Harry P. Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 "The rate of inflation" is but an AVERAGE! Inflation is the sustained rise in the cost of goods and services over time, measured as an annual percentage increase–that percentage being the rate of inflation. Inflation is actually a decrease in the buying power of the dollar over time. If the inflation rate is running at 2% annually, an item that costs $1.00 today will cost $1.02 a year from now. The higher the rate of inflation, the less buying power the dollar has over time. From investopedia.com: To measure inflation, a number of goods that are representative of the economy are put together into what is referred to as a "market basket." The cost of this basket is then compared over time. This results in a price index, which is the cost of the market basket today as a percentage of the cost of that identical basket in the starting year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 A kit should cost whatever the company making it can sell it for and return a profit on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Eh? Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Hopefully, less than I am willing to pay for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 A kit should cost whatever the company making it can sell it for and return a profit on it. What percentage profit seems fair and sustainable to you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 What percentage profit seems fair and sustainable to you ?Thats above my pay grade, can not answer it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 From the book "The Octopus" "All the traffic will bear" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I remember 2.50 model kits but that was then and everything changes. If they was to expensive I don't think we would still be in the hobby. Look how much cigarettes are today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I have seen what the store pays for models, there is a 100% mark up. Marketing 101... stores must mark stuff up a minimum of 100%, which is referred to as a "key". A while back I did a real analysis on opening up a hobby shop. I realized I'd have to generate $20,000 a month in sales. A little store front in a suburban shopping center is over $3000 a month. I want to know where your buying kits for $15.00 to $16.00.......I'm paying $23.00 to $29.00 @ kit I go to a lot of shows. There are several dealers competing in the $15-20 range for new kits. Of course they are not paying the costs of running a retail store front. You can always find cheap kits at shows, resales and close outs from dealers who buy collections and collector/builders thinning their hoard in the $5-10 range. In fact at the two clubs I frequent, guys regularly bring a case or two of kits to unload within those numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 (edited) As mentioned earlier, the annual inflation rate is based on benchmarks related to a limited number of subjects, and does not take into account a wide array of products and services in a multitude of industries, particularly the unique market influences on specialized ones. The general published inflation rate does not go to everything across the board. Just ask anyone who lives on Social Security. Edited August 8, 2014 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W. Verts Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 But what about the kids? Is that fair to ask? In 1970 I bet the ages of folks building models was almost reversed from what it is today. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 (edited) And yes, many things today are remarkably cheaper, even unbelievably cheaper, than they were years ago. A computer with the power of the one I'm using to write this, that I bought used for $400, would have been practically impossible to build in 1964, would have filled a LARGE building if it COULD have been built, and would have cost millions of dollars. This is the technology curve, completely separate from inflation. I remember my friend Larry got the first Beta-Max VCR in our neighborhood. He paid something like $1200 for it. I waited a bit and got my first VHS machine on sale for $499, a top loader with a wired remote! At the bottom of the curve you could buy VCRs for $50. People have pointed out that your smart phone has more power than the computers that sent Apollo to the moon. I had the very first computer in my neighborhood. I was working for a huge food company in 1986 as a consultant. I had found a better job, quit, but agreed to complete their CAD application. So two computer geeks came to my house to 'install' an IBM AT, then an $8000 machine. The first thing I did at my new employer to start a CADD department, was to buy two Apollo mini-computers for $200,000. A year later, the next version had twice the power and was half that cost. And technology continued to march on from there... my $500 laptop has more power and storage than any of those machines! Edited August 8, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 My opinion on cost.... Then and now Then, kids were the prime buyers of kits, now those same kids are still buying kits as adults. Adults can afford to pay more. Then, crude oil was plentiful and cheap and things were not made of plastic as they are now. Now, Crude costs more and more things are made of petrochemicals, including the model car kits plus plastic houses our computers, make our automobile interiors and body panels, plastics account for much in building materials. I have speakers that used to be housed in wood that are now housed in plastics...plus plastic bottles and other containers are prevalent today. Then, model companies got paid by carmakers to make promo models which in turn were the basis for kits. Now, license fees are costly and to get approved means a lot of scrutiny by the licensor of the product to make sure it satisfies the brand image. Then, rent of a store or ownership thereof was cheaper. Now, very expensive to lease one, even in a crappy area. With the exception of a small blip, property values tend to go up. Then, kids tended to do more with their hands such as crafts, art, and models...plus sports and outdoorsy things. Now , kids tend to play video games, use social network sites to access friends and few are interested in models of any kind. When I was a kid (teenager) we could afford a crappy car with