Large players with an interest in controlling the market place will either starve new players out of business or buy them out to solidify their control. Hearing aid technology is understood and for the most part is infinitely reproducible. Very slowly, cracks are appearing and widening in some of these markets.
One can now buy a cardboard casket, contract for a transfer service and rent a space for a funeral all outside of the established funeral industry that is controlled by a handful of large corporate entities. The desire for someone to walk through one door and leave with an entire solution is leveraged against them when the major players insist that it all or nothing if you wish to use any of the services they offer. Why is a two piece plastic box for cremation ashes $400? Because most people aren't prepared to say "No more" and embrace a more hands on approach in their time of grief. Funeral arrangements in most cases are initiated within days of the event and that doesn't leave much time for a considered weighing of one's options.
Mattresses drive me crazy. I accept it is something that I use 8 hours everyday but I do not see that as justification for having to spend $1500+ for some wood, fabric, padding and springs. Even more so with a mattress that is all foam, I don't care if it was developed by NASA for astronauts as a justification for it's inflated price. If mattresses were much cheaper, I might choose buy a new one every year.
Hearing aids are no different. Material parts for a manufacturer are somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple hundred dollars. Add some labor, overhead expenses and profit and the manufacturer is fine. From here, the profit margins soar into the stratosphere as retailers pad their charges to cover a limited potential client base and bundle services for which there is a compulsory charge that some customers would opt not to take advantage of if that option existed, so it isn't offered as a choice.
Medical insurance may not cover hearing aids because if they did so, for a period of time, the prices would rise again because of the deeper pockets of insurance companies and an expanded customer base who can now take advantage of the technology that was previous priced beyond their reach.
You see this same approach here in the DR for many products and services. Rather than a fair and equitable price that promotes repeat sales and service, it ends up being a focus on getting as much as possible all at once which sours the customer on the idea of going back for some future need.
