> "Kids" were never a factor in Scale Model Railroading.
Kids grow up and become people who may be interested in getting model trains
again. Kids who grow up on TV & video games are not as likely to be interested
in that.
> the total volume of sales is as high as it ever has been.
If this is so, why the drastic change of the market over the past few years?
> Your $6.98 Athearn rubber band drive F7 would cost around
> $75 in today's money.... which is about what you pay for a gear-drive
> Athearn Ready-to-Roll F7A/B unit combo with window glazing, superior motor,
> improved traction, and accurate graphics
Most locomotives are not $75 anymore. In fact, a majority of them are double
or higher.
> The only problems are caused by the customer themselves
So what you're saying is that I'm too stupid to figure it out?
> No, you can't aways get it from a particular supplier at the price
> and when you want it, but you can get just about anything.
I have not found that to be true. I have missed out on several items because I
did not have the extra cash to spare at the time, and was told that I couldn't
get it anymore. On occasion, I have looked on ebay for them, but in many cases
they went for far more than I could have originally purchased them, or I didn't
see them at all a few months after they were released...(i.e. when I had the
money).
> Very few items are sold at premium prices...... some command full retail,
> but that is the price that the manufacturer intended the item to be sold at.
If I had to pay $25 per piece of rolling stock that I currently own, I would
have spent $3,000 on rolling stock alone (and been kicked out of the house). I
have spent that on SOME items that I wanted and chose, but 90% of them were
much less than that. If I want to detail them, I can. If I want to run them
'as-is', I can.
> Everyone has their own priorities. Today people pay more per gallon for
> bottled water than the gas prices they complain about, pay monthly charges
> for various cable TV services, cellphones, pay ATM charges, buy cigarettes,
> restaurant food, the latest electronic gizzmos, sports team tickets, and a
> host of other descretionary expenditures. All of which have increased in
> price more than Model Railroad Equipment.
Restaurant food hasn't increased more than a majority of model railroad
equipment...unless you're going to the Ritz or something. Many of the other
things I don't have or use. I have a FARM, which means that I have to spend
money on things like fertillizer, mulch, dirt, gasoline, diesel fuel, and so
on. SOME of those have increased more than the avg model railroad equipment.
So, I don't see that as a valid point.
At the end of the day, I would like to have a choice. I'm finding that model
railroad companies are deciding for me what I should buy and when I should buy
it. Maybe some of the companies that are still working at keeping a standard
line running will supply that need. We'll see. If they all go the way that
some of them have gone, I don't think so.
Cheers!
Jan
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