a part time job and we tinkered and hot rodded them and had a genuine interest in them. The cars were simple to work on and we learned a lot by watching dad or the mechanic at the corner station. It was even cooler if your dad was a real mechanic or raced cars. Todays cars are highly technical and hard to understand. That is why there are colleges to train people in working on them which includes advances in metallurgy and plastics, computer programming and emmission control science, plus the new hybrid and electric car technology...hardly stuff you can build in your back yard. Friends in Europe and other places on the planet have shown amazement that teens can afford cars at all. Of course this has changed as the pool of cheap running cars has diminished from programs like cash for clunkers. We will never see $100 grinders that run again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 We will never see $100 grinders that run again. Inflation again! A hulk is worth $500 in scrap metal alone. And those $100 cars are now $1500! On the other side of it, anyone who can fog up a spoon can lease a brand new car. So a lot of kids just go for that $199 lease special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Models should be free! Pizza and beer free too! We demand our rights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) ...advances in metallurgy and plastics, computer programming and emmission control science, plus the new hybrid and electric car technology...hardly stuff you can build in your back yard.... Well, maybe you can.....http://contest.techbriefs.com/2010/entries/transportation/871 Edited August 9, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Models should be free! Pizza and beer free too! We demand our rights! Are you becoming a liberal, Harry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Oh, come on, Bill... you're cheating. That's obviously not your back yard! Are you becoming a liberal, Harry? If it means free pizza and beer... yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) Ah, the evils of inflation. Back when I was kid in the 1960's, model car kits sold for $2.00, and comic books sold for 12 cents. Today model car kits are about $20.00. Ten times more expensive than in the 1960's. The last time I bought a regular comic book 5 years ago, they were selling $2.99. Looking at that, the price of model kits doesn't look too bad. My buying power has changed a lot since I was kid back in the 60's. I can afford to buy more model kits now. My allowance back then was $1.00 per week. Out of that 50 cent went to savings. The rest I could spend as I wished. By the early 70's I started mowing lawns for extra cash. I got $2.00 per lawn. And I thought that was pretty good. My first real tax paying job was at a McDonalds in the summer of 1974. I don't remember exactly, but I got either $2.00 per hour, or $2.25, before taxes. In 1977 I had a job at the Pillsbury A mill, factory work, and I was making $6.94 per hour. That was good money. With it I bought my first new car, a 1977 Plymouth Volare Road Runner, loaded with most every option, for right around $6,000. The summer of 1973, just before the first gas crisis, regular grade gasoline was going for average of 32 cents per gallon. Today I filled up my car at $3.45 for regular unleaded. Hmm, it looks like model prices and gasoline have gone up at about the same rate. So, how much should model kits cost? That's a load question. I'm shocked when I see a new kit at $20.00 or more. But, that's because I grew up with $2.00 kits. The question is how many hours of work do I have to do to earn the money to buy that kit? Scott Edited August 9, 2014 by unclescott58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Well said, Scott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) I haven't seen one person mention the model kits themselves. Take the average model kit from 1964 and an average kit today, not exactly an apple to apples comparison. How many threads start off with a rant from somebody about the horrible kit they bought, then as the thread progresses some old fart who built that kit as a kid will explain just how old the kit in question actually is (as well as how deep the snow / how steep the hill was as they walked to school). Edited August 9, 2014 by Aaronw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) I had to trudge 50 miles each way back and forth to school every day over a mountain 8,000 feet high in snow that was 100 feet deep carrying 200 perfect model kits that only cost a nickel each when I was only 5 years old... Edited August 9, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatswhatshesaid Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) The heyday of cheap kits is over. Edited August 9, 2014 by Thatswhatshesaid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatswhatshesaid Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) The summer of 1973, just before the first gas crisis, regular grade gasoline was going for average of 32 cents per gallon. Today I filled up my car at $3.45 for regular unleaded. Hmm, it looks like model prices and gasoline have gone up at about the same rate. Scott OIL. Why do models and gasoline seem to have gone up at the same rate? OIL. What does it take to make gas and plastic? OIL. What is very expensive these days? OIL. Everyone seems to overlook this tidbit. Edited August 9, 2014 by Thatswhatshesaid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpier Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 it is a slippery slope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpier Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 but as far as kit quality goes, I'd much rather have current offerings. right down to the packaging, today's models are much superior. Revell & Tamiya instruction sheets rock. having a little plastic bag and piece of tissue keeping parts separate & scratch free is great. anyone open a mid 60s kit and find a tire self welded to the hood? Q: if two kits (same vehicle) were available with one molded in a colored plastic (red, black, yellow - pick a color) or in plain old white, would you pay _____ $ for the white kit? some of the reissued kits which were hard to paint because of their mold color are now available in white. I think that's another bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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