Ceiling Fans - Why Are They So Expensive?

lordra on 05/10/2023 - 20:45
Last edited 05/10/2023 - 20:52

Asian countries have nonlight DC fans with wall control for $50.
The equivalent here is about $250.

I'm looking for 4 DC Motor fans with the following features
Room size: 3m x 3m
Remote Control (wall controls cost more to install)
DC Motor
LED downlight with different brightness settings and three tones (warm, mid white, white)
Indoor use only, not near the coast
Optional: Smart Phone App control
The home is located in Sydney West region.

I've looked at ebay, Fansonline, CeilingFansDirect & HardlyNormal, but can't find anything great. Would like to get them in the next few weeks. I need an electrician to go with them for installation. I can find ones for around the $300 mark, but nothing much cheaper, say $250 for bottom of the barrel.

Your input would be greatly appreciated!

Edit1: I want ceiling fans as the rooms are small at 3x3 and floor fans take up space, plus tripping hazard, plus children hazard. I currently have 4 DC pedestel fans, they work great, 3 summers and going strong. But want them off the floor now.

Find Me A Bargain Ceiling Fan

closed Comments

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 05/10/2023 - 20:47
    +2

    Asian countries have nonlight DC fans with wall control for $50.
    The equivalent here is about $250.

    What’s the average salary in Asian countries where this $50 ceiling fan is sold, op?

    Not sure about all brands but many fans sold here in Australia if installed by a licensed installer have in-home warranties. This is 1 factor as to why it’s much more expensive.

    • lordra on 05/10/2023 - 20:54
      +2

      Very good point. But surely, they don't charge us based on average salaries do they? Rents and house prices certainly don't matter! 😅

      Yea, nah, I get your point though. I was thinking I could just import 4 of them for a lot cheaper, but then not sure if they would work on our power supplies.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 05/10/2023 - 20:56
        +2

        import 4 of them for a lot cheaper

        By all means give it a go - don’t be surprised if installer refuses to install it / sign off on the safety certification though.

        If you are going the legit installed route why not just ask the installer what they recommend - also specify exactly your requirements to them.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 05/10/2023 - 21:35
        +5

        Installer won't touch them. There are things to skimp on in life and things that rotate very quickly above your head with electricity is not one of them mate

        • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:01

          Yet, most of these fans are made overseas and imported. 😋

        • ninohax on 12/11/2023 - 00:21

          Really? Kmart sells the crappiest of crappy items that are made in China and still passes off the label stating that they meet Australian Standards. Fans sold here are indeed imported from overseas and I personally know fan manufacturers in India who make bloody good fans. So it would be plain ass stupid for a installer to deny installing them as we get pretty much the same or mostly worse stuff here

  • foxmulder on 05/10/2023 - 20:49

    Just get Vornado circulator fan, I recommended the 660. It will rotate air in room same as the ceiling fan. Best price is around $170ish. A plus you can move the fan to other room if you need to.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 05/10/2023 - 20:51
      +2

      633 iirc as op wants dc

      • AustriaBargain on 05/10/2023 - 23:14
        +1

        DCC is the one to get, you can fine tune it to the exact speed you want. I like mine. I know there's fans out there just as powerful and just as "quiet", but I do like the Vornado. Have mine connected to a smart plug to turn it on and off remotely, though you can't adjust the speed remotely, it just stays at whatever you last set it at.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/10/2023 - 20:56

    Do you have a/c?

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:00

      With a very big electricity bill to boot.
      Plus, trying to minimise the carbon footprint. It all starts with me.

  • timthetoolman on 05/10/2023 - 20:58
    +1

    I'm looking for 4 DC Motor fans with the following features
    Room size: 3m x 3m

    $250 seems like an absolute steal for those specs

  • Protractor on 05/10/2023 - 20:59
    +8

    You don't know?
    Straya is the honeypot for ripoffs.Why do you think all the big corp invaders are off shore and yet come flocking here to dig us up,and rip us off? Food,fuel,energy,war.
    It won't change.Apparently we are the go to destination for every travelling Wilbury and yet we "the locals" have to pay for the luxury of our and their opportunity to enjoy, peace and space via exhorbitant pricing + shit service. Our spines are like boomerangs, so bending over comes naturally.
    Please sir can I have a 50 cent USD / 1 AUD and $3 per litre fuel,$6 loaf of bread+$5 litre of milk.

