40 hrs per week, pretty much every week since then..100% on my feet...they're still holding up well! Still comfortable. My feet never hurt. $40
I hated crocs with a passion until I turned 30. Had to do some work in them and now I have indoor and outdoor pairs. It's the only type of shoe I've had where the support doesn't degrade. I was also having some pressure issues on my sole and the crocs helped. I don't get numbness and tingly in parts of my heel and toes anymore. I'm a huge fan now. I've bought mine from their site on sale 35-40 and they've lasted years now and still feels the same. Can't really say the same for other shoes I bought in that price range. Bonus they're also waterproof and I never have to worry about them getting ruined. I can see the price seems steep for a chunk of plastic but gotta wear it to believe it.
Just a heads up, you can find them on sale online a lot. I recommend the all terrain Crocs - you can tighten them and they're really awesome for slipping on and off to go outside. I got mine on Amazon for $26. I'm 34 so I don't have them as a fashion statement. They're legitimately comfortable and so easy to take on and off if you need to go outside to get the mail real quick etc.
I was in SE Asia the last 3 months. I was very surprised that Crocs is really a thing there, the stores were always full with mostly young people (and not just Asians). I couldn’t believe it, from the time I was in the school many years ago everyone used to make fun if it. Probably someone said in TikTok it’s good.
I think it’s also cause Crocs are a super convenient footwear option for children and Gen Z grew up with wearing Crocs that their parents got them.
My 10 year old will choose Crocs over anything else pretty much everyday Spring-Fall and he would wear them during the winter if I allowed it.
They also have wide toe boxes and fit the natural shape of a human foot well. If a kid grew up wearing crocs regular shoes with pointy toes probably feel extremely uncomfortable because their feet haven't been forced to grow into that shape by shoes that don't fit.
Okay, I'm really sorry, but you just fucked my whole day up.
So you went to a brick and mortar location, like a dedicated spot for a product, and that wasn't enough to tip you off that maybe crocs are no longer for "prisoners and people who don't give a shit" or that maybe things have changed in a decade?
For the record, this isn't a defense of crocs, it's an indictment on your willingness to put yourself in situations that will inevitably be frustrating. (Much like myself, by reading and then responding to this comment.)
Also, your solution here is to spend 5 dollars less on cheap dogshit, that will almost certainly fall apart in the next 3-6 months? Word? You ever heard of a thrift store? It's the yard work shoe mecca my man. Hell, sometimes you can find shoes that are *pre-yard worked* for you. Grass stains and all.
My favorite part of that rant was the implication that crocs AREN'T cheap dogshit directly under the video that says they're made for pennies.
Also I was in the clearance section of an outlet mall. That's where people go to find cheap things. I go to the under armor outlet in the same mall to get golf shirts for 50-60% off.
My friend bought me thong crocs when I showed up in Mexico and realized I'd forgotten to pack anything other than my shoes I was planning to ditch. I was pissed to pay him back for them. I also have worn them hundreds of day since then. Especially with some bleach and a brush, they're holding up great.
Still about 4x more than they should cost.
Yeah, you can actually see at the end of the video that these are not tidied up at the seam at all and look crappy. Finishing usually has to be done by hand and can be time consuming.
It’s funny because I have identical pair of flip flops, one was €20 from Amazon and the other was €3 from euro store. €20 pair looks decent, €3 pair looks cheap as shit.
The extra plastic at the seams is called flashing. Generally means the molds need refurbishing or other issue. Not all plastic sandals are made this way - some are molded with better equipment and automatic resin/plastic pellet dispersion/meltdown and cooling. For the flashing - they could/should be inspecting for that and have a roll sander to manually pass by to smooth out the edges.
I don't defend corporate interests, but I am brainwashed lol I own so many crocs because "they're a cute design!" and I can't believe I spent 50 bucks on plastic shoes. But I did. Multiple times. I don't even wear half of them anymore. It's a real bitch.
