Bob’s prolly gonna grab his padlock, but I’m gonna rant anyway!
Accucraft announced a huge price increase recently. I mean huge!
Some dealers have already reflected this on their websites. Included is stock they already had before the hike!
A few have yet to raise their in-stock prices.
But anyway, I for one, on a fixed income have bought my last Accucraft item.
Don’t the Manufacturer’s know that few hobbyists will buy their products after huge price raises?
I’m glad I have a few pieces of it.
I was saving for a K37, and had the price of about $2,700 saved up. I needed a couple more months. My favorite dealer raised his price $1,000.
The recently released DSP&P Mason was priced pretty reasonable (for Accucraft). It jumped way up.
And the dealers already had them in stock at the old price!
I am going to enjoy the trains I already own, build some more PNG (unless he hikes), and let the manufacturer’s price themselves into oblivion!
End of Rant.
John the “aurgument” goes that they have to increase prices on the existing stock in order to cover reordering cost at the new price, but while thats fine for track or long running production items, does anyone think an Accucraft is a mass produced long production item? I doubt if any Masons are rolling off the assembly lines by the thousands, Accu’s are always specific # limited runs and once the run is complete, are payed for by and delivered to the LHS and sold off a customer its not likely they will ever see another run unless the a great enough demand dictates to do so, at which a second run would be announced and any price increases should be reflective at that time. But to jack prices on items already produced payed for and delivered to the stores as in stock items is pure BS to me, I really dont get the LS market today, it seems to me to be running headlong over the cliff with the prices, I am already priced out of 90% of the market, glad I have what I have but I’m done when it comes to pricing and I’d bet I’m very typical of the guy who’s being chased out of this scale by the loony pricing going on, I’ve been moving into O, collecting old collectable trains that havent been produced since 1974, and it sooooooooo much more affordable than the idiocy going on in LS.
I’ve likely purchased my last Large Scale product.
I’ll be following Mik into scratch/bashing.
Working on some #6 switches, now.
Yeah, I don’t really care. I have plenty of stuff, have scratch built the last two locos(Challenger and 844) Don’t really need any more cars, but may make a flat to hold a 1/32nd scale Huey or Cobra. May do a scratch of the loco they had over in Nam at Tuy Hoa.
Wow. Good way to go out of business. They were way out of my price range before, now forget it. What a good way to get people into the hobby, not. I dont need much anymore and anything I do need will probably be scratch built from a HLW flat, bachmann trucks and Arsito power trucks.
Maybe I’ll switch to HO scale. ** He says while ducking the projectiles**
Only thing I’m interested from Accu is their passenger cars (but not at the current price) and tie strips.
welcome to the club, gentlemen!
get used to it. accelerated inflation eliminates companies, that are not selling or producing goods of primary need.
but that is not the end of the hobby. (maybe the end of cheque-book modeling for some)
the last decades proved to me, that largescale is possible on shoestring budgets. (just stretch them laces a bit!)
Korm Kormsen said:
welcome to the club, gentlemen!get used to it. accelerated inflation eliminates companies, that are not selling or producing goods of primary need.
but that is not the end of the hobby. (maybe the end of cheque-book modeling for some)
the last decades proved to me, that largescale is possible on shoestring budgets. (just stretch them laces a bit!)
I agree with you Korm. Just because products are not affordable is no reason to give up G scale. There are many ways to make large scale possible and not spend alot of $$$$$$. We have perfect examples on this site of what can be done at a low cost. Just look at what Mik has done as well as Korm and even myself. I dont need all the latest stuff and bells and whistles to enjoy the hobby. Give me some HLW mini series rolling stock and a HLW engine and im happy.
If the King of Cheap (me) is having trouble affording parts n stuff that should tell you something is going wrong here. I realized after I finished the pizza that I wouldn’t be able to do anything beyond what was already stored away in terms of track and turn outs in the future. So my future if any will be restricted to what ever my R1s will allow. I was reading the latest GR small layout winner…it was LARGER than my damn garage layout, thats the definition of SMALL today, half a building. When I started 8’ dia. was considered big, today its barely adequate. And that track is nowhere near affordable these days.
Several years ago, I attended a club meeting for members who the majority of, ran a particular German brandname. The club was well known for importing and distributing bulk brass rail for self assembly. One topic of the discussion was how to raise sufficient funds to import another batch of brass rail. High on the agenda and the method chosen, was to raise the price of the currently held rail from $12.00 per metre to $20.00 per metre to obtain the funds required for the new purchase.
The instock rail had been priced to secure a profit, so raising the price on items already instore and costed for seemed to me to be outrageous. Basically, the customer was being gouged so the importer had the funds to procure further purchases and thus more sales. Seems more like extortion to me.
We have seen in the past whenever track prices increased then most dealers would raise prices on current stock to the new price level. their justification was that fundes were needed to procure more track at the newly increased price. I really do not believe that it is the consumers’ responsibility to ensure that a dealer has sufficient funds to purchase new stock. The dealer’s funds are supposedly part of raising capital for stock purchases. Gouging the customer on current stock is immoral and no doubt the consumer will have a long memory.
Price hikes on stock not ordered is acceptable to me. However, how many times have we purchased items that have obviously sat on a shelf for some time, only to find multiple price stickers overlapping each order, with the prices increasing from the lower labels to the final label on top.
I guess someone needs to mention it, most of us have been in the hobby for long enough to have seen the trends … more than once from all different directions.
In short if one had his/her heart set on a particular theme/railroad one could do long term planning … in the process persistently and patiently “amass” what one needs to run that railroad.
I started the process for my theme in 1999; ten years later I had what I “needed”, but I didn’t fritter my effort in umpteen directions. I decided what I wanted and stuck with it. I also bought most of what I now have at prices that suited my budget, in other words I passed up many a “bargain” in anticipation of a true bargain coming along.
