How Face Shields from Pro 3D Mat LLC cost less than $4.99 per piece?

Firstly, let’s take a look at what actually a Face Shield or Face Covering is. It became popular during COVID-19 Pandemic when people are required to wear PPE (personal protective equipment) kits including safety masks and Face Shields to avoid contamination. These Face Shields act as a barrier from airborne body fluid transmission such as saliva, bronchial secretions, vomit, blood etc. These help to avoid any direct or indirect contact from possible Coronavirus Outbreak infected patients.

Secondly, I’d like to say as a part of my research, I’ve looked at websites of some large, well established companies in plastic manufacturing who are able to make 1000s of these in very less time & sell those very cost efficient whereas some other small companies are selling these starting from $10 per piece. That’s quite expensive for a plastic face covering! Moreover, the latter ones claim that their $10 Face Shields are very robust and have comfortable fitment on human heads with the help of a big piece of plastic strap or big foam/ sponge on the forehead & etc. I mean, are these features really required for a Face Shield to wear it and not get fed up after keeping it on for a few hours while you are busy handling Coronavirus infected patients?

An excellent article reported by USA Today where they mentioned about increase in prices by 166% for hand sanitizers & face masks, sold by some companies during these difficult situations. "In these times when people are so concerned about their health and the risk of catching this virus, I think the only way to protect their shoppers is for them to cap prices," Adam Garber, a consumer watchdog for the group, told USA TODAY. Data from the Keepa price tracking service shows a box of 10 N95 respirators that sold for $18.20 in mid-January spiked to $199.99 in late February. In January, a case of a dozen 8-ounce bottles of Purell hand sanitizer was selling for about $30 and jumped to $159.99 on March 3, Keepa showed. These coronavirus price hikes are making everyone mad.

Another article from BBC says, the online retail giant has faced criticism for undercutting the prices of independent retailers on its sites, but anti-trust experts say its efforts to help in this crisis will likely offset those concerns. "People who are concerned about Amazon's predatory behaviour might be concerned but more people will be happy Amazon is making sure these are lower cost at a time of crisis," said Michael Kades, director of markets and competition at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

Lastly, Pro 3D Mat LLC is a COVID-19 Lockdown born (June 2nd, 2020 to be specific!) Michigan, USA based company in Additive Manufacturing world and we are a proud partner of a leading 3D Printing and Advance Manufacturing company.

Our Face Shields are very simple, elegant, cheapest I have noticed so far in my Google research and the most important feature is lightweight… The price range starts from $4.99 and goes down (yes, goes down!) significantly as the quantities increase. These products are made of 3 main & essential parts: Polypropylene Head Bracket (Band), Polyester Shield Sheet (Foil) & Braided Elastic Strap. Other features include - Transparent & Clean Sheet with no anti-fog coating on it, which we believe that anti-fog coating is not required. No forehead foam cushion is provided with the assembly. We do not recommend foam cushion to the forehead as there are more contamination chances in addition to the difficulty in cleaning after a certain period of time. Only polyester film sheet can be replaced after a certain time of its usage.

Disclaimer: the above article is based on the research performed on the public domain information found on google.com and is not to show someone in bad light who are referenced below.

References:

Article from USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/11/amazon-price-gouging-report-coronavirus-face-masks/5007990002/

Article from BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52662356

Cove Care: https://www.cov.care/face-shields-with-padding

Silicone Gear: https://siliconegear.com/products/casco-shield?variant=31746461106243

Inc: https://www.inc.com/leigh-buchanan/face-shields-coronavirus-protection-open-source.html

XPEL: https://www.xpel.com/shop/additional-products/xpel-face-shields