We took careful notes at 2022 Worlds. FRC is now dominated by the Limelight 2+, Falcon 500s, Swerve, and other “premium” components like the Rev Ion Power Distribution Hub. However these parts are currently out of stock everywhere they are sold with no restock in sight. And at this point I’m sure the restock won’t nearly meet demand. So is the 2023 season going to be determined by who has these parts on hand already? We’re going into our 6th year as a team and looking forward to some more ambitious design goals this year, but it’s hard to compete if you can’t get the same quality parts as the leading teams. We were hoping to have a PACbot swerve frame up and running before Thanksgiving. I’m curious about other teams thoughts.
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So while I think the supply chain will still have issues this year, I’m pretty sure most of the suppliers haven’t restocked yet, I think it usually happens in nov/dec.
This is correct. Vendors get taxed by what they have in stock on the shelves, so they attempt to keep inventories as low as possible. FRC is a very structured timeframe, and that’s when the Vendors stock their shelves.
I think it’s a guarantee that the items you mentioned are likely to be in short supply. However, you’ll find that just because you don’t have the fanciest stuff doesn’t really restrict you from having an amazing robot. A world champion robot from 5 years ago could still win that competition, swerve or not, falcons or not, etc.
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Relevant threads
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Can you explain this? I’m not a tax expert, and I don’t think I’ve heard of this before.
The new control system and falcons all have listed restock dates of before kickoff this year, and limelight suggests it will be in stock for build season this year.
While I agree there is likely to be shortages on a number of in demand products this build season, I certainly wouldn’t say there’s no restock in sight for these items. Quite the opposite actually.
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It depends where you are located. I believe Vex is in Texas, where it appears to be sort of common.
Yes. Inventory is taxed in Texas. I am not sure which level(s) of government collects it but we hto help count the Inventory each year.
Some retailers seem to have tried to compensate for delays in the supply chain. I saw Christmas stuff for sale at Costco last weekend. Usually, one would not see it until after Halloween, at least.
Inventory taxes are classified in the same column as property tax. It is a tax imposed on a company’s unsold stock at the end of the year . Inventory is taxed within the same bracket as furniture, tools, and/or equipment belonging to a business. They must also be paid regardless of any profit made
That sounds about right. After inventory was done each year, there would be a lot of “slow moving” items that would get scrapped.
Just doing some last minute check on our inventory and I am very concerned about the number of throttle motors available this year. We only have 34 currently. I don’t know if that will be enough for this year or not.
A side question: Do throttle motors breed in captivity? I swear I keep finding more every year.
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Hahaha - you need at least 5 more!
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