Rising price of our hobby

[charlie8575]

based on this, and your previous breakdown of how discounts are handled, i would never buy anything from a store which obviously prejudices someone who walks in off the street over a regular customer. i'm not saying it's wrong, or a bad business practice, but just one i won't participate.

this is the type of action which makes me enjoy the internet shopping experience. i can live without the "warm & fuzzy" of brick 'n mortar and all those deep friendships based upon my spending habits.

anyone, in any business, is your friend as long as you are giving them $$$.

Remember this...

With your discount, your cost with us often matches or beats online, especially once shipping is included.

So, tell me...do you also refuse to shop at grocery stores that use rewards cars to offer special savings?

How about Lowe's? They give 10% off to any active-member military or military retiree with ID.

That's the same basic thing they're doing, or do you like the sound of your wallet being sucked dry?

What about gas stations that give you a free coffee after 10, but only if you take the card?

This is a foolish way to shop, frankly, and no, I will not retract my statement. You seem to enjoy spending more money than you have to- your call.

Here's what my store WILL do for you.

If you're a regular customer and buy enough stuff, we give you 10% right off the top. No questions asked, no club memberships required. While I haven't quite figured out the owner's formula for determining this (I think it's part dollar volume, part how you treat him and the employees, and part do you contribute to other hobbyists by sharing knowledge and the like.)

Want a special-order item?

If it's not a regular-stocking item, we'll take 10-20% off, depending on its margin and category (and in some cases, whether the manufacturer will allow us to.)

If it's a new item and you pre-order, we'll give you 25% off if you pre-pay.

On either of the above, if you pre-pay with CASH (as in real money,) we will generally allow a 30% discount because it's a guaranteed sale and we still make money. Again, it will depend on manufacturer policy and margin, but that's usually what we do because it's out the door on arrival. We're generous with the cash discount because we can use it to stock more items for regular inventory and it saves us credit card fees, which can be up to 5% on certain cards.

Oh, and we'll try to match Internet prices for anyone; even if we can't penny for penny, we can still usually give you a good enough deal to make it worth your while.

Plus, with about 90-95% of the entire current plastic kit catalog (from all manufacturers) on the shelf at any given time, odds are you'll leave with what you want.

While I don't own the store, I still take this as a personal attack on me because you have chosen to verbally assault the place I work as unethical, which is in fact reflected upon me, as an employee. While Paul might have his quirks, we haven't stayed in business for 43 years (and I've been a customer for well over 30 of them) by screwing our customers.

Charlie Larkin

[slusher]

I think model building is not an expensive hobby. Everything is going up and I believe all of us buy extra model related items when we find good prices over time. We have built out model stash over time and scored some kits at bargain prices.  

[SfanGoch]

The key is to be a smart shopper. Use the internet to your advantage. The average person who searches for info with Google only looks at the first two pages of results. You'd be surprised at how many real bargains you'll find from Page 3 onward. 

[plastic-mechanic]

Remember this...

With your discount, your cost with us often matches or beats online, especially once shipping is included.

So, tell me...do you also refuse to shop at grocery stores that use rewards cars to offer special savings?

How about Lowe's? They give 10% off to any active-member military or military retiree with ID.

That's the same basic thing they're doing, or do you like the sound of your wallet being sucked dry?

What about gas stations that give you a free coffee after 10, but only if you take the card?

This is a foolish way to shop, frankly, and no, I will not retract my statement. You seem to enjoy spending more money than you have to- your call.

Here's what my store WILL do for you.

If you're a regular customer and buy enough stuff, we give you 10% right off the top. No questions asked, no club memberships required. While I haven't quite figured out the owner's formula for determining this (I think it's part dollar volume, part how you treat him and the employees, and part do you contribute to other hobbyists by sharing knowledge and the like.)

Want a special-order item?

If it's not a regular-stocking item, we'll take 10-20% off, depending on its margin and category (and in some cases, whether the manufacturer will allow us to.)

If it's a new item and you pre-order, we'll give you 25% off if you pre-pay.

On either of the above, if you pre-pay with CASH (as in real money,) we will generally allow a 30% discount because it's a guaranteed sale and we still make money. Again, it will depend on manufacturer policy and margin, but that's usually what we do because it's out the door on arrival. We're generous with the cash discount because we can use it to stock more items for regular inventory and it saves us credit card fees, which can be up to 5% on certain cards.

Oh, and we'll try to match Internet prices for anyone; even if we can't penny for penny, we can still usually give you a good enough deal to make it worth your while.

Plus, with about 90-95% of the entire current plastic kit catalog (from all manufacturers) on the shelf at any given time, odds are you'll leave with what you want.

