QUOTE: Originally posted by ctcbound I had an interesting chat with a gent a couple of days ago. He said, that his friends either stopped buying trains completely or got out the hobby because the cost were increasing too fast. Has anyone else heard this? And if so why aren't the companies responding to this? Roger
QUOTE: Originally posted by whitman500 QUOTE: You're forgetting one thing. Us supposedly well heeled old codgers were once young puppies without a container in which to pass water. The hobby was just as expensive then as it is now relative to the overall cost of living and wage rates. Things weren't any better then. 35 cent a gallon gas in 1965 is roughly the equivalent of what gas sells for locally here in Monterey (about $2.21/gal at the cheapest places).There were people then at the peak of their earning years who could afford brass, just as there are people now who can afford the latest that BLI has to offer. Guess how many nice brass engines were offered as compared to new offerings of moderately priced plastic or cast metal engines. If you actually look at the demographic data, this isn't really correct. In 1965 the poorest segment of the US population was retired people. Today they are the richest. While things have decidedly moved in their favor, the situation is the reverse for young people. Over the last 40 years, we've seen the creation of Medicare and vast increases in the generosity of Social Security which has materially improved the standard of living of retired people and people near retirement (who no longer have to save as much money as previously). On the otherhand, young people have to deal with higher education costs (which have grown much faster than inflation), higher health insurance costs (which have also grown much faster than inflation and which there is no Medicare-equivalent subsidy for), much higher Social Security payroll taxes, and much less generous pension plans from employers (requiring people to save more). I guarantee you that in terms of disposable income the gap between people in their 20s and 30s and people in their 50s and 60s has widened considerably over the last few decades. While this may be something of a tangent, I do think this trend makes it more difficult for manufacturers to simultaneously appeal to new, younger hobbyists and baby boomers and exacerbates the tension between planning for the future and maximizing current profits.
QUOTE: You're forgetting one thing. Us supposedly well heeled old codgers were once young puppies without a container in which to pass water. The hobby was just as expensive then as it is now relative to the overall cost of living and wage rates. Things weren't any better then. 35 cent a gallon gas in 1965 is roughly the equivalent of what gas sells for locally here in Monterey (about $2.21/gal at the cheapest places).There were people then at the peak of their earning years who could afford brass, just as there are people now who can afford the latest that BLI has to offer. Guess how many nice brass engines were offered as compared to new offerings of moderately priced plastic or cast metal engines.
Dave Grosvold Canehill, AR
QUOTE: Originally posted by alco_fan Some posters should just stick to their repetitious warnings about the end of the hobby, because their stats work is poor. According to the US Dept of Labor, 1980 average weekly earnings for non-supervisory and production workers (to leave out those accursed high wage earners some posters so despise) was $240.77. So far in 2005, it is $543.04. So in 1980 the Atlas diesel I mentioned in an earlier post that cost $21.99 street price would have been about 9% of a week's salary for a production worker. An Atlas Trainman diesel at $55 street price in 2005 would be 10% of the week's salary for a worker making the average non-supervisory or production worker's wage. 1% difference in real cost for a vastly improved product? Sounds like the hobby is pretty cheap. Again, this is without extensive shopping around. How about retirees? In 1980, the average social security weekly benefit to a male was $86.31. The Atlas diesel of 1980 was just over 25% of Grandpa's weekly Social Security benefit. In 2003 (the last year I had figures handy), the average weekly Social Security benefit paid to a man was $239.75. A Trainman diesel sets today's AARP member back 22.9% of the weekly benefit. Cheaper today in relative terms. Sorry to intrude on all the gloom and doom with real data ... we now return you to the usual whining session. Jon
QUOTE: Originally posted by ngartshore350 The pricing is relative to the quality and detail. There have been numerous posts above looking at CPI that seem to show the prices compared to wages are comparative. One thing we are getting is extra detail and smooth running. You look at a loco from 7 - 10 years ago and it doesn't compare to the detail you get now, some you almost don't need to touch before running them. I used to spend a fortune on Detail West products every time I bought a new loco. Now I just buy bits and pieces. But I must admit sound is expensive! The really anying thing I find is that manufacturers seem to be running batches of products, so if you don't get one when they come out, sorry you lose, we've stopped production of that! It makes it difficult to see what you like and save for it. If you don't get it then & there it more than likely won't be there next week. Anybody else finding this? NG