Silly question - Do the tariffs still apply if final assembly is performed in the USA? Just wondering if doing something like Element Electronics is doing by (apparently) bringing in assembled PCBs and components and doing the actual assembly in South Carolina is a way to avoid the tariffs?
In case there’s any confusion, I’m not suggesting that @Courtney_Inovelli also be tasked with assembling thousands of switches before shipping them.
Silly question #2 (that will probably be shot down by the liability lawyers) - Could you sell all of the parts from China to customers here as an unassembled kit and avoid the tariffs???
I appreciate the upfront nature of Inovelli as well. Also, like @Chris I appreciate using whole $ values. It always drives me crazy to see things that are $x.99… I know the psychology behind it, but it still bugs me.
Inovelli products still strike me as reasonably priced, as a premium product, which is how I see them.
Lol! Don’t wait too long, those things are here today and gone tomorrow
Thanks man – we appreciate it and no problem on the communication. It’s what we’d want as customers too, so it’s the least we could do – hopefully next update will be good news lol!
Ha! I think I finally found @anon14959390’s alternate account. He’s been pushing whole number pricing for a while now. I never understood it bc when you add taxes/shipping, it’s no longer a whole number, but to each their own
Thank you for this – it turned out to be about a $2.02 average increase. That does soften the blow a bit and puts it in better perspective!
Yeah, that’s definitely some good perspective. It’ll be an interesting time for us to figure out the pricing model when we start targeting mass market, when they haven’t heard of us before. Luckily we’ve had branding carry us thus far and we’re in a niche market, so it’s helped as we go head to head against Zooz/GE/HS. Let’s just hope the momentum continues when we open the flood-gates and are priced higher than the WiFi/ZigBee equivalents out there.
Definitely!
Crazy, I didn’t realize this about HomeSeer. What types of hoops did you have to jump through? Genuinely curious as to maybe put it in our marketing.
Not sure – definitely something to look into. I’m sure there will be some tariffs on the individual components, but I’m not sure what those would be. I think this is definitely something we can look into.
Or yeah, maybe just have @Courtney_Inovelli do it. She has small hands lol.
I’m not sure we’re all ready for this lol (actual picture from a support ticket)
We appreciate it, thank you – I feel like my marketing world has been turned upside down knowing there are flat pricing champions out there! Kidding aside, glad you guys like it – hopefully it will make things easier from a rewards point perspective.
You need to buy this 30 dollar piece of software. And it uses these encrypted binary blobs that don’t work anywhere else. And they’re trying to onboard additional manufacturers which locks down updates for other brands too. I refused to participate and waited for a better switch with scene support to hit the market. I’ll likely sell the switch and use the return to buy another of your switches.
I hope so. This is a risk for you guys going mass market- right now your brand means a lot to enthusiasts because you cater to enthusiasts better than anyone else. Your challenge will be to convey value to people who know nothing about HA.
It’s a HomeSeer-specific thing. Most switches use standard .hex or .otz binary files. HomeSeer dimmers use .hec files- it’s an encrypted format that (AFAIK) can only be flashed with HomeSeer itself or a firmware utility they charge $30 for. They are the only manufacturer I’ve seen that does this. It usually doesn’t cause a problem as they don’t do many firmware updates (last one was in 2018) but it has caused some pain for users.
I would be curious what counts as ‘assembled’.
If you want to build your own airplane, you have to do at least 51% of the build to be considered a ‘homebuilt airplane’ (and thus you can do your own maintenance). The other 49% comes from pre-built assemblies.
You can build your own gun (firearm) too- the main frame piece of the gun can be up to 80% machined before it stops being ‘machined parts’ and starts being legally considered a ‘firearm’. Thus, you can buy 80% machined parts and finish it yourself with a drill press.
My point here- I’d be curious what level of completion is necessary to be considered a ‘finished consumer product’. Perhaps if the switch came without the plastic paddle it might not count as a finished product? Perhaps if the switch was 3 separate parts (PCB assembly, outer casing, plastic paddle) sold as 3 separate SKUs that might change its tax status?
