Rising gasolene prices

[grayfox1119]

With gas prices rising well beyond the inflation level, how do you feel this will effect the LHS's? Will customers cut back on trips to these stores? Will the LHS have to raise their costs to cover their rising fuel bills, which in turn may move more business to the internet guys? For those who live many miles from their LHS's, a tank of gas is no longer $10, it is $20-$30 or more an d rising.

[grayfox1119]

One of my favorite MRR stores is a 60 mile round tripper. With an SUV that gets no better than 21 mpg on the highway, and being retired on limited income, I must now cut back on my trips. What I will now do is spend more time there when I do go, and plan my trip carefully to purchase all that I may need during a given time period. My fear is that many hobby stores that I have visited this year, are hanging on by a thread financially. This latest rise in gas prices is going to push some of these shops out of business, there is no doubt about it, as their profit margin is so thin now. And, it is not just the erosion of customer base, all their operating expenses are taking a big hit, like heating and A/C costs, RE Taxes, costs of delivery, etc. If they raise their prices, the customers all complain, and many run off to the internet further eroding the customer base, causing the cost of operation to rise higher. The spiral upwards just does not stop. Where do think this will end up guys?

[loathar]

I think the big price hike will be in S&H. I'm sure some companies will use it as an excuse to raise prices beyond a reasonable level.

[Jacktal]

Hobby wise...yes and no I'd say...personnally,my LHS is close by so it will have no effect at all on my visits there.However,the fuel price hike will eventually reflect in prices so yes,it will affect me although probably lightly.

On the other hand,I'm planning to trade my car for a slightly hotter one by next spring and may have to reconsider this option if,as I heard of,the prices of fuel are going to skyrocket in the next months.I'm lucky as I don't have to drive much (30 Kms a day) so fuel price hikes don't hurt me too bad since I drive a compact car, which I may have to keep for another few years.

[Anonymous]

I think it will trickle down to all aspects, it will cost more to drive to the LHS cutting into disposable cash, oil is used to make plastics, so prices will rise on creating our models and rolling stock and engines, shippers will tack on a fuel surcharge for the rising fuel costs, it will cost the LHS more to receive product, and pay the electric bill, there by cutting out any profit margin we have. Also we will see firms send more over seas to help keep prices in line, again cutting jobs we would have to buy our stuff, or possibly lower our wages to stay globally competative so I think it will effect us all in one way or another if not all the way.

[AntonioFP45]

Part of life.

Most of our model railroad products are made from plastic. In essence: PETROLEUM.

It's realistic to expect price increases. The costs of manufacturing and shipping by air or truck are obvious.

Best thing to do is to budget and look for decent deals. What makes me feel sad is the impact on LHS stores. We need to support them, but when prices start climbing some customers tend to turn towards the internet in search of deals.

[SpaceMouse]

If there is an effect, it will be, like Lothar says, in the shipping. Everything comes by truck these days and a 25% increase in fuel will trickle down.

Right now we are feeling a crunch becasue the incresase prices are in our face, and true some people who drive a long way to work are getting slammed. But this little hike will be nothing compared to what is coming next month. Two laws are going into effect. One will prohibit bankrupcies for people over a certain amount and the other will double minnimum credit card payments.

That will hurt most people far more than gas prices.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure that the actual trips to the LHS will be a problem as my LHS is very close and on a route I travel daily for work. The issue here in Toronto is that the cost of gas is currently 99.9 cents a litre (4 litres in a gallon...you do the math...I'm to lazy). It costs me on average $50CDN every 3 days to cover my gas costs for commuting to work. This cost is cutting into my disposable income and that WILL cut into how much I spend on my hobbies.

Trevor [:)]

[Fergmiester]

This will cause a rise in inflation and I think we are looking down the barrel of the "Big R", which in turn will cause a domino effect. Leisure activities are always the first to get hit.

Hold on we're in for a rough ride and one that will last a while. Though prices might normalize the Oil companies, once they realize people can't reduce consumption will keep the price up.

Fergie

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

This will cause a rise in inflation and I think we are looking down the barrel of the "Big R", which in turn will cause a domino effect. Leisure activities are always the first to get hit.

Hold on we're in for a rough ride and one that will last a while. Though prices might normalize the Oil companies, once they realize people can't reduce consumption will keep the price up.

