Prices...

[Summertrainz]

im just curious
why are these little plastic houses SO expensive
between 10-100 dollars...

any other plastic things you can get free can mc.donalds..

[LD303]

Thats a question thats been asked many many times.
  Why do little crappy,ugly pieces of plastic cost so much?
  Walthers has wonderfully detailed buildings for not much more than the Plasticville crap. And the Lfe-Lke and Model Power offerings are quite good too. Even old TYCO and AHM are 100% better than those rip-off Plasticville things.
   Maybe Bachmann can enlighten us as to why they feel the need to overcharge people for junk?  Seems to be a pattern here.

[Terry Toenges]

One man's junk is another man's treasure. Every go into an "antique" (junk) store and check those prices?

[Paul M.]

$100?

[Summertrainz]

$100?

yea like big chunks of buildings like i dunno..
i saw them in a catolouge

[JM]

No kidding the prices for Plasticville are too high!!

I won't even look at any of those buildings because they're so overpriced for nothing.
I just bought 5 factory sealed in plastic TYCO kits for $15 on Ebay, they are still availible from IHC for $14 EACH on sale!!  they are 100% better than those cheesy little plastic things that Bachmann sells. The TYCO kits  have interiors and the detail is excellent.
  I've wondered why Bachmann charge so much for 1950's era plastic snap-tite buildings....no detail and not even close to scale. 
   

[Terry Toenges]

So... If they are junk as you say and you wouldn't buy them anyway, it doesn't matter what they cost because you wouldn't buy them anyway.

[JM]

Thats right I won't buy them.
   But I hate to see people getting ripped off. So if I can help a newbie avoid wasting their money on those overpriced under-detailed ''buildings'', then I've done a great service to the model railroading community.

[Terry Toenges]

Summertainz - Since you failed to provide any specific examples of $100 building kits, I wonder where you are finding your info or if you are making it up. You seem to think $10 is too much to pay for a building, so maybe you should just buy from EBay like JM.
JM - You are complaning about Bachmann's prices, yet buying your buildings off EBay. I guess all the other companies' buildings are overpriced, too, and that's why you buy them from EBAY.
If you think the buildings are junk, it follows therefore, that you think Bachmann's new camp cars are junk since they are based on the buildings.
JM and LD - I'm sorry you don't have the ability to do any kitbashing or customizing of your buildings, or locos or rolling stock, for that matter.
Perhaps y'all could practice on cheap TYCO buildings to get enough self-confidence and experience to attempt Bachmann products.
You have my sympathy.

[Terry Toenges]

To add to that -
I just searched online and the highest price Bachmann building available, that I could find, is the O Scale Town Hall and it's suggested retail price is $42.00.
So where did the $100 price come from?

[Paul M.]

Thats right I won't buy them.
   But I hate to see people getting ripped off. So if I can help a newbie avoid wasting their money on those overpriced under-detailed ''buildings'', then I've done a great service to the model railroading community.

No kidding the prices for Plasticville are too high!!

I won't even look at any of those buildings because they're so overpriced for nothing.
I just bought 5 factory sealed in plastic TYCO kits for $15 on Ebay, they are still availible from IHC for $14 EACH on sale!!  they are 100% better than those cheesy little plastic things that Bachmann sells. The TYCO kits  have interiors and the detail is excellent.

im just curious
why are these little plastic houses SO expensive
between 10-100 dollars...

Thats a question thats been asked many many times.
  Why do little crappy,ugly pieces of plastic cost so much?
  Walthers has wonderfully detailed buildings for not much more than the Plasticville crap. And the Lfe-Lke and Model Power offerings are quite good too. Even old TYCO and AHM are 100% better than those rip-off Plasticville things.    Maybe Bachmann can enlighten us as to why they feel the need to overcharge people for junk?  Seems to be a pattern here.

. 
  

Guys, let's remember whose forum we're on. BACHMANN (Maker of Plasticville kits) owns these forums, and if you're going to bash their products, they might kick you off.

Now I'll agree with you, most of the Plasticville stuff is poorly- detailed, but I own a couple Plasticville kits that are just as detailed as some of the inexpensive DPM kits.

[Paul M.]

And some people like the fact that the Plasticville kits aren't very detailed. It makes it look 'Whimsical' or something like that.

[gbbari]

I had lots of Plasticville on my Lionel layouts as a kid. The product is fine as is. It is the year 2007. Wages (even Chinese wages), energy, cost of benefits, cost of plastic, distribution/transportation costs are all up!  None of those costs are going down. Let's be real.  Now if certain models command high prices on eBay it's only because collectors bid them up that high.

Personally I would like to see Bachmann scale up the O-gauge line to ~1:24 so that Garden Railroaders would have a low-cost option for structures. The plastic compound would have to be UV-resistant and the panels (especially the roofs) would have to be reinforced or thicker, but otherwise the "undetailed" kits could be enhanced / bashed to create all kinds of unique buildings for the budget garden railroad. 

Just my 2 cents.. 

GB

[Southwest Chief]

I'm not sure where the $100 is coming from...perhaps you mean the original pieces from the 50s.  Yes some of these in like new condition with the box can get quite pricey.

I don't think Plasticville is "junk".  In fact the original pieces from the 50s are anything but junk.  However the newer pieces color choice could be better, which is why I prefer the original pieces from the 50s and 60s. 

But Plasticville is an easy way to have an instant town.  I've built several buildings for my HO layout (Magnuson, Suydam, Campbell, Walthers, etc...) and while they may look realistic, they take a long time to finish. 

For my O scale layout I had to go with Plasticville.  O scale and Plasticville just seem to go together.  Can anyone honestly tell me this looks like junk?











Here is what you can do with HO Plasticville:

[Paul M.]

Tell me about the HO motel... You kitbashed it, right?