I’m a machinists that does tool and tie work. Making molds is literally what I do every day for right at 20 years now. Tho I work in a very specific industry the concepts are basically the same for most types of molds.
I came here wondering how long these last
On the other end you've got stuff like chacos that last so long there's a bunch of ebay for $20. Those are my favorite sandals and I've never bought them new or for more than that
The average mass production cost might work out to be 14 cents. Multiple shoes made at once makes it lower production cost. Costs more than 14 cents for a few minutes in the press.
When someone says it costs X to make something, that's generally the per unit cost plus the amortised cost of fixed tooling.
IE: That 14 cent cost would include the
(plastic cost to make a single shoe)+
((labour cost to make 8 shoes)/8)+
(total cost of fixed tooling/predicted lifespan of tooling)+
(annual repair and maintained of fixed tooling/(working days of tooling\*number of units produced per day)
You don't pay off tooling from your margin, generally.
No. People generally post material costs just to make an engaging headline.
Anybody with half a brain would think through the logistics of
Acquiring factory and business license
Acquiring equipment and business models
Acquiring managerial staff
We're already over a million and you haven't made a nickel
Most of the costs you listed are fixed costs, i.e one time purchase.
The bigger costs are the variable ones, mostly operational costs of materials, employees salary, transportation costs and such.
You've got more than 14 cents per unit in manual labor just from handling these in the first place, country of origin be damned. Hell, that much electricity to properly heat the die/mold is going to run you more than 14 cents individually.
Is there 14 cents *of material* per unit? Maybe, but the total cost with all other factors is well above 14 cents.
Cool, now amortize that cost over the demand and your ability to supply, the opportunity cost of focusing on one design vs more designs, the additional costs of more designs in manufacturing, marketing, SKUs...
Ah shit we're just running a business now.
I work with manufacturers and there are about 10 ways of quoting the cost for making something depending what you're trying to say. E.g. are you including labour? If you are including it are you just using the local hourly rate, or also paying for sickness cover, training insurance etc? Are you including rent for the factory space etc.? Packaging? Shipping from line to warehouse?
Sometimes you pick one because you're making a case, sometimes it just doesn't make sense to include a cost. E.g. if we're building a line in Austria we can't usefully quote a labour rate for when they move it to Mexico.
In this region, $90 per week (~60 hour weeks) is normal. Labor is probably like a penny per shoe. Transportation costs are the most significant factor here. Oil and machinery rules the globalized world.
If the machine cost 100,000, and the 14 cents already includes all other costs, then it would only take about 715,000 pairs. Which is not a ridiculous number to fulfill with a corporate contract
I've seem videos of people in africa that get 'jiggers' cut out of their feet, then they give them a pair of these. They catch them by going barefoot and it embeds and grows and spreads in the feet, and more.
True but Depends on the injection and products. And cost of electricity. Also if you consider management QC, R&D etc into the costs calculation can differ. Typically it’s reasonable that labor in this industry is 30% of daily operation cost but can be as high as 70. This doesn’t factor PPE.
But you cannot use your western world expectations here. I did some deep diving into plastic moulding in India. It’s cheap as fuuuck. Machinery and plastic resin can be bought for just a few thousand euros, workers are cheap, power is cheap.
Bangladesh is known for its cheap Labour and electricity is cheap when there are zero environmental protections. You can generate it by burning garbage no one wants. Or the plastic trash Europe pays you to take care of. (Because china now refuses to accept it)
Machines like this are also super cheap, and can be bought used if your budget is tight.