Fergie

There is the other side of the coin as well. Oil companies have been keeping the price unrealistically down for fear that some bright engineer or entrepreneur will develop a cost effective alternative for the internal combustion engine. The higher gas prices go, the more likely this will occur as the potential market increases.

[claycts]

We are EATING the fuel surcharge on teh manufacturing side and passing it on in the shipping. We let FED EX etc quote a number and use that.
In My area the LHS is high anyway, there is only one in the area (26 miles) the other is 165 miles (dinner and a hobby shop trip).
The fuel prices are running due to FUTURES TRADING which my advisor keeps pushing me to.
In our latest run between S.C. and Florida it took $135.00 in fuel for the truck and car carrier.
The fact of the matter is that as long as we pay the price goes up, stop driving and the price goes down (yea, right we are going to walk)
I feel bad for fixed income and kids that can not afford to blow $35.00 in fuell to go to the LHS.
The answer to this is teh $64,000.00 question.
Some of my toys run only on racing fuel at $7.50 a gallon which is my choice, but the diesel is now at $2.75 in my area and at 27 mpg is the normal car we use.
Things could be worse, like NO GAS.

[peterjenkinson1956]

fuel in australia is currently US $3.60 x gallon and probably around $4.20 -$4.70 in the country... ...you fellas are very lucky my local hobby shop is 11 X HOUR'S drive away.... MACKAY to BRISBANE.... I dont feel too bad about paying for the fuel..i travel to asia a couple of times a year on holidays and in Thailand the fuel has gone up 50% and the poor buggers on the farms are having a very bad time... thanks peter

[Anonymous]

Like a few other guys said -

I htink people will plan their trips better - My truck gets 10 mpg, wife's van gets 21, so neither of us get great mileage. But what we do is if we need to run down to Walmart or the grocery or something, unless it is an emergency, we will wait to go to the one store until we can plan it into a "trip" where we go and run all of the errands at the same time. The same holds true for the LHS visits. I have found that I have actually spent more money than I had planned to at the LHS since gas prices went so high, as I tend to spend more time there to make sure I have everything I need before going back home...

[jacon12]

I've owned a Chevy full sized pickup for 10 years. I think its mileage is around 15 mpg, maybe a little less. I recently bought an '05 Honda Civic that is 'touted' to get 38 mpg but really gets around 29 to 30 (country and city average). I hung onto the truck but it stays parked about 95% of the time now. With a 24 gallon tank it was taking roughly $50 to $60 U.S. to fill it up. Evidently, a year from now it will take a lot more than that.
I've read several news articles that say the China and India have a lot to do with the rising price of oil, especially China now that its economy is getting hot. Most of you U.S. citizens have heard that we haven't built a new oil refinery in decades, that the ones we have are running at full speed to keep up with demand. We pass environmental laws that dictate 'special' blends for certain areas, which increases the price. I would imagine that most of us, in the U.S., haven't cut back on our driving very much, maybe even driving more than last year. Thus the demand keeps going up and up for a product that, we are told, is in limited supply.... and we all know what that does to the price. Where it will all end I have no idea.
Oh... the quetion was about trips to the hobby shop. Mine is about 11 miles away, a 22 mile round trip.. so right now it is costing me about $2 to go there and back. I don't jump in the car and run up there for a pair of #5 Kaydee couplers anymore. I try to plan the trips better. What I'll do when gas hits $5 a gallon, I'm not sure.
Jarrell

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

This will cause a rise in inflation and I think we are looking down the barrel of the "Big R", which in turn will cause a domino effect. Leisure activities are always the first to get hit.

Hold on we're in for a rough ride and one that will last a while. Though prices might normalize the Oil companies, once they realize people can't reduce consumption will keep the price up.

Fergie

There is the other side of the coin as well. Oil companies have been keeping the price unrealistically down for fear that some bright engineer or entrepreneur will develop a cost effective alternative for the internal combustion engine. The higher gas prices go, the more likely this will occur as the potential market increases.

I suppose this would explain their sagging and poor profit margins of the past.

What was I thinking?!?

