In the connector world, quoting prices in terms of price per line is very common. It is simple, straightforward, and as long as that number is going down year-over-year, customers are happy!

Power connectors aren’t good for per line pricing estimates. The reason being that they are often hybrid, containing a mix of contacts that defy price averaging. Plus, if you take a high current power connector capable of handling 150 Amps per contact, quoting it at $3 per line just won’t hunt! Folks are used to thinking in terms of cents per line, not dollars.

So the other price shortcut to consider is price per amp. But that gets confusing when you start to consider all the different ways you can rate the current carrying capability of a power contact. If I put my power connector on a bus bar and rate a single blade with a fan blowing on it, I can give you one heck of a deal on a price per amp basis!

And complicating this idea even more is the conflict between what a connector is rated for versus what it might be used for. A customer only wants to pay the price per amp for what they use while a supplier wants to charge what the connector is ideally capable to handle.