
Amazon sells a kit for a 2600 sqft house - lisper
https://www.amazon.com/ECOHOUSEMART-Laminated-friendly-Building-Engineered/dp/B07PNWFJ49/
======
kdamica
Relevant disclaimer in the description:

"DOES NOT INCLUDE WINDOWS, DOORS, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, ENGINEERING, FIXTURES.
IT IS NOT A STOCK MODEL AND IS MADE TO ORDER. PLEASE NOTE THAT AMAZON's MAX
HANDLING TIME IN THE SYSTEM IS 30 DAYS BUT YOU MUST ALLOW 120 DAYS AFTER
ORDERING FOR DELIVERY."

At $150,000, how does this compare to building a house from scratch given all
that's left out? Seems expensive to me for just walls, floors and a roof.

~~~
CydeWeys
I'm seeing a $46,900 price point. Where are you seeing $150k?

That well may be cheaper than you'd get from a local lumber yard, plus I
assume there'll be some labor savings as it's already cut to length.

~~~
monocasa
When you click "see all buying options" the only one is

> $149,591.00 New + $4.49 shipping

I'm laughing pretty hard at the $4.49 shipping. What it's not on prime at this
point? : P

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lupinglade
This isn’t Amazon, its just a seller _on_ Amazon - just an advertisement for
an engineered lumber log home kit (not sure who would want that?). You can buy
all sorts of kits like these all over the world. Some include more, some less,
some log, some not. How is this interesting or news?

~~~
ben174
Agree. Doesn't seem like the vendor actually intends to sell one of these
through Amazon. That would mean they'd be giving Amazon a cut, and subject to
all of their policies. I think this is just a silly attempt to make their
product more visible.

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leviathant
For months, I've been seeing this headline in Google News, repeatedly blocking
sites promoting it, only to have new sites pop up. I'm getting served ads on
Facebook and Twitter about these house kits - and now it's an HN headline?
I'll say this much - I'm impressed at the veracity of the marketing machine
behind this product.

~~~
perl4ever
I don't know what it is, but the internet seems so _small_ these days. Every
news aggregator or media outlet seems to have all the same stories. I miss
when there seemed to be a vast world out there. Maybe I've just gotten trapped
in a bubble.

I'm not sure if there's some powerful force controlling the media as many
paranoid people would have it, or if it's emergent behavior.

~~~
at-fates-hands
I often feel the same way.

When you search for anything to buy on Google, the first 10-15 links are for
Amazon. Type in the manufacturer and the list dwindles to about 5-6 Amazon
links, which is absurd. If I'm looking for Bose headphones or Adidas shoes,
shouldn't the _actual_ manufacturers site be page page 1, #1?

I would think so, but it's not the case anymore.

------
notus
Kit houses have been around for the past 100 years at least, I'm willing to
bet the ones from 100 years ago are better quality than the ones now.

~~~
mc32
Yeah, that was Sears Roebuck's wheelhouse for some time. They actually looked
pretty good in the catalogs; though I'm not aware of having been in one
knowingly. Though I wouldn't be surprised if I have been in one.

~~~
ghaff
This 99pi episode discusses them [https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-
house-that-came-i...](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-house-that-
came-in-the-mail/)

Apparently there aren’t a lot at least in anything like their original form.

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jimktrains2
Kate Wagner did a few writeups with some information about early-20th century
kit homes.

[https://mcmansionhell.com/post/166916762911/looking-
around-a...](https://mcmansionhell.com/post/166916762911/looking-around-
american-foursquares)

[https://mcmansionhell.com/post/155602312686/the-mail-
order-a...](https://mcmansionhell.com/post/155602312686/the-mail-order-
american-dream-an-introductory)

------
chrisseaton
I don't think Amazon really has anything to do with this except it's listed on
their website.

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sudosteph
I've seen a few prefab buildings sold by merchants on Amazon's site, most seem
to be aimed at the ADU (backyard cottages for rentals basically) market.

I'm curious to watch and see how long before a big company like Amazon or
AirBnB starts offering their own standardized ADU build-outs that are
integrated with their smart locks and other services. I would think they could
use their scale to come up with something that could be sold and built for a
reasonable price.

~~~
mikeg8
I doubt either of these companies would ever want to take on the massive costs
in developing these. They are technology companies with large margins, the
capex requirements and margins they would see going down a manufactured
housing path make no sense for their business models and other people are
already willing to do this for them.

