Prices or Pricing

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
1

Okay ;

Now let’s see where we are going to go here . 1956 - The material was cheaper , wages were lower and any subject matter was on the table . Now that was good for the neophyte model builder . $.49 to a $1.50 for a kit . Or Gift sets ( four models or more $10.00 ) Great deals indeed .

Enter Tamiya , Hasegawa and Airfix .All imports to our shores .The most reasonable ? Airfix . Still below a Buck to start out .Up to $ 12.50 for their 1/24 planes . Still within reason . Hasegawa and Tamiya .Not to many on my to get list .They didn’t fit my budget !

Here we are in the 80s , All the choices .Some domestic , some imports .Import fees have gone up , Marketing is costlier and they aren’t going to produce something that won’t sell . Then China bounces in in the 90s with Trumpeter and others .Wow .Higher prices but still not in league with the T.H.bunch .

So today it has definitely become a price thing . Do I save for five or six months to get that new ship that costs more than my camera originally did . Well , you know, new molding techniques , single and double slide molds and two color molds .Wow .

Plastic .Well a carboy of plastic for colorization is expensive .The color pellets are about $ &.00 a pound .Multiply that by 2000 pounds .Now then ship it to the plant , More costs .run it through the latest Slide mold Injection molding mchine , computer controlled and then the electronics to check the parts flow .( None of this is done by hand now .)

Can you say bigger bucks for the base price of producing that model .The cost of producing , say , a F-100-SuperSabre in 1/48 has suddenly to us jumped forty to seventy percent in price .

Well there you go High tech , Higher raw material costs and guess what all down the line we pay .The company has to make a profit on that kit that with shipping , Import fees etc. is double or triple to put out there .

Here’s an aside .The last time I took a ship through the Panama Canal it was a $12,000 fee one way and that was with crude oil . That was forty five years ago ! Can you imagine what it is now ? All that is factored into production costs , you betchya . T.B.

2

Our daily newspaper just jumped 100% when we resubscribed. Now, that is inflation!

One thing that confuses things is the range of kit prices. I can still find kits that are priced in line with inflation dating back to the intro of plastic models. But, of course, there are many kits much higher than the rate of inflation. I do believe in general you get what you pay for. The range of quality and detail varies as much as price. If you want to see what plastic models were like in the 1950s, buy one of the Lindberg 1:48 racing plane kits. These kits are in line with general inflation, but they are pretty basic kits. Don’t expect a Tamiya-like kit.

One way to hold down inflation is to not buy what you consider overpriced kits- as Pogo said, “we has met the enemy and they is us.”

3

Don ;

You’ve definitely hit the nail on the head ! T.B.

4

Now, this is interesting. Hobby Lobby has a Revell B-25J for $29.95. Minus 40%, the price drops to about $17.00. That same model on Amazon is $54.95 [*-)] I guess that it pays to shop around, which is big waste of time.

5

1956 $12.50 is inflation adjusted 2019 $115.68. Just saying…

6

Why do you think it’s a waste of time to shop around? If anything, it’s well worth it to find the same kit cheaper than elsewhere. Nothing wrong with saving a few dollars on a kit or supplies.

As far as Amazon goes, I never shop at Amazon nor will never support Amazon due to their shady practices. I applaud NYS for protesting Amazon from coming to our state. Their shady business practice is crap.

7

I shop at Amazon when they have good deals.

8

I shop around where I find the best deal. Ebay, if you look around you can find good deals. Amazon is ok for tamiya, and certain books if you watch for end stock.