Magician Chassis @ Sparkfun...

[Bamse]

Sparkfun just started selling the Magician Chassis for $15, nice price.
So I ordered one chassis and a couple of claws.
This one is red rather than blue as the one I got from Bill.

Chassis,
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10825

Claw,
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10332

[erco]

That's a remarkable value on the chassis, including the motors & wheels (and possibly even the screwdriver pictured).

The claw is nice, but requires some heavy mods to get it working properly. No one has reported finding the perfect servo that "bolts right up".

[Bill Henning]

That's an insane price; they cost me more than that!

They must have bought a zillion, a container full or something.

Sparkfun just started selling the Magician Chassis for $15, nice price.
So I ordered one chassis and a couple of claws.
This one is red rather than blue as the one I got from Bill.

Chassis,
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10825

Claw,
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10332

[Martin_H]

That's an insane price; they cost me more than that!

They must have bought a zillion, a container full or something.

I suspect that it is a loss leader. The motors and wheels alone should be more. But once you buy the chassis you'll need a controller, an H-bridge, and sensors. The money is always in the sour cream and chives.

[GordonMcComb]

All the parts are imported from China and I think everyone is still making money, even at $15. Elsewhere (on other retail sites) the motors go for $6 a *pair*. The wheels are a couple of bucks. So all things considered, SparkFun may still be making a profit, but it's probably a slender one, in order to sell Arduinos.

Strangely, they show the fully decked-out robot with an $80 13A motor driver shield, when the $25 2A one will do.

-- Gordon