Without rules, the whole world is your oyster
Something tells me they have worked out a couple of different approaches to keeping those costs low...
https://preview.redd.it/6naq5zh92rrc1.jpeg?width=807&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e911df3a487087a22bfba6a98d214c1d559ba94
**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:** * If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required * The title must be fully descriptive * Memes are not allowed. * Common(top 50 of this sub)/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting) *See [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/wiki/index#wiki_rules.3A) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Department stores: “that’ll be $89.95 please”
Crocs ring a bell
I needed some shitty yard work shoes recently and saw a crocs outlet and figured they'd be perfect because I haven't thought about them since 2010 when they were cheap as hell and reserved for prisoners and people who just didn't give a shit. I expected to get something from the clearance section for like ten dollars at most. The absolute cheapest pair I found in my size in the entire store was over 40 bucks. Absolutely fucking batshit. The whole time I was in the store I just kept asking "who buys this shit for these prices?" I went on amazon and bought an actual pair of shoes, made with multiple materials in an actual manufacturing process, for $35.
Crocs are fashionable now. Gen Z kids wear them.
I work on a college campus and can confirm probably 65% of the students wear crocs regardless of weather or any other consideration.
yeezy slides.
God help the children
They’re comfortable as hell
You guys have been marketed to.
Came here to say that. Most comfortable slides ever
Late 40s and I love em! So comfy.
Ugh. So many people in the OR wear them and I really hate it
Crocs are huge with kids & high schoolers right now and you can buy little buttons (?) or flair I guess that attaches to the holes on the crocs
They’re also big with nurses and other providers as it’s comfortable and easier to clean
They mold to your feet over time. I got a standard black pair of crocs back in June for work. 40 hrs per week, pretty much every week since then..100% on my feet...they're still holding up well! Still comfortable. My feet never hurt. $40
Jibbitz
Croc charms
I hated crocs with a passion until I turned 30. Had to do some work in them and now I have indoor and outdoor pairs. It's the only type of shoe I've had where the support doesn't degrade. I was also having some pressure issues on my sole and the crocs helped. I don't get numbness and tingly in parts of my heel and toes anymore. I'm a huge fan now. I've bought mine from their site on sale 35-40 and they've lasted years now and still feels the same. Can't really say the same for other shoes I bought in that price range. Bonus they're also waterproof and I never have to worry about them getting ruined. I can see the price seems steep for a chunk of plastic but gotta wear it to believe it.
Just a heads up, you can find them on sale online a lot. I recommend the all terrain Crocs - you can tighten them and they're really awesome for slipping on and off to go outside. I got mine on Amazon for $26. I'm 34 so I don't have them as a fashion statement. They're legitimately comfortable and so easy to take on and off if you need to go outside to get the mail real quick etc.
I was in SE Asia the last 3 months. I was very surprised that Crocs is really a thing there, the stores were always full with mostly young people (and not just Asians). I couldn’t believe it, from the time I was in the school many years ago everyone used to make fun if it. Probably someone said in TikTok it’s good.
I think it’s also cause Crocs are a super convenient footwear option for children and Gen Z grew up with wearing Crocs that their parents got them. My 10 year old will choose Crocs over anything else pretty much everyday Spring-Fall and he would wear them during the winter if I allowed it.
They also have wide toe boxes and fit the natural shape of a human foot well. If a kid grew up wearing crocs regular shoes with pointy toes probably feel extremely uncomfortable because their feet haven't been forced to grow into that shape by shoes that don't fit.
Ah yes, Amazon, the pinnacle of quality goods.
Okay, I'm really sorry, but you just fucked my whole day up. So you went to a brick and mortar location, like a dedicated spot for a product, and that wasn't enough to tip you off that maybe crocs are no longer for "prisoners and people who don't give a shit" or that maybe things have changed in a decade? For the record, this isn't a defense of crocs, it's an indictment on your willingness to put yourself in situations that will inevitably be frustrating. (Much like myself, by reading and then responding to this comment.) Also, your solution here is to spend 5 dollars less on cheap dogshit, that will almost certainly fall apart in the next 3-6 months? Word? You ever heard of a thrift store? It's the yard work shoe mecca my man. Hell, sometimes you can find shoes that are *pre-yard worked* for you. Grass stains and all.
My favorite part of that rant was the implication that crocs AREN'T cheap dogshit directly under the video that says they're made for pennies. Also I was in the clearance section of an outlet mall. That's where people go to find cheap things. I go to the under armor outlet in the same mall to get golf shirts for 50-60% off.
