There's pretty obviously a huge fixed infrastructure, so there are significant barriers to entry. The megacorporations in the the official setting own many/most/effectively all of the shipyards, so oligopoly pricing is in effect. The number of planets with high enough tech levels, a class-A starport, and a large enough population to support a thriving shipyard is relatively small (someone want to do the math?), so there's only so much possible competition. It's a mature industry, as well, so it's almost certainly settled down into profit-taking. A lot like the U.S. mobile phone market until the Sprint/T-Mobile merger was rejected: rising prices and declining service.


As for cheap shipyards, it's the Standard Oil model: drop prices until you drive the competitor out of business, then raise them even higher to recoup your lost profits. There are certainly big-box stores that have used similar tactics with a tiny modicum of success (eye roll ...). And where do you think all of the sub-assemblies come from? What happens when the outsystem frangit supplier offers you great prices on high-quality frangits, but then all of the shipments are late, there are quality problems, there's legal wrangling ... Of course, they're secretly owned by the megacorps that you're competing with.

I don't think it's a 400% profit, but there may be a 400% markup. Different things:

"Oil and lubrication service sales represent $1.6 billion in revenue for independent tire dealers every year, or $60,651 per dealer.

That averages out to $39.18 per oil change, according to Modern Tire Dealer’s most recent Automotive Service Survey, well above the average advertised price for an oil change in the aftermarket (see sidebar). In addition, the average profit margin per job is 35%." -- http://www.moderntiredealer.com/article/712166/hardly-a-loss-leader-with-a-profit-margin-of-35-oil-changes-make-a-difference


On Sun, Mar 4, 2018 at 10:17 PM, Cian Witherspoon <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
A little random thought: just how much profit does a shipyard make?
As a skilled trade, it could be easily be a "quadruple your money"
industry, which means that starships are incredibly cheap in actual
terms.
However, that means that starships are actually incredibly cheap, and
raises the question of "why doesn't someone undercut other shipyards
by accepting a lower profit margin?"
Let's say the purchase price of a ship is double cost of all building
expenses, and quadruple the cost of materials. Breakdown so far: 25%
materials, 50% profit, 25% everything else.
Let's put labor at 20%, and admin/legal overhead (plus shipyard
facilities) at 5%.
So, with the fact that 50% of the base purchase price is profit, we
can now ask: where are the cheap shipyards?
Overloaded with orders from starship dealers, who stick to ironclad
rules about the price they charge. Now most of that profit is going to
the middleman, and he will black-list you from every dealer if you go
straight to the source...
But what if a shipyard deals direct to the public? Hmm...
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