Barnum said it best

[retsignalmtr]

i go to three hobbie shops. each is a 30-35 mile trip from home. i'm retired and on a fixed income so i try to combine trips where posible. my clubs meeting place is 48 miles away. the distances i travel to these places does not effect me too much as i've cut down on my driving since i retired. no longer having to drive 40 miles each way to work means i can drive a little more now but the price of fuel is more than double that of when i was working. one benifit of these trips is i have found that there are several gas stations where the price of the gas is 20-25 cents less per gallon than the stations where i live so i fill up there and also fill up a five gallon can to bring home for my other vehicles. i use my escort that gets 38 miles per gallon. my ranger pickup gets 21 miles per and my 32 year old toyota landcruiser gets only 12 miles per. the high price of fuel might mean that the lhs will be losing some business to the internet sites not only because of fuel prices but that their prices are quite a bit cheaper.

[joeyegarner]

Hi, I have only been a member of the site for a few weeks. Myself I won't let the fuel prices stop me from geting to my favorite hobbyshop, I live in North Alabama and they are few and far between. the one I go to is about 100 mile round trip in Huntsville. Like the man from Austraila said (peterjenkinson1956) our gas prices aren't really that expensive, it's just a matter of what your used to (relative). I have been to Sout America several times in the past couple of years and the prices in Peru are about $1.00 a gallion higher than ours. Ask some of the people from Europe how much they pay. But just like you I don't like filling my tank on my Chevy Colorado and having to spend over $40.00 to do it. Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Drove past our nearest fuel station today - 96.9p for a litre of diesel. We now pay about $9 for a gallon of fuel here. I think I'll be buying more by mail order than by visiting my LHS - a pity, but when P&P from my two favoured suppliers is £4 per order and it costs me around £5-£12 to visit my LHS (depending on which one I go to), it's not economic to drive over there despite the advantages of buying in person. I foresee a growth in online sales and probably price hikes for shipping the goods as a result of this, as well as a general slow-down of sales of top-end items as people see their disposable income eaten away by their rising living costs.

[MisterBeasley]

I'm going to get rid of my gas-guzzling SUV, personally. Besides, it doesn't have a CD player. With a good sound system in a fuel-efficient car, I'll enjoy the trip to the LHS even more!

I'm lucky to have a great LHS literally within bicycling distance, and a few more that are within 20-30 minutes of home.

[grayfox1119]

Mr Beasley, I see that you live about 45 miles from me, what are those great HS that are near you, I may want to visit them soon.
Thanks Mr. B

[Anonymous]

We pay ~ € 1.30 for a litre of 98 octane... go figure.

Me and my friends try to carpool whenever possible, and even though my car has a great milage (we measure it in litres per 100 kilometers over here, which would be 4.9 for my car), I try to go by train whenever possible. Besides, when I want to go shopping in, like, Hamburg, which is around 100 miles away from here, the ICE will take me downtown a lot faster, without the hassle of finding a (expensive!) spot to park my car. Hannover (around 20 miles away) is where I tend to go by train anyway; I can commute there for free.

[Anonymous]

The plastic stuff uses petroleum in manufacturing, the manufacturers ship to the distributors who ship to the LHS-all done in vehicles that use fuel-so it will show up in the cost of out hobby products. I drive a mid sized pickup that gets about 19 mpg on the highway, my wife has a mid sized Mercury that gets about 30 mpg. She would like something newer and I would like to get better milage since I have to drive to see my customers. We're talking about getting her something newer, relegating the pick up to hauling lumber for the layout ;o), and me driving the little Merc for business. Might save a dime or two on fuel which would make me happy. Regular unleaded peaked at 2.67 per last week, currently at 2.52 here in Kansas City today.

[roadrat]

The price of gas is bad enough but the price of heating oil is whats going to kill me this winter, I'm thinking of putting in a pellet stove but there not cheap , The real bummer is that I was planning on doing alot of work on the layout this winter but with the high price of oil it may be slow going..........Oh yea my LHS is about 45 miles away so I buy alot online, but try to stop in there with my work truck on rare occasions( I drive a tractor/trailer " I had to take Rt1 boss there was ahhhhhh traffic on 295 yea traffic thats the ticket. "


bill

[Darth Santa Fe]

I say it will have little effect. Nothing can keep a serious railroader from his LHS!![^][^]

[Anonymous]