While I don't own the store, I still take this as a personal attack on me because you have chosen to verbally assault the place I work as unethical, which is in fact reflected upon me, as an employee. While Paul might have his quirks, we haven't stayed in business for 43 years (and I've been a customer for well over 30 of them) by screwing our customers.

Charlie Larkin

it gets to "knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing." i understand you defending your employer's policies. but to answer your perhaps intended rhetorical questions:

absolutely NOT - i will not use or shop in stores which require a card to enable savings. people have no idea how much information is garnered in this manner and there are two younger generations who blatantly accept this invasion of privacy as the norm. i am not selling myself that cheap.

you have no idea how much money i have, so for a perceptibly intelligent person, why would you make that assumption? don't let emotion get in the way of logic.

[Immortal Chips]

Your lucky if you are paying $29.95 for a model, here in Aus you can pay $50 - $60 for a basic revell kit, add paint and other accessories and you are paying upwards of $100 for a standard kit build. Many like myself on here choose to customise their kits so taking that into account your paying hundreds to complete 1 kit.

[Daddyfink]

That was weird, I replied to a different thread and I ended up here! 

Mods, are we having site issues?

Edited August 8, 2016 by Daddyfink

[High octane]

I was at a model show yesterday and at the swap meet there were some great deals to be had, like brand new kits for $20, a '67 Barracuda kit for $90, and even a high($200-$400)dollar kit for only $20. You gotta shop around and you may get lucky.

[Greg Myers]

Like so many other things in life. 

[charlie8575]

it gets to "knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing." i understand you defending your employer's policies. but to answer your perhaps intended rhetorical questions:

absolutely NOT - i will not use or shop in stores which require a card to enable savings. people have no idea how much information is garnered in this manner and there are two younger generations who blatantly accept this invasion of privacy as the norm. i am not selling myself that cheap.

you have no idea how much money i have, so for a perceptibly intelligent person, why would you make that assumption? don't let emotion get in the way of logic.

Well, we have no loyalty card, per se. All we ask for is to see your club card. We simply verify and you get savings. No information other than you belong to a club. We hold the register receipt with your name and club so the discount is accounted for. We'll give you the slip from the credit card machine or a no-sale slip if cash/cheque, becasue that will be sequential. 

We only ask for e-Mail or your address if you want to be on our mailing list. If not, no big deal.

We'll ask for your phone number (and driver's license information, and yes, we still get about a dozen cheques a month,) on cheques or if you order something so we can call you that it's in. 

We're a small store that doesn't use metadata or any of that, so anything you do give us is safe because we have no place to send it! 

I assure you that there is nothing sinister or invasive, and people from 9 to 95 (yes, we have a couple of customers that old,) take advantage of these plans. 

As to your statement regarding your personal finances, true enough. As to "emotion over logic," well, to me, it's completely illogical to spend more money than you have to- comes from being the son of a cheap Armenian and a cheap Scot.

Charlie Larkin

[bobthehobbyguy]

I agree. Its silly not to get a discounted price. If you don't you are wasting money.  And if you use credit cards for purchases they are collecting data from that.

[Mark]

If you don't like the fact that the store wants you to get a card or supply an e-mail address to get a discount, get another e-mail address and use it as the garbage collector.  I have all the krap sent to an AOL account (that's about all they are good for anyway), and my normal mailbox stays clutter-free.

[Mike C]

I have enough kits already anyway even though there's always more I would like to have. So I only get them what they're bargains. When I go to our annual ACME Southern Nationals I look at the old kits people are selling and sometime I find one that interests me so I may buy it on the cheap. Then we also have our ACME annual spring cleanings and sometimes find a kit there I may like in turn getting rid of stuff I no longer want.

I do look at the Hobby Lobby kits. Right now they have some on clearance but I didn't see anything I had to have. I use the 40% off for a display case or any supplies I may need there. 

[plastic-mechanic]

....

As to your statement regarding your personal finances, true enough. As to "emotion over logic," well, to me, it's completely illogical to spend more money than you have to- comes from being the son of a cheap Armenian and a cheap Scot.

Charlie Larkin

i find it to be a value if i can help a genuine merchant stay in business and pay his bills. i won't donate to big organizations because i think the money gets diluted in the administration, but if someone is asking a fair price for something i want, i certainly don't try to dicker him down for the sake of saving a few cents. if i cannot afford something, i go without.

I agree. Its silly not to get a discounted price. If you don't you are wasting money.  And if you use credit cards for purchases they are collecting data from that.

i figure if the merchant uses the money to pay his bills, buy his kids shoes, and maybe take the wife out to dinner once in a while, it's hardly wasted.

i think donating cash to the salvation army buckets, jerry's kids, and the thousands of other leaches wanting to suck away every dime i'm willing to part, is wasting money.

 

we all have our own moral high ground. and the sun will most likely come up in the east again tomorrow.

