Acoustic panels are expensive because of high shipping costs, expensive materials used for acoustic panels, and the opacity benchmark of the market.
There are lots of reasons why acoustic panels are expensive but it’s not like what the other websites and blogs are saying – It is not expensive because it’s a specialty product and thus can be charged higher because of it.
Acoustic foams are not expensive. You can get it from amazon sometimes at $16.99 for a set of 21 foams. They work out to be just $0.80 per piece of 12-inch x 12-inch foam panel.
In this article, let’s go through the lens of someone selling acoustic panels to the real reason why acoustic panels are expensive, whether is it worth it to get acoustic panels instead of acoustic foam and how to get acoustic panels cheaper.
1. Shipping Cost
The shipping cost of acoustic panels is expensive due to the large dimensions of the panels and the high density of the panels.
There are two ways that shipping costs are calculated:
Dimensional Weight
Dimensional Weight – The dimensional weight is calculated by multiplying the length, height, and width of the box that holds the acoustic panels. The result will then be converted into kilograms by dividing it by 5000.
For example:
If the packaging box including the panels measures: 140 x 70 x 6cm then the dimensional weight of the panels will be as follows:
[ 140 x 70 x 6 ] / 5000
= 11.76kg
This will be the dimensional weight for the calculation of the shipping cost but that’s not the final calculation of the shipping cost.
Shipping companies or couriers usually round up to the closest kilograms which in this case will be 12kg.
Gross Weight
The other way of measuring the weight of the package would be just to get the weight of the package using a weighing scale.
For our example, the same package that measures 140 x 70 x 6 cm will weigh about 8kg.
Shipping Weight
You might be confused by the two weights that we have for the same package. By the calculation of dimensional weight, our package weighs 12 kg (rounded up) and by gross weight it weighs about 8kg.
So which weight will the courier or shipment company use for the calculation of the shipment cost?
They will definitely take the heavier of both of the weights, which in this case is 12kg.
That would be the weight of a set of 2 wall panels.
Shipping Cost Calculation
The cost of shipping for a 12kg package (26 lbs) will cost $75.23 to $277.88 depending on the zone that you want us to ship.
That’s just the cost of shipping to your place.
If you are staying further away from the cities and towns, there will be “extra far postal code” charges we have to pay as part of the shipping cost as well.
As on average, we usually pay a range of $100 to $300 for a package like the example above.
2. Opacity Of The Market Benchmark
Acoustics is a complex branch of science that deals with exponentials instead of linearity.
We as humans are very good with anything that scales exponentially which includes the handling of sound.
It is because there is a lot of confusion in the market. Search about acoustic panels and you will find top websites that are ranking for it all either websites that are selling products from amazon or they are just information websites that are attracting you to the website to sell you ads.
These are not businesses that are serious about helping to solve your acoustical needs. They are just railing you in to have commissions and affiliate commissions from amazon and advertisements.
The websites will usually be telling you that you should purchase acoustic foam that sells from $16.99 to $59.99 for a set of 50 foams.
Then after you purchase and install them, you realised that they are not useful but you still need to solve your noise problems.
Then you do serious research and hopefully land up to our website for more education to make informed decisions (Fingers crossed!).
Or maybe, you are looking for soundproofing solutions for structure-borne noises like jumping, dragging of furniture from the neighbor above and the website lets you purchase acoustic panels instead of letting you know that you need resilient channels and soundproofing material.
That will increase the cost of trying out solutions that are not suited for you.
That’s the reason why we started Burton Acoustix and have collections of acoustic panels that you can look at.
In the product description, we have added the range of acoustic absorptions that they could have when you install them properly.
3. Materials Used In Acoustic Panels
Acoustic panels need to be dense but permeable so that sound can pass through the acoustic panels and let sound energy move slowly through the panels, thereby losing energy and resulting in noise reduction.
Therefore acoustic panels have to be made with materials that are made of wool. Be it fabric-wrapped acoustic panels that use Fiberglass or Mineral wool Wood wool acoustic panels or
Polyester acoustic panels like ours.
These materials need to be harvested. Like fiberglass, wool needs to be derived from glass and
mineral or rock wool has to be derived from rock literally.
Wood wool panels have to be harvested wood from the forest, grind into fibers, and spun into threads then used to make acoustic panels.
Polyester acoustic panels like what Burton has in store for you, are made from recycled plastic bottles that will otherwise land up in landfills and oceans.
Getting recycled plastic bottles, cutting them into micro pieces, and then getting them to fibers and spinning them into threads, then heat-pressed into malleable panels that can be made into different shapes, sizes, and forms, is great for sound-absorbing wall decor.
With these materials, processes to derive the raw material to be made into panels are tedious and heavy. Shipment through the processing will cost a ton as well.
Thus the cost of acoustic panels themselves is already high before getting it shipped to you.
4. Cost Of Installation
Since most of the acoustic panels are sold using distributors or local consultancy small businesses and the costs are high, you will usually need to engage them to install acoustic panels in your zip codes.
This would mean more labor costs and markups for the businesses to charge you to build a business out of it.
This means that there is another extra layer of cost added to you from purchasing acoustic panels to installing acoustic panels.
That is why Burton is trying its best to manufacture, design, sell and ship the item to you.
Our acoustic panels are easy to install yourself as well and you will not need someone to help you install the panels.
You can learn how to install our panels here.
As for where to place your acoustic panels, here is a guide on where you can install your acoustic panels in a room.
5. Are our acoustic panels worth it?
If you are getting acoustic panels for the right reasons and get enough information to make an informed decision for effective acoustic treatment and soundproofing then yes!
Acoustic panels are worth it. It helps you lower the health effects of noise and helps you get back your life, your quality time with loved ones, and productivity while working from home.
That is why Burton is dedicated to writing original and helpful content to help you in your journey of acoustic treatment and soundproofing.
6. Tips on getting acoustic panels cheaper
Now, this article helps you to get behind the scene to understand the real reason why acoustic panels are expensive. It’s not why all the webs are talking about it.
It will be more helpful if you get tips from us on how to get acoustic panels cheaper.
Bulk Purchase
Shipping costs are expensive because there is a minimum that the courier will charge per kg. The lighter the item is, the more costly the per kg (or lb) pricing is for the courier fees.
Thus the best way for product providers to give you the best price is if we can get a cheaper cost
on shipping.
By offering bulk purchases discounts as we do, you are able to purchase the number of acoustic panels you need and we can offer you lower per-unit pricing.
For example, we offer $205.97 for a set of two large acoustic panels and we can offer $361.22 for a set of four acoustic panels.
A discount of 10% for you as we can pass on savings from the courier to you.
The only person unhappy here is the courier as they get lower pricing per unit and they have to give up more space to accommodate the item.
That said, with more volume, they probably will get more discounts for their air shipment per unit pricing as well so probably they are as happy as us.
Avoid Holiday Season.
Merchants are afraid of the holiday season. As our products are seasonal and don’t sell much during Q4 of each year like the other merchants.
Shipping is expensive during Q4 as most businesses are doing discounts and sales but since our cost of shipping doesn’t decrease during these seasons (and increases during these seasons), we can’t offer a discount.
If you are looking for a very large order for companies and trade programs, aim to have them in the first 9 months of the year, probably we could still pass on some discounts from shipment to you as you are looking at super large orders.
Summary
With that, we hope you truly understand what drives the pricing of acoustic panels and how you could get acoustic panels for cheaper pricing than usual.
If you are interested in some high-quality, well-designed decorative acoustic panels, please start your shopping experience here to support us.
If you think this article could help anyone that you know understand and appreciate much, please also feel free to share with them.