------
jasonjayr
$4.49 for shipping? I thought Prime got me free shipping?!

~~~
arboghast
I bet they ship you a miniature at this price.

~~~
takeda
The shipping price was incorporated into the main price. The kit doesn't
include most of the things (like windows, doors, electric installation,
plumbing etc) and it's just walls, it's actually quite expensive for what it
is.

------
morpheuskafka
Why would you use a platform like Amazon for high value, high complexity, low
volume sales like this? Amazon is for a bunch of sellers competing on the same
product used, or for highly similar products like "USB hub" or "guitar picks."

For one, I wouldn't sell it without cash in hand/wire/ACH or something that's
chargeback/dispute proof, and for two, I'd use Shopify or something like that
only shows your brand and allows you to have the appropriate info re:
shipping, delivery time, etc. (or again, if you are one product that costs a
hundred grand, you can afford to throw together a custom order UI and add
Stripe for payments).

~~~
crazydoggers
Because it costs next to nothing to list it on Amazon... and then the link
gets passed around on all sorts of sites as people say “you can buy a house on
amazon!” Basically it’s just a marketing move.

------
autotune
This isn't entirely relevant, but for anyone looking for a laugh:
[https://www.amazon.com/Allwood-Eagle-
Vista-1336-Cabin/dp/B07...](https://www.amazon.com/Allwood-Eagle-
Vista-1336-Cabin/dp/B077L6KSGM#customerReviews)

------
axiomdata316
This seems to be the same concept as the Sears Home Kit.
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/reginacole/2018/10/23/the-
sears...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/reginacole/2018/10/23/the-sears-house-
was-the-american-dream-that-came-in-a-box/#550e3d81731b)

------
mindfulplay
Again, given the number of spammy, crappy copycats, fake reviews bad products
I have sort of lost my trust on Amazon. It's just super crappy.

Sears started by shipping homes by the way, it would be awesome for someone to
pull this off in 21st century.

~~~
sjg007
It already exists.. check out menards. Or call your local lumber yard and ask
for a kit house.

------
rubicon33
GLT Engineered Wood >

Isn't "engineered wood" created from wood scraps glued together, which is
prone to Formaldehyde off gassing?

Weird state of the world we're in where natural wood planks are being replaced
with this garbage.

~~~
downrightmike
While we haven't run out of trees yet, better to use the scrap than not.

~~~
rubicon33
Umm... lookup formaldehyde off gassing and then let me know if you still think
that.

Personally, I do not want a house constructed of wood + glue.

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bkjelden
There's a midwestern chain of home improvement stores, Menards, that will sell
you all of the materials to build a house as well:
[https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/books-
buildi...](https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/books-building-
plans/home-plans/shop-all-home-projects/c-9919.htm)

Though I don't know anyone who's actually bought one.

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TehCorwiz
So, they're Sears?

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peteretep
Top tip: you can approximate sqft -> sqm by dividing by ten

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anonu
I think Sears did this first. About 100 years ago now...

There are still some Sears kit homes out there. They've become mini tourist
attractions.

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Merrill
> #1,986,196 in Patio, Lawn & Garden

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bcrosby95
It has 3 bathrooms, but there's no "master" bathroom. Kinda awkward.

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jdlyga
2600 square feet. I'd love that, that's luxurious (I live in Manhattan)

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pontus
$149,591 + $4.49 shipping, lol

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takeda
How does that work? Can I purchase it with my credit card?

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quietthrow
Is the 4.49 shipping a joke?

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MistaEd
me wonders how many people bought it from this HN post

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totorovirus
4.49 for shipping

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masonic
Are these comingled with inferior copycat houses?

~~~
froindt
If you were making the inferior copycat kits, what corners would you cut?

My picks:

* Lead paint (still in inventory from the 60's)

* Ant or termite infestation in the wood

* 2 similar but noticeably different types of flooring for the main level

* Most subtly, making the ceilings 7'9". 3" savings multiplied by all the sruds adds up! The scraps could be sold as firewood, or maybe with volume, the wood could come at a discount from a supplier.

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rco8786
Full on Sears

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all_blue_chucks
How much for expert installation?

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dmclamb
FBA?

~~~
k__
Dropshipping!

------
sdan
Apple: HomeKit

Amazon: I'll show you how HomeKit is really done!