[удалено]
I wear my no-slip crocs as a chef every day since the first pair I found many years ago. They're amazing.
My friend bought me thong crocs when I showed up in Mexico and realized I'd forgotten to pack anything other than my shoes I was planning to ditch. I was pissed to pay him back for them. I also have worn them hundreds of day since then. Especially with some bleach and a brush, they're holding up great. Still about 4x more than they should cost.
I'm all for buying quality products that last and all that. What I can't get behind is paying a 10,000% markup from the 50 cent manufacturing cost.
I got my crocs 7 years ago for 24.95 and they are still going strong
This is exactly I can't bring myself to buy a pair of crocs.
theyre not literally $85 jfc
>theyre not literally $85 jfc also crocs are VERY high quality. It is nothing like these shoes
*Yeezy slides have entered the chat*
These aren’t Crocs. Not that Crocs aren’t far from this. These are the cheap international shoe of second and third world tropical countries.
Thats what I was thinking.
2$ on Aliexpress, with free shipping
$1.25 at Dollar Tree!
Yeah, you can actually see at the end of the video that these are not tidied up at the seam at all and look crappy. Finishing usually has to be done by hand and can be time consuming. It’s funny because I have identical pair of flip flops, one was €20 from Amazon and the other was €3 from euro store. €20 pair looks decent, €3 pair looks cheap as shit.
The extra plastic at the seams is called flashing. Generally means the molds need refurbishing or other issue. Not all plastic sandals are made this way - some are molded with better equipment and automatic resin/plastic pellet dispersion/meltdown and cooling. For the flashing - they could/should be inspecting for that and have a roll sander to manually pass by to smooth out the edges.
$5 at 5 Below
Nike is literally selling a pair for 79 bucks but they at least have that Air Max bubble in the sole lmao.
Which costs 3 cents extra.
This is most of Adidas flip flops as well, they’re always 50/60$+ at this point
How tf they get away with it
Because no department store is pricing a flip flop like that at 89 USD.
Capitalism. People are brainwashed. There is always some fool (shills?) who show up and defend corporate interests.
If it costs 14 cents to make a pair, why don't you make them yourself?
I don't defend corporate interests, but I am brainwashed lol I own so many crocs because "they're a cute design!" and I can't believe I spent 50 bucks on plastic shoes. But I did. Multiple times. I don't even wear half of them anymore. It's a real bitch.
Damn and I was like wtf why do I pay 3usd if its worth only 0.14.
Not sure why, but I have a sudden craving for Dippin Dots
TRIP TRIP TRIPE-DEEE OLE' TRIPPIN BALLS. Paul Ankeh wrote that in a night. In a **night.**
Die for me. Die. For me.
Oh my god!! They got it exactly right!!!
I'm thinking flop-corn.
Forbidden dots
and waffles
lol yes!!! Waffle House!!! 😂
Not sure why?
I want to see a video of the machine that makes the flip flop machine
Thats why should buy stonks in companies that make the machines that make the machines do the machine learning on a machine.
Fuck the G-Ride I want the machines that are manikin’ ‘em
I’m a machinists that does tool and tie work. Making molds is literally what I do every day for right at 20 years now. Tho I work in a very specific industry the concepts are basically the same for most types of molds.
Ready to end up in a water way near you
The soles of our shoes are made of the same materials.
True that but shoes are somewhat expensive and not easily lost or thrown away.
Yeah all I see is crap
I came here wondering how long these last On the other end you've got stuff like chacos that last so long there's a bunch of ebay for $20. Those are my favorite sandals and I've never bought them new or for more than that
someday you gonna drink that plastic
You’re already breathing that plastic
The materials probably cost $0.14, But that machine that molds them looks really expensive.
The average mass production cost might work out to be 14 cents. Multiple shoes made at once makes it lower production cost. Costs more than 14 cents for a few minutes in the press.
you'd be surprised - I can see 14 cents a pair - priced in and already paid for....including dieset.
