Summary – our laminate brand name laminate flooring is lower because:

1. We wait for large runs on one color (economies of scale – saving $10.10SF)
2. We only sell in plain white boxes (packaging makes up a huge part of the cost with branding and design – putting the same laminate in a white box saves a staggering $0.40SF)
3. We wait for gaps or slowdowns in production – a factory doing nothing is useless – it may as well make (run) something (Saving $0.10SF)
4. Inserts for installation instructions – colored and pretty installation instructions in full color costs $0.20SF, our are simple black & white and only cost $0.05SF (saving $0.15SF)

These are just 4 simple ways to cut the costs so we can sell our Branded Laminate flooring to you at the lowest possible price.  Classen is one of the highest quality laminate flooring manufacturers in the world.

Our products are first quality and there is no difference in the Warranty – but the production is timed and the packaging is modified to save you 50% from everyone else.

More detail of this and understanding production below:

To understand more on how we can sell Laminate Flooring – first you must understand our business model – I have outlined this in selling ‘Highest Quality Products’ at the ‘Lowest Possible Price’ - click here.

Then I would also suggest understanding laminate flooring construction – click here.

With a basic understanding I can now try and understand how it is possible to sell 7mm laminate flooring from $0.79SF and 8mm from $0.89SF.

Firstly understanding the importance of thickness in the core-board, laminate flooring can be sold in any thickness but is commonly sold in 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm thickness.

6mm Laminate Flooring is mainly made in the largest European Factories, where they can produce the laminate quick enough to create some value

7mm & 8mm Laminate flooring is mainly made in Europe and USA

10mm & 12mm is again generally made in Europe where they can have up to 10 laminate lines and use some for slower production of the 10mm & 12mm which with the higher thickness is usually, embossed & beveled.

8.3mm, 10.3mm & 12.3mm laminate comes from China and is usually unlicensed – so beware, it has the 0.3 because it is their argument against the patent system and they believe the is slightly better.  So you can quickly tell a country’s origin, just by that 0.3mm – it is 99.9% of the time made in China.

Now you have an understanding of where the product comes from let’s look at what makes up the cost of laminate flooring:

1. The core-board, this makes the product 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, etc, etc. The thicker the core the slight cost difference in product.
2. The melamine backer – this gives the laminate it’s structure
3. The Décor Paper - a melamine-impregnated photographic reproduction of a wood or tile floor.
4. Transparent Melamine overlay. The top surface of the floor is a very strong, highly resistant, protective, transparent overlay which uses corundum (Al²O³) impregnated with melamine resins.
5. Finish – Micro-Bevel, Registered & Embossed, Wood Grain, Slight grain, etc.
6. Fully Vertically Integrated, if a factory is completely integrated, this is IMPORTANT it is set next to the managed forest – its raw materials, it collects and manages that forest and creates its own core board.
7. Transportation costs – if a factory is not fully integrated it must ship the core board in and this is expensive – it must also purchase the core board from another company (example Georgia Pacific) – they will add their margin to the product.  Essentially non-vertically integrated factories cannot control their costs as they are subject to core board costs and market fluctuations.
8. Marketing costs, brand, advertising, etc, etc.
9. Packaging materials, boxes that the product comes in.
10. Inserts that display installation instructions.
11. Staff – employees
12. Speed of production – the faster you create the laminate the cheaper it gets, as the unit cost is basically a calculation of all costs above divided by output

Cost of Laminate = All costs above ÷ number of square footage produced

All of these items above create the cost of laminate flooring, if you take a non-vertically integrated laminate factory (90% of factories – even if they won’t admit it) can produce 7mm laminate flooring from $0.50SF to $0.55SF.

We try and buy from the most efficient factories and we ask they remove as much of the marketing and packaging cost as possible, this can represent as much as 80% of the cost of the product with some factories.  Then we can offer you a product at the lowest possible price.

If you want the same products but in pretty boxes then please go ahead and buy from a retailer or our competitors and pay $$0.30SF for the packaging, on a 1,000SF room this will cost you an extra $300 for those boxes and for colorful inserts and boxes that cost me $300 I would keep them – maybe even frame some of them.  Actually I wouldn’t I'd buy without the pretty boxes and then go buy a new couch or TV.