[Tom Geiger]

I think a good percentage of us spend way more on participating in the hobby than we spend on kits!   

I mean the money spent on travel to club meetings and shows.  The food money, hotel stays and airfare to attend a big show!  

[StevenGuthmiller]

I think a good percentage of us spend way more on participating in the hobby than we spend on kits! 

I agree 100%.

In my case anyway, the cost of the paint alone can eat up nearly 50% of the kit cost by the time you figure paint, primer & clear, & interior, chassis, engine & general detail paint.

Sand paper, polishing pads & compounds, glues, detail parts.......the list goes on.

It's very easy to spend as much or more on a build than the kit originally cost.

 

Steve

[Harry P.]

I think a good percentage of us spend way more on participating in the hobby than we spend on kits!   

I mean the money spent on travel to club meetings and shows.  The food money, hotel stays and airfare to attend a big show!  

Not if you don't do any of that... 

[Tom Geiger]

Not if you don't do any of that... 

Oh be a hermit if you choose!     

I attend all my local shows,   NNL East of course, Liars on Long Island,  Mamas in Maryland,  Super September in Gilbertsville Pa and Diversified Scalerz in NJ.  And I try to get to GSL in Utah every two years.  I'd like to get back out to Ohio for NNL Nationals, haven't been there for a while.

[mikemodeler]

Oh be a hermit if you choose!     

I attend all my local shows,   NNL East of course, Liars on Long Island,  Mamas in Maryland,  Super September in Gilbertsville Pa and Diversified Scalerz in NJ.  And I try to get to GSL in Utah every two years.  I'd like to get back out to Ohio for NNL Nationals, haven't been there for a while.

You have the luxury of having some great shows within a relative close distance to you Tom, not all of us do. I have a couple of SCMA events nearby, the upcoming CKM show is in 9 days and hopefully for the first time, I will be going to the Atlanta NNL in November. What I don't spend in travel I make up for in kit spending !

 

[Bob Ellis]

Dealer net for these kits is about $15 to 18. Pretty hard to get a new kit cheaper unless  the store  is going out of business.It's not just inflation, economy of scale isn't there like it was back in 1964 -1974

 

[Bob Ellis]

Well,in 5 yrs, a night out with your special other will mean two double cheeseburgers at McDonald's with fries and a small drink!

I got 50 cents a week for allowance in 1966 ; that takes 4 weeks to buy most kits.

[Art Anderson]

By the way, kits being affordable to kids in the past is a bunch of B.S. too. They could buy models with their lunch money? Who were these kids? I sure couldn't. In the late 1960's, in 5th and 6th grade, a hot lunch ticket cost .25 cents. I was allowed two hot lunches per week. The other days I had to brown bagged it. Using the same bag the whole week. An AMT kit cost $2.00. A month of hot lunches for me. Guess what? I mainly got models on birthdays and holidays. Starting in about 7th grade I started making big money mowing lawns. I charged $2.00 per lawn. A good week I'd maybe earn $10.00 to $14.00. But, there were other things I wanted besides just model kits. Don't feel too bad for me. I had plenty of models. Not as many as wanted. But, that was life.

Do I like the price of models today? Of course not. But, compared to other things, it's still a relatively cheap hobby. What does a dinner with drinks cost at a somewhat nice restaurant? I'm just tired of people whining about this one subject. If it cost too much money quit buying them. Me? I've got more models in my collection today than I ever have had. And some I've had to $29.95 for. Others less. I'm willing to pay to play. And not whine about it.

 

Well,in 5 yrs, a night out with your special other will mean two double cheeseburgers at McDonald's with fries and a small drink!

Bob, that's a great perspective!

[Tom Geiger]

Dealer net for these kits is about $15 to 18.

Depends on if they buy direct from the model company or through a distributor.  Full cases through the model company is cheapest,  mixed cases through a distributor costs more, which is how many hobby shops fill their shelves.  I've heard shop owners complain that the dealers at model shows sell the kits cheaper than they can buy them.

[StevenGuthmiller]

This thread came to mind this evening after work as I stood in line at the service counter at the grocery store to pick up a shipping box.

The woman ahead of me had a stack of Powerball tickets as thick as your arm & the poor girl at the register was forced to check them all to see if there were any winners.

I thought to myself as I was thinking about shipping a recent modeling trade, "now there's a giant waste of money"!

I guess the next time I feel guilty about spending money on model related items, I will just console myself with the fact that I'm not holding up the rest of the world while some unfortunate person has to waste their time, & everyone elses in line, checking my $200.00 worth of losing lottery tickets!

In a side note, after about 5 minutes of that, I walked away.

 

Steve

[SfanGoch]

With the shipping box?  

[StevenGuthmiller]

With the shipping box?  

I'll try again tomorrow.

My time is too valuable to me.

 

Steve