I remember when we first got into the snow stake and driveway marker business. There were only 1 or 2 other fiberglass snow stake companies and then there were the retail outlets that sold wood snow markers. I got to interact with more customers because when they shopped around, they only found a couple snow stake places. This was great, because I could explain the benefits of our fiberglass stakes over the competition and go into depth about the many downfalls of wood stakes.
We recently conducted some research about the cost of wood snow stakes verses fiberglass snow stake reflectors. The results were right on with what we expected:
Price
Discount Snow Stakes – $1.09 $1009 for 1000
Wood Snow Markers – $.65 $650 for 1000
% Of Stakes Reused After 1 Year
Discount Snow Stakes – 84%
Wood Snow Markers – 32%
Cost To Get Back 1000 Stakes
Discount Snow Stakes – $163.50
Wood Snow Markers – $442
After one year, you are almost even with your driveway stake investment. Now, this doesn’t even consider the benefits of fiberglass snow stakes over wood snow stakes. The ease of installation, the look of the stake, the reflective tape that allows you to see the properties at night time. After 2 years, the customers that we polled had lost almost 90% of their wooden stakes. Fiberglass snow stakes are almost entirely a no brainer. The initial extra investment is well worth it considering a 2 year spread, once you get to the third season, the investment has paid it self off.