Inflation!

[traindaddy1]

Hello, it is me again. I just received the Lionel 2006 Train Catalog. WOW! Has anyone, besides me, noticed how much they increased their list prices over last years? (Track and Trackside Accessories - They used the same pictures) Makes me think that carefully shopping 'E-Bay' is a good idea. Thanks for reading.

[traindaddy1]

Quick follow up. I posted this before I read the other comments about 'E-Bay'. Just would like to repeat "CAREFULLY shopping 'E-Bay" I certainly agree that there are 'Pros' and "Cons' with 'E-Bay' but I also think that there are some real bargains out there. Anyway, my two cents! Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I noticed the price increases as well, especially for their tracks, transformers and most of their accessories, as well as the rolling stock. The MTH catalog was the same way. Usually when raw materials to manufacture these products (especially the materials used to make the rails for the tubular and FT) increase their prices, it affects everything in the chain.

Ebay I know is a great choice for many to shop for bargains, but for me personally I stay away from Ebay and go to reputable online dealers and some local shops for my items.

[3railguy]

The cost of oil is driving the prices up because a lot of it is used to manufacture plastics. About all we can do is shop wisely and enjoy what we can afford.

[pbjwilson]

I'm an e-bay junkie. Mainly because I cannot afford new products. If you know what you are looking for and at, you can save alot of money on the bay. 90% of my trains are e-bay purchases. I just got this one last week for $100. It's an MTH Premier Trainmaster . Works great.

[darianj]

QUOTE: Originally posted by 3railguy

The cost of oil is driving the prices up because a lot of it is used to manufacture plastics. About all we can do is shop wisely and enjoy what we can afford.

[#ditto]
Oil is connected to everything we do and enjoy. Not to mention it used to ship the raw materials to the manufacturers, used to ship the product to the dealers, and in many cases, used the ship the products to us and to help in the production of the electricity we use for them.

Solor Power! [soapbox]

[1688torpedo]

Hello All! I think that another reason for the increase in prices is that in the past Companies Like Shell,Curtiss Baby Ruth Candy, Sunoco,General Motors,New York Central Railroad & the Santa Fe Railroad Helped Lionel out with new Tooling costs such as the Santa Fe F-3 in 1948 in which the New York Central,Santa Fe,General Motors & Lionel Contributed 25% each of the cost for the new F3 Dies & Tooling; While others such as Sunoco,Shell, & Baby Ruth paid a royalty to Lionel for the use of their names on Boxcars & Tankers which they were happy to do so & I'm sure that this benefited Lionel in many ways as they actually had the financial resources named above for new Tooling which they no longer have the advantage of these days as these companies no longer contribute to the cost of new tooling & dies. Also, in the old days the above arraingment helped keep the costs of trains reasonable in the Pre-Postwar years as well. And as others have said there are Fuel & Oil costs, Shipping cross country & others too numerous to mention & you have a recipe for higher Toy Train Costs as well.Just my[2c] Take Care all

[traindaddy1]

Thanks to all for your comments.

[brianel027]

Also consider all the new product that is being introduced in recent years. A new scale detailed steam engine can easily run $200,000+ just to make ready for production. Nevermind the additional costs of the actual production run.

In the old days, not only was there some partial outside support as Keith mentioned, but I'm sure the companies anticipated long lengthy production runs which would more easily allow the development costs to be made back.

A good example of how this can backfire is the former older MTH Premiere line products. MIke Wolf has said his products are tooled for long production runs. As the detail levels kept increasing on competitors products, the MTH Premiere line was no longer quite as premiere as compared to the others. MTH moved the former Premiere line products under the Railking banner to become the Scale Railking products.

I'm not positive, but I would suspect that many of the newer products are not being tooled up for the long production runs that they once were made for. Just the fact the old MARX tools are still being used by K-Line (until recently) speaks of their durability and quality. As the hobby turned somewhat anti "027" leanning towards scale products, K-Line attempted to keep revenue coming in off the existing dies by using the previous K-Line 027 cars for the new K-Line "S gauge" line.

Of course, train buyers weren't quite as vocal years ago (no internet, no train forums) and buyers were not quite so spoiled. And if they got frustrated with the "toy" detail level of 3-rail, there was always HO.

I would guess that price increases not only reflect oil costs, but also an overall pricing structure to allow long existing products to make more profit to help pay for newer products. A part of what has made RMT so successful and bargain priced is that he is using all ready existing dies (BEEP, Buddy, Caboose) that he is making minimal changes too, thus without all the expensive complete tooling costs. Hence the name of the company, Ready Made Toys.

[More to restore]

3Railguy, the prices of polyolefines have gone up a bit, the prices of PET have gone down, the polyamides prices have been stable over the last years. (Sorry, I am packaging technologist and it my job to known this).
Hence, the increase in plastic price could never explain the price increase in finished toy train articles. Let's calculate together: Polypropylene is now 1150 Euro / ton or about 1300 USD / metric ton. Let's say that there would be 100 grams in a wagon (would be a lot, but you never know). That 100 grams would cost you 13 Dollarcents! The energycosts for injection moulding large volume at high capacities are adding a few cents.
Therefore all the other costs are much and much more pronounced: designers, labour force, distribution costs, etc.
I reacon that Lionel and MTH have recognised that with K-Line down, that they saw the business threaths and realised that this is the time to increase the prices. As long as it keeps them afloat and being able to pay their bills, I do not really mind. Nevertheless, I will stay an Ebay-addict: I like the funfactor of auctions.
Happy Easter!