And/or, those 3 parts are easy to put together. Maybe hire someone locally to assemble them and you can say ‘assembled in USA’ on the box?
It’s hard. I like the honesty of flat pricing. At the same time, I recognize the psychological effects of it. If the product is $7.99, even I see $7 and not $8 until I look closely. But it is easier to think about whole numbers…
Did the price increases affect shipping too? The website still says free shipping to the US on orders over 59.94 and I’m being charged $8 with $84 in my cart…
First time posting here… long time lurker. I have a couple older innovelli switches and plugs. Had a reminder set to check the 10 pack of red series dimmers in mid February.
I appreciate the transparency but am definitely disappointed. I’d been holding out for red series dimmer 10-pack availability and now the price of the 10-pack is equivalent to the individual unit price from several weeks ago — which feels kind of like a raw deal after waiting.
I really like the innovelli products and designs — but all my boxes have neutrals, so it really comes down the value of the design for 2x the price compared a basic zwave switch on the market. I will still be a residential customer though not at the scale I expected at these price points.
It depends. If the components are also listed then it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Also if the cost to assemble is greater than what the tariffs are its probably not worth it (i’m guessing its cheaper to have them imported fully assembled). There’s also issues with warranties and liability if you’re the one doing the assembly, vs. being able to go back to original manufacturer. If they did the plastic molding for the switch itself here and just had to do a final solder or something then maybe that would skirt the HS if it could just be classified as electronics components.
These things are always tough, especially when it’s completely out of your control. Even at $42 I still think the red dimmers are a great deal. I really like the inovelli products, but it’s this community, the transperancy and the way that you listen to customers that really makes me love Inovelli. Our lighting automations are some of the favorite things we have in our smart home. The ability to control smart bulbs, regular bulbs, customize notifications it’s unlike anything else I’ve seen in the market.
Also what kind of Jetson world do we live in that we can push firmware updates to our light switches. Not just one firmware update in 10 years or firmware updates because the product was unfinished when shipped. The firmware updates you guys have provided gave new functionality and new options to your users for free. The option to have multi clicks or super fast response was the best updates that instantly resolved so much WAF adoption issues. Most companies would have rolled that into version 2.0 and made consumers buy new products. Instead you listened to your customers and supported the community. I know some people value dollars over these intangibles, but also know there are a number of us that appreciate the community you’ve built and the ties to overall smart home community.
I have a few more switches to replace at some point in the near future and they will definitely be red dimmers regardless of this change.
Wonderful transparency (and insight into a manufacturing business, which is always interesting).
I wish I had ordered my full basement’s worth of switches before this increase, but even though I’m not excited to be paying more I’ll still be buying. You’ve got a good product and great engagement with the community.
When you do get some more money to invest in new product (which I hope my purchase will be a small part of), I hope you’ll work on an in-wall multi-button scene switch (like 5 or 6 buttons) with status lights. Even though I’ve been doing automation for 8+ years and have much of the lighting scenes fully automated, there are still areas where we just want simple, hard-wired manual control of multiple scenes without whipping out the phone. We get by with the config buttons on our current Inovelli switches to trigger scenes, but something more elegant/intuitive (that I can put labels on) would be great.
Eric, do you ship the Canadian product direct from China, or via USA? We would at least avoid the tariffs then, even if our dollar makes everything expensive.
I don’t post much… but I get it. I’ve been shocked at how low the cost has been up to this point for the quality of the build and the amount of support behind the product. Getting ready to order another 10PK as I’m not done converting my home just yet. Going to be a while before it’s done. Nothing compares to the price/build/support I’ve seen. So I’m willing to pay to play.
Wow, looks like pre-ordering the 10-pack was the right thing to do and not a moment too soon
Thank you for your transparency about this issue. This kind of openness with your customers and your community really makes the pill easier to swallow, and is one of many reasons why I won’t be going elsewhere even in the face of tariff-increased prices. Continue building world-class products and you’ll have my support and recommendation!
