False Economy: Is Regular Rubber Cheaper Than Silicone?

When you create a product for sale, one of the most important areas to look at is your profit margin. You need to sell the product for more than it costs to make and distribute it, otherwise you’ll lose money. Most people understand this, yet it is a basic way of looking at the situation.

Other factors are also involved, for example. You’ve got the issue of quality to start with. Most consumers know that something cheap isn’t likely to last the same length of time as something more expensive. There are products that don’t follow this rule, of course – these tend to be expensive and disappointing on performance. They’re not worth the money paid for them.

With all that in mind, where do you stand when you compare regular rubber to silicone rubber? These types of rubber are used in countless ways and in many industries. You’ve likely read that silicone rubber is the superior choice compared to standard rubber. Yet you’re paying more for any parts made from silicone rubber too. Does that affect your bottom line in the manner you might think?

Silicone can cost double what you’d pay for regular rubber parts

The cost can vary a little, of course, but we’ll take this as a rough guide for our purposes here. So, if you are looking at your profit when developing a new product that requires rubber parts, you’re going to think regular rubber is the better choice.

However, there is more to consider. Firstly, if you chose silicone rubber, you could increase the sale price of your product. You’d be supplying a better-quality product for starters, along with ensuring it would last longer.

And that is where the false economy part of our title comes in. It would be easy to think that paying double for silicone rubber means that item is going to last twice as long.

But that isn’t the case. Would you be surprised if we told you that silicone rubber parts are likely to last four times as long as those made from standard rubber? This means that while you have a larger initial outlay, you’re going to see that outlay repaid in a better performance from your product. You can charge more for it, of course, but you can also use this knowledge as a USP – a unique selling point.

What can your product offer?

If every other product like yours uses regular rubber, yours would certainly stand out if you switched to silicone rubber. When you look at the various powerful features that silicone offers, you can begin to see what an excellent choice it is. It can help you stand apart from the competition in the marketplace.

It doesn’t matter whether you sell a standalone product (silicone rubber washers) or something that involves silicone rubber parts (something that uses those washers to run smoothly). In the end, you’re going to score far higher on longevity, quality, and performance. And those are all things consumers will look for before they buy.