@Bass
Ya but aren't a lot of those costs fixed, I mean Im fairly sure the mfg's using aluminium and steel also have managers, and techs, and people sweeping the floor.. probably indoor plumbing, heating and lighting as well.
Also don't the molds tend to last a really long time? yes they cost a lot up front but don't they also produce product faster, Time is money.
on a 1 to 1 comparison I think we should most definatley see a reduction in cost of the product at retail.. it should be noticeable too.. but for a long time we did not see this savings being passed on to the consumer, now the market has taken a down turn and while all guns are down, price wise the polymer guns have really been showing a reduction in price.
I don't doubt that margins are probably a little better with a poly gun than steel/aluminum, but I just didn't think it was fair to base $0.75 in resin as a price point.
You're completely right, molds can last a long time (1,000,000 cycles is a good baseline number) and any regardless of if the company uses injection molds or CNC machines there will be other costs that are the same.
In the end, we typically do see better prices on poly guns though and I think we always have. A Ruger SR1911 is often considered a good "budge" 1911 and they still go for more than your average Glock. And Glock is often on the high side, just like the German manufacturers H&K and SIG. Other American poly guns are often a bargain in comparison to anything with a metal frame and were even before the Trump Slump.