So why has the price of model kits gone up?

[gerdog]

I know better than jump in here.........

Per the inflation calculator a kit today vs a kit produced in 1965 should cost $15.

OK....that's still less than MSRP today.

AMT could sell 700,000 1965 Mustang kits and not advertise or promote at all.

Add to that Ford had payed for the 1965 Mustang molds via the promos etc.

Raw materials have gone up more than the rate of inflation. Otherwise gas should be $2 a gallon....see.......????

In 1965 there were a lot more model builders......I didn't know a single kid that Didn't build.....

And most of us had a hobby shop nearby.

Today......

Add licensing fees paid to the manufactures in place of payments from auto manufactures.

Greatly decrease the number of stores carrying your product.

Greatly decrease the number of model builders.

A kit sells a lot less than those 700,000 Mustangs or even 1.5 million Dukes Chargers.....Sold today??? I'll stay away from that one.

See where we are going???

Do the math....it's easy to see.

Want a hobby that's expensive??? Come on over to O scale 3 rail trains with me!!!! Lionel's new UP Big Boy retails $2200.00 IF you can get one.

Makes total sense.

Any hobby that one totally gets into is expensive!

[Danno]

After perusing all 101 prior posts in this thread, I feel I can safely sum up the answer to the question in four words: All of the above.

You're welcome.

[JPS_Lotus]

I don't think the pricing of model kits is bad per say if you are buying Revell kits.

What model kit pricing is bad are any of the Japanese manufacturer kits. I'd rather buy from Hobby Link Japan than spend the money some shops charge for the Tamiya kits. I just plan out a purchase so I'm not shipping just one item for $10 by standard air...I try to get more for the money. Certain decal and photo-etch sets come in handy this way.

The other thing that adds up far quicker than any kit price, are the costs of paints and other supplies. How many times do you go into a shop with the intention of only spending $10, then you wind up spending $30-$40 on supplies?

[Tom Geiger]

How many times do you go into a shop with the intention of only spending $10, then you wind up spending $30-$40 on supplies?

Yea, I can identify! The one time I went into a hobby shop and left with just the can of spray paint I came for, I left feeling like I broke a law or something!

[JPS_Lotus]

Yea, I can identify! The one time I went into a hobby shop and left with just the can of spray paint I came for, I left feeling like I broke a law or something!

LOL, that's the same problem I have. I look at the one can, and I think every time, "That's really all I bought? Why?"

[martinfan5]

I don't think the pricing of model kits is bad per say if you are buying Revell kits.

What model kit pricing is bad are any of the Japanese manufacturer kits. I'd rather buy from Hobby Link Japan than spend the money some shops charge for the Tamiya kits. I just plan out a purchase so I'm not shipping just one item for $10 by standard air...I try to get more for the money. Certain decal and photo-etch sets come in handy this way.

The other thing that adds up far quicker than any kit price, are the costs of paints and other supplies. How many times do you go into a shop with the intention of only spending $10, then you wind up spending $30-$40 on supplies?

A good portion of the new Japanes kits are about the same price ,if not cheaper then new kits from Revell, never buy Japanese kits from US sellers, the import mark up is around $20 or more over the MSPR from Japan .

But that is what makes HLJ "Private Wharehouse" option very nice, lets you build up a large shipment which makes the per item shipping very cheap, my last shipment I did cost me $64 , that was for 16 items, so I paid $4 per item to ship.

What makes it nice is if you ship like P/E sets or decal sheets along with kits, those pretty much ship free