    • mskeggs on 05/10/2023 - 22:59
      +2

      All that, yet you can buy a ceiling fan for $66 here. It's not the $50 OP quoted, but it is pretty close:
      https://directwholesale.com.au/products/bullet-white-1200mm-…

      • JimB on 06/10/2023 - 10:09
        +1

        But it's not DC.

      • lordra on 10/10/2023 - 22:03

        Yea, nah. Not even close. Thanks for trying though.

    • AustriaBargain on 05/10/2023 - 23:15
      +1

      Things are getting cheaper here. Relative to inflation, we used to pay a lot more for certain things, before the importation of cheap stuff wasn't just limited to big stores. I'm guessing ceiling fans are unique in that they have specific safety requirements to be sold in Australia. Also they probably aren't all that popular anymore.

      • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:05

        Perhaps.
        It would be good if a fan installer had something to say about this.

        Also, if they aren't popular, then what do people use?

    • lordra on 09/10/2023 - 08:47
      -1

      Have an upvote from me.

    • ninohax on 12/11/2023 - 00:26

      Man! This is one of the most relatable comment that I have come across in OzB in some time. You literally spoke out my mind. The corporates have been ripping us off for decades and bringing in billions and billions of profit year on year. They have been fooling us and we have been playing along nicely. Well I guess this is what you get when you choose to become a capitalist country with an absent spine.

  • Hellfire on 05/10/2023 - 21:31
    +1

    Bunnings had basic dc fans for 150 last time i looked. Amazon had some cheap ones too but i didnt recognise the brand.

  • JimmyF on 05/10/2023 - 22:05
    +4

    I'm looking for

    But your $50 fan in Asia doesn't have those things….. So why are you surprised they cost more here?

  • Tee Rex Arms on 05/10/2023 - 22:17
    +1

    Why do you need the different brightness and colours

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:06
      -1

      Suits the different times of day, and night.

  • sumyungguy on 05/10/2023 - 22:29
    -1

    Kogan sells DC ceiling fans with light and remote for $169. What don't you like about these ones?

    • dcep on 05/10/2023 - 22:45
      +6

      What don't you like about these ones?

      Kogan

      • sumyungguy on 05/10/2023 - 23:00

        I'm not a frequent customer of Kogan but haven't had any issues with the stuff I've acquired from them (e.g. Xiaomi DC/battery pedestal fans, refurb iPhones).

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:06

      Thanks, I'll have a look at them.
      Warranty and location can be an issue with Kogan, but will check it out.

  • dcep on 05/10/2023 - 22:48

    Remote Control (wall controls cost more to install)
    DC Motor
    LED downlight with different brightness settings and three tones (warm, mid white, white)

    https://jdlighting.com.au/martec-link-48-4-blade-dc-ceiling-…

    • sumyungguy on 05/10/2023 - 23:35
      +1

      I provide IT support to a bunch of over-70s who will ask a basic question via text they could have simply found online. For this cohort there are understandable issues with visual acuity and unfamiliarity with the smart phone UI (e.g. tap vs long press). But for everyone else who seems unable to resolve online search results, I just don't get it…

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:08

      This is pretty good, thank you! I'll check out this site and everything else it has.

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 17:08

      This seems to be the cheapest, wooden blades, that tick all my boxes.

      I can't see too much of a difference between this for $179 and say, the Fanco ones.

      Product reviews absolutely destroy this brand. I suppose I will stay away from them.

  • outlander on 06/10/2023 - 01:11

    Sucks doesn't it.

    There's so many things that DC motors can improve, but its been a decade and we still aren't seeing wide penetration of fans (ceiling fans, bathroom fans, personal fans), vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, kitchen mixing tools, pumps etc with DC motors. What is there is mostly reserved for the 'premium' product in the lineup

  • Marty-69 on 06/10/2023 - 10:15
    +1

    I just replaced two cheap fans with Fanco Eco Silent Deluxe DC. $400 each but so worth it.
    Very quiet, 6 speed, nice remote, 18w LED and different light settings (3000k-1300 Lumens, 4200k-1600 Lumens and 5000k-1500 Lumes).
    Since they have a remote, they can be connected straight to the light switch and light wires so not much work for your sparky. My sparky mentioned, they only need one switch wire (the old light switch) and not two (light and fan) as the remote will do that bit. Double check with your sparky, ymmv.

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:10

      Thanks mate.
      Where did you source them from?
      Is this the one for $300 ?

      How much did your sparky charge you?