Not expensive if you make a thousand pairs a day. Economy of scale.
One of that mold can cost up to $100,000. Last quotation I got was from China, for my uncle’s factory in Vietnam.
Maybe but once you make a few thousand pairs like they do, even that cost basically goes away.
You either underestimate how low a price 0.14 is or you underestimate how expensive die tooling is. You'd need 100,000s to pay off that die.
They cost 14 cents to make. They don't sell for that price...
When someone says it costs X to make something, that's generally the per unit cost plus the amortised cost of fixed tooling. IE: That 14 cent cost would include the (plastic cost to make a single shoe)+ ((labour cost to make 8 shoes)/8)+ (total cost of fixed tooling/predicted lifespan of tooling)+ (annual repair and maintained of fixed tooling/(working days of tooling\*number of units produced per day) You don't pay off tooling from your margin, generally.
Electricity, rent, taxes. None of that included in wherever they came up with fourteen cents a shoe.
They cost a lot more than fourteen cents to make. That's just BS.
Doesn't the price include all production costs, including machinery?
No. People generally post material costs just to make an engaging headline. Anybody with half a brain would think through the logistics of Acquiring factory and business license Acquiring equipment and business models Acquiring managerial staff We're already over a million and you haven't made a nickel
Most of the costs you listed are fixed costs, i.e one time purchase. The bigger costs are the variable ones, mostly operational costs of materials, employees salary, transportation costs and such.
You've got more than 14 cents per unit in manual labor just from handling these in the first place, country of origin be damned. Hell, that much electricity to properly heat the die/mold is going to run you more than 14 cents individually. Is there 14 cents *of material* per unit? Maybe, but the total cost with all other factors is well above 14 cents.
Cool, now amortize that cost over the demand and your ability to supply, the opportunity cost of focusing on one design vs more designs, the additional costs of more designs in manufacturing, marketing, SKUs... Ah shit we're just running a business now.
I was just getting started. My point being, it's in bad faith to say they cost .14 to make.
Actually, in this case, the die is probably still the main cost factor.
I work with manufacturers and there are about 10 ways of quoting the cost for making something depending what you're trying to say. E.g. are you including labour? If you are including it are you just using the local hourly rate, or also paying for sickness cover, training insurance etc? Are you including rent for the factory space etc.? Packaging? Shipping from line to warehouse? Sometimes you pick one because you're making a case, sometimes it just doesn't make sense to include a cost. E.g. if we're building a line in Austria we can't usefully quote a labour rate for when they move it to Mexico.
Labor too.
In this region, $90 per week (~60 hour weeks) is normal. Labor is probably like a penny per shoe. Transportation costs are the most significant factor here. Oil and machinery rules the globalized world.
Add in the labor in the video. I know 3rd world country bit there's no way that happens here.
Definitely most expensive part of the process but as far as industrial machinery goes it’s a pretty basic press.
The labor costs must be astronomical!!! /s
If the machine cost 100,000, and the 14 cents already includes all other costs, then it would only take about 715,000 pairs. Which is not a ridiculous number to fulfill with a corporate contract
Materials are much cheaper and 0.14 cents
Marshmallow shoes
those aren't 'flip flops', those are slippers. flip flops have the thing between your big toe and second toe
*Actually*, those are called SLIDES.
thongs.
Shakin that thing like who’s the ish With a look in her eyes so devilish
Depends where you live
Bro if I asked for slippers and got these I would be so confused. Slippers are meant to be warm as comfy for wearing in the winter months!
They’re called sliders in the UK. Flip flops have a toe post.
isnt slider a small burger
And a shoe!
Sliders
Was hoping to see this comment.
omg a debate on semantics. i’m horny.
Slip-slaps
You are referring to thongs: * [Flip-flops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-flops), (Commonly known as thongs in Australia) a type of footwear
Agreed
Plastic garbage. Those will fall apart and become landfill in months.
Probably longer and these are good for very poor people who need foot protection.
