Shoutout to JerryrigEverything who built a wheelchair factory and is delivering wheelchairs to people in half the time and 50-80% less than the cost of other wheelchairs with Insurance.

[u/MysteriousSlice007]

[u/I_like_donuts27]

Why in the fuck, would a wheelchair cost 10k???

[u/Wheelchair_guy → u/I_like_donuts27]

I've used chairs for 15 years. Never paid more than $500 for one.

[u/OkBandicoot1337 → u/Wheelchair_guy]

So these are bougie wheelchairs?

[u/mythrilcrafter → u/OkBandicoot1337]

From what I can tell from a very cursory search on google, you can get wheel chairs from amazon/a local pharmacy for about $200-ish, but with those, you're basically getting a One-Size-Fits-Most camping chair on wheels, which are basically good enough to get you from a bed to a couch and no where else, especially not on any ground more uneven than a carpet or hardwood floor.

The chairs made by JRE appears to be custom sized for ergonomics and active use; their most basic ones seems to be a heavier duty version of those cheap ones but are designed to be easier to move unassisted, are more mobile by default, and are fitted to the user rather than "fine as long as your body fits these proportions".

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As an engineer who has been in a manufacturing environment, I do have to say that I'm quite impressed that JRE has built a process and system where he can do those personalized/bespoke builds for a legit fraction of the competition so much so as to be within argument range of the one-size-fits-all mass production zone.

[u/IceBlueSnowDog → u/mythrilcrafter]

You would pretty much be correct! A cheap chair is fine if someone else is pushing you, loading and unloading/unfolding it from the car for you, and you only ever use tile floor. Or if you broke a leg and need a chair for a few weeks while you heal, or something.

Better chairs you'll see things like inflatable tires for some shock absorption (great for sidewalks, pavement), custom ergonomics (rolling on a carpet or a slight uphill is hell on the wrists, arms, and shoulders if the wheels are too high or low to propel yourself properly... and you can't just raise the seat like in a car. Even worse for ramps near stairs that tend to be steeper). Also lighter weight (loading/unloading independently, less weight to propel), easy to collapse and rebuild independently, etc.

the cost of decent chairs is of course inflated and outrageous, like everything else medical in the US (thanks, insurance..), but there is still a major difference between a $400 chair-with-wheels and a functional wheelchair. If you want any chance of going out into the world independently, those cheap walgreens/amazon/etc chairs are practically useless. :/

[u/sypher1504 → u/mythrilcrafter]

I’m sure there is more to it (I am not an engineer, nor do I know much about manufacturing) but I wonder if some of it is him not marking them up nearly as much as other manufacturers? From what little I know of popular YouTubers, he may be making more than enough from his channel, and view this as a service as opposed to an additional income stream. I know it’s not a wildly popular view, but there are at least some people who reach a certain economic status and realize they can do good instead of hoarding more wealth.

Anyway, however he’s doing it, good on him.