BTW this situation is in some ways linked to the “perceived” state of the hobby in general, we can moan and groan … or we can do something about it i.e. promote the hobby to the best of our ability.
Of course this is strictly my opinon! 
PS here comes the question: how many engines and pieces of rolling stock can you run at one time all by yourself? Does that number match the amount you have “tucked” away? Just asking, that’s all! 
Well I’m as cheap as they come I even heard a squeak or two when I was walking in here.
I was going to put in a switch on my long curve and run track through the center of my set, but The price of the switch and the track wow!
I’m retiring next year. I think I’ll just make some more buildings and make some flat cars and a work caboose and that show be enough.
I’ll stuff the money in my mattress.
That will give me more time to run my live steamer.
Where is the law written that one must buy stuff to be in a hobby?
Can’t I enjoy a hobby with out pooring my self out, by buying more stuff than I need to enjoy the hobby?
I have more stuff now than I really need.
I’ll just enjoy the equipment I already have. The enjoyment is in using it rather than buying it.
It seems that is what we get into is buying too much.
I guess that’s the American way
I’m going to turn over a new me and only buy what I need, and not so much what I want.
David
Given the falling value of the dollar with all the money Federal Reserve is creating out of thin air, is it any wonder that prices are rising?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/21/us-markets-global-idUSTRE71H0EB20110421
Reuters said:
The dollar has already been hurt by the Federal Reserve's near-zero interest-rate policy and overseas central banks' diversification from the U.S. currency, despite the festering fiscal problem in Europe.Technical charts suggested the U.S. dollar index could move toward a record low of 70.698 hit in 2008.
The dollar’s decline accelerated this week after a warning by Standard & Poor’s on the United States’ massive debt load and as the economy showed signs of slowing.
And for stuff made in China, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/20/china-economy-wages-idUSTOE70J01120110120
Reuters said:And given that it takes energy and oil to make and transport and sell the stuff, I'm surprised hobby stuff has only gone up as much as that.
Jan 20 (Reuters) - China's Guangdong province will raise its minimum wage by an average 18.6 percent from March, local media said on Thursday, in a sign that Chinese labour costs may rise strongly again in 2011.
Higher toy train prices distills down to being about halfway politically caused.
As much as we want to escape news and politics here, that’s what’s driving up the prices of what we do here.
And besides, if you have the money to spend on toy trains, then you have more money than you need, and you should give back your fair share to the community instead of spending it frivolously on your self.
Folks, let me tell you what happens to retailers who try to “do the right thing”…
Five times I sold big ticket items from a certain manufacturer. One that is now working with Accucraft. Since I certainly couldn’t afford to keep $30K items in stock, they were duly ordered THE SAME DAY. And the money put into a special account - specifically set up for transfer overseas. I repeat, the customer paid, I ordered the item, and made the money available to the manufacturer on date X, and they then took 25% as a deposit, but the rest was available at any time they requested it… When they finally had it ready for delivery (one was 3 mo, one almost 8, another over a year)- my wholesale cost had magically gone UP (price increase plus exchange rate)… to as much or more than the old retail. So they said, “send us more money”… So I sent them more money to get the customer their product. They still said, “Send us more money” I said, “Send me an invoice!”. They said “Send us more money!” I said, “Send me an invoice, I want to know how much!” They said, “We’re not sure, we’ll have our accountant check and get back to you. Meanwhile; send us more money!”… He never did, the answer was always, “We’re not sure how much, just send us more money!”
I finally said, I wasn’t sending another dime until I got detailed invoices. I only ever got an invoice for one item.
Four customers eventually got their items. I’m STILL trying to get the 5th one - and I’ve been out of business for damn near 3 years. And I STILL can’t get a straight answer, just “Send us more money!”
Meanwhile, I’m waiting to be sued…
I not only ate those increases (and all the other bullshit). I didn’t raise prices on ANY in stock items, either. Sometimes the old retail was less than the new replacement costs. So I would have a small flurry of sales on which I lost money. Then… nothing.
Do the right thing, offer fair pricing and good service - and in 10 years my number of loyal repeat customers was STILL less than 25. — EVERYBODY just wanted a ‘deal’ (or a steal). The wal-mart mentality of 'low price uber alles" rules. If the customer is only as loyal far as THIS purchase, today - what does the retailer actually owe them beyond answering the phone and what said customer has already paid for? Enough folks out there are willing to cut your throat for you, should you have to help them?
Are the retailers “greedy” for wanting to actually STAY in business, or are some customers just… Nevermind, you wouldn’t like it.
US consumers are like spoilt children. They want it ALL, right NOW, for as little as possible. Prices went up, it’s the end of the world! I’m mad, so let ALL the hobby shops go out of business! Who cares?.. Until you want something that nobody sells AT ALL anymore. Then what?
…You order it in from overseas like others have to do now.
This is a GLOBAL market place and will steadily become more GLOBALISED as time goes by.
You only have to look at what has happened in the Model Car/Boat/Plane business to realise what WILL happen to our relatively tiny market. The deals that you can get ex China are mind boggling. Great service too. That attitude will eventually spread into Large Scale trains simply because they are so big and require lots of space to display.
The one saving grace will be the rise of Internet savvy cottage industries that make specific items for niche markets.
Nah, Tony. Folks will just cry in their beer about “the good old days” (until some point down the road when today becomes the “good old days”), and blame everybody else. Or, perhaps if they ever DO realize that retailers don’t raise prices because they WANT to, but because they have no other choice, maybe they’ll start a PAC to push for repeal of the laws of cause and effect…
Or, maybe their bosses will suddenly generously decide to grant them a COLA to cover toy trains?
One thing my Gram always says, “Be careful what you ask for, you might actually get it.”