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[quote user="CNJ831"][quote user="whitman500"] I'd be really surprised if the manufacturers are making a lot of money despite the high prices.  A couple in Europe have recently gone bankrupt and the consolidation of the industry in the US reflects an industry under pressure.  I think what we are seeing is the result of the industry's conscious decision to abandon the mass market and shift model railroading into the high-end, niche category.  The biggest factor in the cost of a locomotive isn't oil but rather the size of production run.  A design that sells 1,000 units is going to cost a lot more than one that sells 10,000 units.  However, with declining interest from children in model railroading, I think manfacturers have given up on trying to produce a $30 engine that they can sell in Toys R US (which, unlike 15 years ago, no longer stocks model railroad products) to lots of people.  Instead, they are opting for the speciality market where people will pay more for better details, etc. and can afford a high-end engine that has a limited production run.  [/quote] Amazing! There are actually at least a few folks here who understands and appreciate what's truly driving prices ever higher and where the market is going. Congratulations, Whitmann500! CNJ831 [/quote] They do that by the threat of limited run. Yes you can get a nicer engine today but you have to order it before the deadline if you want a copy. That is what is hurting the hobby. I point to the Walthers Barge and Float Dock Kit as an example. They were produced several years ago at what... 30-50 dollars retail? I had a set that had no room for on my layout, a week of intense bidding on ebay produced a winning big for both kits for about 3-5 times the retail value. In the same time MR releases harbor articles about docks, ships and barges while everyone scrambled to find walthers tugs, floats and barges that were out of production. While Im not picking too much on walthers as an example of an out of production item Im saying the people are getting squeezed into either ordering the item on the spot unseen or do without because it will be sold out with the entire run allocated to pre-orders and no or little chance of additional sales unless a second run was made. To tell you the truth, I as a customer have NO idea about how many units were produced, how many orders were made, cost to make, cost to sell to retail and profit margins. All of that are trade secrets. I think that the pressure from the Manufactors is getting too hot, I have a fixed hobby budget that is pretty good but takes time to acquire some of the higher ticket items. I usually do without and focus on things like structures, scenery and control systems that are always availible. I say that the internet saved the hobby. To be able to get a list of hobbyshops that acquired a Out-of-production item from a Walthers Catalog webpage and email each hobby shop looking for in stock items and to recieve several responses with a cost including shipping usually produces a desired item. Without the internet I suppose I will be running a loop of track with a few things that may or may not fit the era Im trying to model.
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