	▲	chaboud 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		In a market with perfect price discovery, sure. However, over the years I have learned that even the best products for the job can (and will) lose without the right marketing, sales, distribution, etc. Sometimes the entrenched default that collects an inertial premium doesn't get disrupted... But, yes, anyone without a moat who operates with a presumption of retention runs the risk of being knocked off of their perch; their fate left to others.

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lotsofpulp 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

As is every individual earning more than median income.

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shiandow 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

An important corollary to this rule is that that customer need not be you.

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moffkalast 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And the material cost also isn't the main thing you're paying for, it's time and expertise involved in scanning and designing it.

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tombert 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I suspect the introduction of the infinite-money pits of insurance doesn't help either.

Since I do have the 3D scan of my teeth, I've debated designing my own, but I'm not sure which resins to buy that I could safely put in my mouth every night.

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jopsen 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Even if you find a safe resin.

Might there be microscopic layer lines? Or other unknowns you're not familiar with? Making 3d prints that can be cleaned is non-trivial, maybe there is a surface finish involved, etc.

Also how do you know your design is correct? Won't cause your teeth to move? A 3d scan doesn't mean you know what a mouth guard should look like.

All of a sudden, having a product that's made with a vetted process is pretty attractive -- and 600 USD seems like a bargain.

What's the cost of having your teeth fixed, if they accidentally move? (Not to mention the discomfort, which can be considerable)

	▲	tombert 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to convince me of. I did pay the $600, I even said that it's probably a cheap price to pay to treat the apnea. That doesn't really change the fact that it feels kind of viscerally wrong to pay $600 to pay for two glorified pieces of plastic, and a part of me still does feel I could clone it competently. I haven't bothered for the aforementioned safe resin, and also because I already have it and I have enough money to just eat the cost and complain about it.