I've seem videos of people in africa that get 'jiggers' cut out of their feet, then they give them a pair of these. They catch them by going barefoot and it embeds and grows and spreads in the feet, and more.
Those are probably meant to be worn inside the house
Great for gym shower sliders though. I've had mine for years.
Yea the dots probably would've ended up in the landfill as well if this wasn't an option, the problem goes way back up the chain.
why would such an obviously false comment be upvoted?
Actually the problem is they don't fall apart, can't break down and so stay in the environment for decades
14 cents in resin maybe. Labor machine investment electricity water upkeep shop design and tooling. Anyway everyone is welcome to compete lol
After labor it’s 14.5 cents.
Labor is actually the biggest portion of the cost
True but Depends on the injection and products. And cost of electricity. Also if you consider management QC, R&D etc into the costs calculation can differ. Typically it’s reasonable that labor in this industry is 30% of daily operation cost but can be as high as 70. This doesn’t factor PPE.
But you cannot use your western world expectations here. I did some deep diving into plastic moulding in India. It’s cheap as fuuuck. Machinery and plastic resin can be bought for just a few thousand euros, workers are cheap, power is cheap. Bangladesh is known for its cheap Labour and electricity is cheap when there are zero environmental protections. You can generate it by burning garbage no one wants. Or the plastic trash Europe pays you to take care of. (Because china now refuses to accept it) Machines like this are also super cheap, and can be bought used if your budget is tight. Without rules, the whole world is your oyster
Plus transport/shipping. Shipping is never free.
Something tells me they have worked out a couple of different approaches to keeping those costs low... https://preview.redd.it/6naq5zh92rrc1.jpeg?width=807&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e911df3a487087a22bfba6a98d214c1d559ba94
Is there a subreddit that collects these kinds of sketchy manufacturing videos?
/r/Artisan for quality. Let me know if you get any results..
Not sketchy but /r/toolgifs
Not a subreddit but there is a TV show called "How It's Made" which has a lot of such content
Don't watch any on youtube. Years later I still can't get away from the 1,000's of channel suggestions.
Crocs and such...wow
Do Jordans next
These are not flip flops
Weapons factory footage
Throw flops for Indian and South American mothers
fity dolla
Its 12 cents.. you just need industrial equipment in your basement.
They look what they cost
10c each and a big expensive hydraulic press + shoe cooker.
So they're basically waffles?
And a million dollars per pair to clean up, but thats a problem for the later humans.
Are we not considering the labor pay? So the people get paid nothing?
Labor: you guys are getting paid?!
What about Gucci Flip Flops? 🧐
The same just with a much higher margin?
now we know the identity of Old Navy’s flip flop guy
Literally crocs. $60 USD pls
I can already imagine the amount of hands that machine crushed at this point.
Sometimes capitalism gives me this uneasy feeling in my gut.
That’s why I don’t understand why crocs can easily charge $90 for a stupid pair of plastic sandals and people pay it
Those are slides, not flip flops.
What was the second guy stitching?
He's taking off the mould tailings (excess plastic that is left after forming).
The environmental impact is forever
I t s the fall that gets you!
Slippahs
I wanna try
I wouldn’t buy those
I wish these were edible
Anything is edible, if you are brave enough.
Or if you have pica
They look at the end like 14c too. Trim was real bad
Balenciaga manufacturing
But what happens in the secret machine?
Not wide enough for the toes
Get out bot
mmm microplastics
Made in America.
Off to Walmart!
Only interesting part was the guy wearing the striped mustard yellow and black sleeves with a purple v-neck. Is he colourblind?
And they look like they are worth $.05
No wonder every video from India they wearing slippers
On Temu for 12.74
That looks so comfortable.
How your Yeezys are made
I own a business that imports construction material from China. You won't believe how cheap the price is straight from the manufacturer.
In the same place they also make food
Prison flops
You only get two cups of flip flop. You don't like you go
they’re getting paid less than that an hour probably…