      • Marty-69 on 06/10/2023 - 13:46

        Previously I got mine from Ceiling Fans Firect but the new ones are the "Fanco Eco Silent Deluxe 56", Smart remote, CCT LED light" for outside under the pergola, they are around $400 and I got them at a local store.
        Sparky charged $150 to install both, but he used wires from the old fans. Took an hour and some material to tidy it up.

        • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 16:56

          $300 for the 48" version from that site, so yep, we're on the right track I suppose. Same price for the same model on both sites.

          $150 for BOTH is a dam steal!

          • Marty-69 on 06/10/2023 - 22:26
            +1

            @lordra: The old fans had no remote. So, on the wall was a fan controller with a separate light switch. Sparky removed the fan controller and used light switch and wire as the fan's on and of button.

  • TimmyTims on 06/10/2023 - 11:26

    My room mate used to work for a fan company so I asked him and he said;
    $50 fan from asia will probably give any Aussie DIY enthusiast a good zap. Most of the cheaper fans are bought from Asia and resold here under a new brand name. These fans need to meet Aus Stanadards and so are a different model to the one that gets sold in Asia. Because of that, the manufacturer makes a smaller batch of a different product.
    This model is often new so there are some R&D/ startup costs = higher per unit cost
    Small batch = higher per unit cost
    There's also probably 2-3 middle men adding their margin on top of that (importer, retailer, installer)

    • netjock on 06/10/2023 - 11:35

      Yup.

      Australia should just follow some larger trading block standards like US or EU. Makes things a lot cheaper (or recognize equivalence) but we're just special and less jobs in standards and certifications.

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:12
      +1

      Really good to know. Thanks for taking the trouble to ask him.
      Can he recommend a brand to go with?

  • Some Human on 06/10/2023 - 11:36

    I put a small fan in my subfloor. $475 from bunnings. Total rip off.

    • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:11
      +2

      Shame. I hoping it's performance would blow you away. 😋

  • lordra on 06/10/2023 - 13:13

    Can anyone recommend a sparky in Sydney?

  • try2bhelpful on 06/10/2023 - 14:58
    +1

    Wait until you try to get it installed.

  • pjetson on 06/10/2023 - 21:32

    Why Are They So Expensive

    Basic capitalism means that everything is priced as high as they can be, not as low as they can be. What is the incentive for a business to set their prices lower than they need to?

    • lordra on 10/10/2023 - 22:05

      They get more sales over thier competition? I hope. ☺️

      • pjetson on 11/10/2023 - 08:08

        That's why I said " lower than they need to" :-)

        • lordra on 11/10/2023 - 12:12

          True true.
          I'm still none the wiser on finding a good bargain, except the singular link at the top. Sigh.

  • Topdeals741 on 11/10/2023 - 17:05
    +1

    You can check these two following brands that can match your requirements

    1. EGLO
    2. VENTAIR
    • lordra on 13/10/2023 - 12:36

      Thanks mate , will do!

      • LambChop on 11/11/2023 - 11:46

        I had similar criteria to you and got four Ventair fans for our bedrooms (model SKY1203WH-L). Note the '-L' in the code means it has the light compared to models without it.

        I'm fairly happy with the quality of construction and they have the option to install a wifi dongle to allow control by your phone, (or presumably smart device) but I haven't installed those.

        They are quiet and push a lot of air on top speed, when the only noise will be the sound of the air flow - think white noise sound, rather than any electric hum. We typically have them on the lowest one or two speeds unless it is a stinker of a night.

        My one complaint (and I don't know if it's normal for LED fan lights) is that there can be a slight strobing effect under the light, if something moves horizontally in the room. My partner doesn't notice it, but I do…

        We also have two Eglo fans without lights in our living space and I think they're even better quality. They just look a bit nicer and even the remote feels a bit more premium. But I think you pay a bit extra for that brand.

        Having said all that, because we bought all our fans at once, we were able to get a decent discount at the time, so hopefully you find the same.

        • lordra on 14/11/2023 - 23:48

          What were your prices like?

  • lordra on 14/11/2023 - 23:49
    +1

    Thanks everyone for your input.

    I ended up buying the aldi fans @ $150 a pop. They do everything I want, slightly less specs but fine by me.

    My sparky installed them all for $180 each. 5 fans.

  • kanad on 15/11/2023 - 11:54

    I am very happy with these, installed about 2 years back. You don't need wall control, remote is good enough.

    https://www.lightingillusions.com.au/product/48--white-fanco…

    • lordra on 17/11/2023 - 08:12

      Thanks mate, but I need em with lights!

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