Who is keeping track of the automotive ads, while out of one corner of their mouths they are touting SUVs and full size cars, they are whispering vehicles at 30+ miles per gallon. It isn't the price of the vehicle, it's what it's going to cost you. Maybe someone will wake up finally to the fact that we have sold our soles to the devil, and we need some new technology that is not petroleum based.
Will

[Anonymous]

Fortunetly I live 5 minutes away for my LHS by bicycle. With gas shooting up to 1.09/ liter last week we're trying to keep the Camaro off the road as much as possible, at least until I get a raise! As far as plastic prices going up I'm not sure about that, plastic it a by-product of refining oil and I understand that there is always a surplus. Think of all the items packaged in plastic, if it was scarce would it be used as much?

[Anonymous]

From what I've seen, diesel engines have yet to catch on over there? My Land Rover has a 2.5 TDI (Turbo Diesel) that gets 30mpg+ average, the petrol version (a 3.9 V8) gets 22mpg tops (usually under 20mpg). Unsurprisingly the majority in this area have the TDI powerplant! In other words, by building it to a sensible size and fitting a TDI you can have a 4x4 that costs about the same to run as a 1.6 petrol car (I get better average mpg than a new Mini Cooper S, according to the official figures).

[timthechef]

Since my favorite hobby shop is a good distance from where I live and I already had to plan my trips there it will definately effect weather I go or not.

[peterjenkinson1956]

i notice that a lot of you are now feeling the pinch and are going to get smaller cars or get a second car and only use the pick up for short trips......... over here in australia the main cars are the gm commadore and the ford falcon both much larger than the camry.and where i live 30% of vehicles would be 4 x 4's (landcruiser).when i have been to the u s a i have noticed that your sedans are getting smaller and have smaller engines... V8's are very popular over here with 5.7l and 6l cars very popular and very fuel efficient... the commadore 'monaro' is sold in the usa as a two door muscle car chev... so it just goes to show that the cost of fuel only has a small effect for a short time we have a hyundai in the carport and never gets used we (wife and i ) much prefer the big car ....thanks peter... ps its cheaper for me to fly to the hobby shop than drive ha! ha!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Kiel-Holtenau



Hannover (around 20 miles away) is where I tend to go by train anyway; I can commute there for free.

You forget the first rule of economics: TANSTASFL (pronounced tans-t-awful), there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. I don't know about Germany, but if you don't pay for a ticket or have a free pass, and maybe you do, because you work for them or something, I bet you still pay for it out of your taxes.

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QUOTE: Originally posted by Overduff



Who is keeping track of the automotive ads, while out of one corner of their mouths they are touting SUVs and full size cars, they are whispering vehicles at 30+ miles per gallon. It isn't the price of the vehicle, it's what it's going to cost you. Maybe someone will wake up finally to the fact that we have sold our soles to the devil, and we need some new technology that is not petroleum based.
Will

I would hardly call it selling our souls (not soles, unless you mean shoes), to the devil. Part of the problem with other sources of energy if that it would cost more to use than sticking with oil based methods. Take a look at hydrogen, how do you get it to run cars, well the easy way is to pass steam over hot coals. Lets use fossils fuels to produce hydrogen, for our clean cars. Or better yet we can build wind turbines that the great American bald eagle will fly into, and die. Since science has proven that we are not running out of oil, some places where the thought the well had run dry now have more oil in them, I think that if we could get the environmentalist to let us drill for oil off the coast of California, the gulf of Mexico, and Alaska, we could drop the price of oil significantly.

---

Nuclear power is a very good option for using less fuel, but the environmentalist also blocks that path. I was scoffed at before when I said that disposing of nuclear waste was not a huge problem. Here is what I heard from a retired officer of the Navy, who severed on diesel and nuclear subs, and worked directly under Admiral Rickover. What you do is you take the waste, the size of a marble that can run whole cities for years, and even then can be put into another reactor that uses the waste from the first reactor, coat it with glass and dump it into the Marianas trench. No radioactivity will contaminate the ocean and nothing lives that deep, and it couldn't be filled up for thousands of years. Of course you can't convince people of that, but it would work.

I drive a Geo to my Local Hobby Shop, and get 50+ miles to the gallon. I always want, that when I build a bigger layout to have my local hobby shop, with an old Geo in the parking lot.