As I was assembling a Barbie ambulance toy for my daughter earlier I said to myself for the hundredth time, “self, I’d pay $5 more for this toy for it to be fully assembled.”

The ambulance was fully assembled, out of the box, but there were over 50 stickers / decals that needed to be applied manually ... not to mention the other ancillary parts / pieces that I also had to assemble.

This happens all the time.

Is it just me? I’ll put a poll on this but there’s no doubt I would pay a premium for fully assembled items.

Toys are probably the biggest culprit but I’ve seen it with BBQs, parts / pieces for appliances, small furniture, etc.

I know some items are going to require assembly, for shipping and handling purposes. But this is getting out of hand — just to shave a few bucks off the price.

Question:
Would you pay a small premium for fully assembled items?

Choices:
Yes
No
Assembling allows me to sharpen / hone my cussing skills

 

Before I owned a truck I might be more inclined to say no. An assembled Weber Grill is pretty bulky.

Heck Yes!

I bought a new, in the box unassembled, grill 2 years ago.

I got multiple cuts from trying to put that stupid lid thing on, it was, and is, a pitifully poor design. In addition to the cuts, it took me several hours to finally get that thing put together.

I'd gladly have paid $25 or maybe $50 extra to have it assembled.

I was reminded that I'm fluent in two languages, English and Profanity.

I guess it depends on the item but generally NO as I am a DIY type of guy.

I'm a weirdo when it comes to stuff like that. It might be from all my years of RC items. I enjoy the challenge of putting most of that stuff together. That said I did pay for my last Weber grill to be assembled.

Can't say I'd want to pay someone to do something that I could do myself.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
I'm a weirdo when it comes to stuff like that. It might be from all my years of RC items. I enjoy the challenge of putting most of that stuff together.

I was surprised the last time I went into a hobby shop how difficult it was to find an unassembled RC car. Sure, there were still a couple available but it was much different from the last time I was interested in the hobby, when only two or three cars came RTR.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
I'm a weirdo when it comes to stuff like that. It might be from all my years of RC items. I enjoy the challenge of putting most of that stuff together.

I was surprised the last time I went into a hobby shop how difficult it was to find an unassembled RC car. Sure, there were still a couple available but it was much different from the last time I was interested in the hobby, when only two or three cars came RTR.

For sure. The entire hobby has gone that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
I'm a weirdo when it comes to stuff like that. It might be from all my years of RC items. I enjoy the challenge of putting most of that stuff together.

I was surprised the last time I went into a hobby shop how difficult it was to find an unassembled RC car. Sure, there were still a couple available but it was much different from the last time I was interested in the hobby, when only two or three cars came RTR.

A huge part of the fun for me was putting them together.

I and my wife are totally different in this aspect. We both enjoy putting stuff together, but----- she thinks instructions are irrelevant, me I follow them to a tee. Guess who has no parts left over and who is faster and right.

Every one should have to assemble a grill in their lifetime.

Nope, there is nothing fun about assembling a BBQ grill. The last one I bought was at Home Depot...fully assembled. They will do others not assembled for free.

Long time ago a friend called me on Christmas Eve and asked me if I could help him put together two 10 speed bikes for his kids. I said sure, and asked him if he had any tools, he said yes, but I took my tools just in case. When I got there I found out that he had already been trying to assemble the bikes with his tools (a pair of slip joint pliers, a hammer, a Phillips screwdriver, and a butter knife) and a bottle of scotch. He started on one bike, ran into problems then he decided that the other bike might be easier so he opened that box to, and parts somehow got intermingled. Took us several hours to figure out which parts went where, and get everything to work. The charge to buy them assembled was something like 15 or 20 bucks. So yes in that case I would pay for assembly.

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:
As I was assembling a Barbie ambulance toy for my daughter earlier...

You hit on the primary reason I so enjoyed assembling stuff. I spent hours on Christmas and birthdays assembling stuff 'with' my son. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. And as he got older, he assisted me in assembling and/or working on all sorts of things. We both got the memories and I hope he acquired a set of skills that will serve him well throughout his life.

For Christmas, hells yes. Any other time I would probably enjoy doing it. Too many all nighters getting xmas gifts ready.

Certain things I'd be willing to pay extra; grills, furniture, and stuff with mirco small pieces, and items that have directions that are impossible to read or understand.

Kids outdoor stuff like swing sets, jungle jims, see-saws, bikes, lawn mowers, weed wackers, chain saws, and things off that ilk I prefer to do myself.

I have never bought a grill that was not assembled, and I do not plan to.

Half a dozen years ago I had to assemble a Barbie Dream House on Christmas Eve. The instructions were written be someone whose first language was not English. Add to that, the pencil thin illustrations were worthless. Without YouTube I am pretty sure that thing would still be sitting in a pile of parts on my living room floor.

I work part time at a farm and home store. We assemble just about everything we sell, grills, tank sprayers, lawn equipment, ect. Assembling stuff is my favorite part of the job.

Last summer I bought and electric smoker. the manager asked why I was buying one already assembled. I told her I built it so I know it was done right and why should I built it at home on my time when I got paid to build them at work. She was a little taken aback, but understood the logic.

Having put something together I know three things-

I know it is done right.

I know how it works.

I know how to fix it when that day comes.

I am not a wealthy man. For most of my life I have had a problem keeping money in my pocket. It is not a terrible thing, hunger and shelter have never been a problem, just having enough to buy things I would like to have. But for friends on the outside looking in I look like I have ALL the toys. Hard to argue, there are a few firearms, boats, motorcycles, tractors and a pretty complete selection of tools. This “wealth” has happened because I bought it second hand, or broken, or built it myself. There are very few things in my collection where I paid full retail.

I enjoy the process of assembly or repair and, I can afford my interests by doing it.

No, not even when assembly is free. I like to know it's done correctly