Why Is Yeti So Expensive? (Top 5 Reasons)

 

Have you noticed the Yeti coolers getting more and more popular?

There is no question that Yeti coolers are something which is highly desired by beachgoers, boaters, and fishermen.

The Yeti coolers offer a ton of great benefits, and they are continually expanding their product range.

If you look at the number of products Yeti has now compared to what they once had, you will be very surprised.

The problem with Yeti products is that they are very expensive.

Let’s take a look at why these Yeti products cost so much and what you can do to possibly save some money.

 

Why Is Yeti So Expensive?

 

1. Marketing/Branding

 

Truthfully, the number one reason Yeti costs so much is that it is branded to be an expensive luxury item.

This company’s idea is to make their product cool, appealing, high quality, and premium.

They wanted to create all of these things so that people would have no problem with paying very high prices for the coolers.

The Yeti coolers are expensive.

They are sometimes double or triple the price of the other coolers on the market.

However, people seem to have no problem spending that much to purchase a Yeti.

The branding they have done is so strong that people don’t even say they purchased a Yeti cooler.

They simply call it a Yeti, and everyone knows what they are talking about.

Anytime you can get consumers to start calling your product by the brand name alone, you know you have done some great work.

Yeti coolers are marketed towards people who have money.

These are the coolers people with wealth want because they do the best job of keeping things cold.

Prior to Yeti entering the cooler market, there was not nearly as much status involved with a cooler purchase.

Today, if you don’t have a Yeti cooler, it is assumed you can’t afford one.

These have absolutely become status symbols for many people.

The product certainly does a great job of keeping things cold, but you will have to decide if you want to pay for this marketing/branding effort that has been done.

 

2. The Original

 

As we mentioned, prior to the Yeti, there was not nearly as much of economic importance put on coolers.

Of course, Igloo and Coleman were names that people knew, but neither of them stood out the way Yeti does now.

When Yeti first entered the marketplace, they truly did not have that much competition.

As far as quality was concerned, most coolers were not designed to keep things cold for all that long.

In fact, they were made cheaper and cheaper for people to be able to buy more and more of them.

Yeti was the first to come to market and essentially show the world how much better their quality was.

Yeti was a no-brainer for people who cared about keeping things cold for long periods of time.

Even for the extra cost, people did not mind getting a cooler that was better at its job.

Since Yeti was the first, at the time, to have this type of technology, they had a prime place in the market for a few years.

Yeti was able to take their product and run with it for several years before anyone was able to come close to them.

To this day, the fact that Yeti was the original helps them sell.

Some people will look at a Yeti copycat that is priced $50 less and still choose to purchase the Yeti.

People want to make sure that they are going to get the perfect Yeti, not just something that looks like it.

This is what makes the brand so powerful and gives them the ability to charge whatever they need to for their products.

 

3. Control Where You Can Buy It

 

Have you noticed that Yeti is not offered in every store?

The pricing of Yeti products is also heavily monitored.

Yeti made a decision right from the start that they were not going to make products cheaply and try to sell them everywhere.

In fact, Yeti decided they didn’t want to be sold somewhere like Walmart or Costco.

Yeti prefers to be in small retail shops, Bass Pro Shops, and on Amazon as well.

They don’t want their brand looked at as a cheap product with easy access.

Essentially, if you want a Yeti, you will have to look for it, and you will have to pay for it.

Most of the time, products like this are going to be offered at much higher rates than those that are cheap or discounted.

If you are an authorized retailer for the Yeti products, you will have to be very careful about how you set your pricing.

If you start selling the Yeti products at prices too low, you will end up losing your ability to sell them.

When it comes to pricing guidelines and standards, Yeti is very strict.

Since the product availability is limited as far as where you can buy it, Yeti also has an easier time controlling pricing and distribution.

In the end, this will save them quite a bit of money.

The business model is that Yeti would rather sell one cooler for a great price than three coolers for a price that is too cheap.

They feel that, in the long term, this will keep the value of their brand high, and we tend to agree with them on this one.

 

4. Features and Look

 

Yeti products offer a wide range of features and benefits.

Depending on what product you are purchasing, you can see that they go above and beyond when it comes to durability and features.

One thing to consider with the Yeti products is that you will almost always have color choices.

Yeti is specific about their choices of color.

They typically go with things like coastal or outdoorsy colors on all of their products.

The finish on the Yeti products is another reason they are so expensive.

You will notice with other tumblers or drinkware that, after a while, they start to rust, or the paint on the outside will chip.

With the Yeti, this is just not the case.

The finish is extremely durable and long lasting.

The idea behind purchasing a Yeti cooler is that you will never need another one.

This is a major reason the product is so expensive.

Yeti knows they will probably never need to sell you another Yeti cooler.

However, they will have hundreds of Yeti accessories that you may enjoy.

This is a company that is very smart about their marketing, and they have a specific plan in place to make sure it works out for them in the long run.

So far, it certainly has worked, and they have grown tremendously since their debut.

 

5. Innovation

 

Each time you look, you will see that Yeti has come out with a new product.

Just because their coolers are the best on the market does not mean they are about to kick their feet up and watch the sales roll in.

In fact, now that Yeti is known as being the best cooler out there, they need to work even harder to remain at the top.

More companies like Pelican will try and compete and take over their spot as number one.

Currently, Yeti has a pretty good handle on this, but to keep things this way, they will need to work hard.

Yeti has taken the technology that is used in their coolers and started to incorporate it into other products.

One of the complaints about the main Yeti coolers is that they were too heavy.

Yeti came out with some alternative products that are quite a bit lighter.

Many people like their cooler bags.

The bag stays very cold, it is waterproof, and it will hold up long term.

In addition, the bag is a much lighter material to carry around than something like the larger, hard-shell coolers.

Yeti also does quite well with their drinkware now.

They have coozie-type things that go on the outside of cans and cups.

They also make wine tumblers and a number of drinking bottles and containers as well.

The buckets and duffle bags are some of the newer products recently put out by Yeti, and the materials they use prove to users that the product is better than the rest.

Yeti has also settled into the fact that the people who like their products are also people who enjoy the outdoors.

If you like being outside, then you probably need some type of Yeti product in your life.

From dog beds to blankets to camping chairs, the Yeti product line continues to expand and grow.

There is no telling how far it will continue to grow as people become more and more interested in getting outside.

 

Are Yeti Products Worth It?

 

If you’re a person who spends time outside on the water or in the woods, the Yeti products are definitely worth it.

If you head to the beach only once a year, forget about getting a Yeti.

You will not get enough benefit out of the cooler for a once-a-year trip.

However, if you are constantly finding a need for a cooler or some very sturdy drinkware, this is a company that is certainly worth looking into.

Most of the time, the pricing is fixed, and it stays relatively high to keep the product valued as a quality item.

In fact, the closest thing to a sale you will probably find is an offer for free shipping from their website.

Even when you find a sale on a product in a store, chances are the sale will exclude the Yeti products they have.

To decide if a Yeti product is worth it, you need to consider how much you will use it.

Do you think this is something you will use daily, weekly, or a few times a year?

For those who think they will use the Yeti all year long, the quality and the functionality make the products very much worth the price.

 

Conclusion

As you can see, there are quite a few reasons the Yeti products are so expensive.

Not all of these reasons are related to quality, but some certainly are.

If you want something that will last a long time and keep food and drinks colder than the other options on the market, then Yeti is a good choice.

Keep in mind that you will undoubtedly be paying for a bit of branding and marketing along the way.

Yeti products are priced higher because people are certainly willing to pay for them.

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