I'm a kit builder like you, Darth. I've seen fairly recently, MDC Steam locos on Ebay, and pulled up the inflation calculator. The only thing that kept me from pulling the trigger was the number of kits I already have! (almost embarrassing) but they can be a deal.
With that in mind, 5 years ago, I bought my first Keystone 44 tonner for about $107 including shipping on Ebay. By the inflation calculator, I got it for $38.73 in nineteen eighty one dollars. MSRP then was 79.98.
I have since scored a number of those, ranging from about $134 to as little as $56 including postage. That last one came in at $14.76 in 1981 dollars!
Now, Rapido is releasing 44 tonners in Rapido's silent series for $189.95. Thats $56.11 in 1981 dollars, and ya dont have to build it or paint it.
Or for DCC with sound at $300 ea, you get the works ($88.60 in 1981) and that's for Rapido's reputed quality.
So, Yep. You can apply this principle to any number of products, some stack up better than others, but if you're patient you can score some real deals out there, especially on kits.
Dan
While prices for things are expensive, you have to ask yourself: is it really, really needed? My head hurts thinking of some having more than what they need of freight cars or locos. The other option is to order less frequently.
Was at the grocery store this morning. Saw bacon on sale $10.99 for 12 ounces to boot. Not even a pound!!!!. Grapes were $4 a pound. So model railroading looks cheap. Sound decoders have not really increased in price for the last few years.
Trains are a bargain considering those things.
Pete
Ha! I used to take my Radio Flyer wagon out all over town collecting bottles. Then I'd cash in at the local Big Star and head over to the hobby shop!
I'd be gone all day. As long as I got home for dinner, it was OK. Now, no one would even think about letting a kid roam free like that. There's more than higher model train prices to be sad about.
Still and all - I am happy to be my age and with collection of stuff (trains, tools, books and magazines. Today's prices do not bother me because I do not buy much stuff, and fortunately I have the money if there is something I really -- air quotes coming -- "need." My annual income at the time I retired, although hardly enough to inspire envy, would have floored my old man if he could have known.
But from a cost perspective I'd hate to be a 12 year old in the hobby now compared to 1964 when I was 12. You can run all the inflation calculators you want but even then Atlas snap track, Athearn kits, Crown R-T-R freight cars, and Plasticville structures seemed cheap. A day or two of rounding up soda water bottles and returning them for the deposit money could buy a Revell structure or enough snap track to build a siding.
Dave Nelson
When we retire, our monthy incomes tend to go down, so some things might feel more pinchy than just 5 or ten years ago.
When we bought something in the past, we remember how much it cost, but we don't normally retrace how little we were making back then too. And we also forget the impact of tha item had on our budget then, because our incomes rise as you age from young to old. That $20 dollar item is a fixed cost, but 10 years later as you still have the item, you're making 3 times more money (example) so it seems cheap even just a few years after you bought it.
Its perception, for the most part.
Advancememt usually lands on goods improving over time, but at the same infation adjusted cost as its more basic predecessor...which was advanced at the time.
All is well.
- Douglas
Paul Cutler III (username Paul3) and I have been pointing this out for several decades now.
In fact, in the late 90's prices were well below their inflation adjusted historical prices for similar items.
As for Bachmann, yes they have inflated retails, but they offer much larger wholesale discounts to their dealers. That is why street prices for Bachmann are 30% to 40% below retail. Those are the "real" prices.
Sheldon
Just like the rest of you, I sometimes feel like the prices of model trains have gotten very high. I found a way to come to terms with that though!
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com
Now with that open, search your old magazines, receipts or a catalog from HO Seeker, take the price of any item, and plug that into the calculator along with the year the price was printed. Let's try Athearn in 1962:
F7A super-weighted: $12.95Adjusted price: $131.98New MSRP: $124.99 - $139.99 (depending on RR)
So the soon to be released new ones are about the same price, but with that comes improvements such as flywheels, DCC-ready electronics, knuckle couplers, full window glass, better paint and a more accurate shell to name a few. Of course, that's only one example, so let's try going back a few more years with some 1951 Varney metal steam:
Economy 2-8-2 kit + 32' tender: $46.70Adjusted: $552.84Super 2-8-2 kit + Vanderbilt tender: $67.50Adjusted: $799.07BLI Brass Hybrid K-2 Mikado: $799.99 (Stealth), $899.99 (sound)
That $46.70 sounds cheap today, but put it in perspective of value in its day and that was quite the dent to the wallet! And for the same adjusted price as the premium kit, you can get a BLI Brass Hybrid 2-8-2 ready to run with more details than you can count, a smooth and quiet chassis and some really sharp paint, then add $100 and you get full electronic control with some of the latest in sound! Maybe we should try moving forward to 1972 when ready to run plastic mostly took over.
Rivarossi Big Boy: $59.98Adjusted: $441.66New MSRP: $439.99
Right where it was 50 years ago, but now with diecast frames, a can motor with flywheel, full cab interior instead of a big cab motor, RP-25 flanges and once again improved paint quality. Looks like the new customers are getting the better deal on this one! What about the cheap toy grade stuff from, let's say, 1977?
Tyco GP20: $16.00Adjusted: $81.26Walthers GP9M current MSRP: $79.98
I'd say Walthers won that one. Honestly, I think the only actual failure with current pricing is Bachmann's MSRP on their products, but we fortunately have discount retailers to keep them in check. Beyond that, real value is almost exactly where it's been for about 70 years, but now with all the features and improvements of modern materials tooling. I'm not saying I like current prices, but when taken into perspective, I think I can say that we've actually never had it better (unless you're a kit builder like me).
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