Why Are Stairlifts So Very Expensive?

As far as assistive devices go stairlifts are at the top of the price pyramid or very near it. While almost every other handicap lifting device has slowly inched downwards in price over the last few years, stairlifts are one of the few handicap lifting devices that have stayed pretty much stable as far as retail pricing goes and many manufacturers have even increased their rates by small margins.

There are many reasons for this but the most important one is that stairlifts are a speciality item that needs to be custom fitted by professionals. There are tracks that need to be cut to the exact length and they need to be mounted securely as the weight of a stair lift is not insubstantial, especially when there is someone who is sitting in the chair, there is a lot of weight to have hanging from a track going up a staircase. A professional installation is however very expensive and is one of the main parts of the high costs of the stairlifts. Also, this is one part of the price that will never come down, only go up as the installation technicians charge a bit more every year. Even if stairlift manufacturers reduce the prices they still have to factor in the costs of installation into the price of the product.

Many manufacturers allow people to fit their own stairlifts but this is only in the case of straight stair lifts for straight staircases. For any sort of curved stairlifts for curved staircases, all manufacturers require professional installation. This is not just for safety but also for legal protection. If a manufacturer knows that a stair lift has been properly fitted by professionals it has less chances of a suit being filed against it in case of an injury or an accident with the stair lift. Many manufacturers recommend professional installation only, even when buying used stair lifts, for their warranty to be effective.

Which brings us to the second reason that stairlifts are so expensive, which is: steel? Steel or an alloy with a high steel content is used in the rails of the stairlifts. Steel is an expensive metal and worldwide steel prices have only been going upwards in the last decade or so. Even though manufacturers have substituted high strength plastics in many products in the place of metals the stair lift rails are one place where there is no alternative to steel that will provide the strength or the safety that is needed.