Prices on new items....

[ebtbob]

Good Morning All,

        Ok,  for the first time I have experienced sticker shock with Bachmann.
My newly arrived Model Railroader has a full page(pg 22) ad for the new pulpwood cars.  Wow.....$55 each,  list!!
        Now,  I fully realize that most no one will pay full price for the cars,  but that still does not reduce the surprise to me.    Now I start to wonder about the prices on the other cars announced at the Chicago show.   Mr. B,  can you give us any indication of what those list prices will be?
       In the back of my mind I was considering adding a smattering of lumber revenue for my On30 railroad,  but even though I know I can get the cars for about $40-45 each,  that is beyond my financial constraints.  I guess ,   if I want to go ahead with plans,  I will be looking for Bachmann flatcars and then getting the kits from Mount Blue Model Company at $10.95 a kit.   
       One more thought and I am very interested in all of your thoughts.....have any of you noticed dramatic increases in product prices?  Working in the store a couple of weeks ago,   I came across the new prebuilt farmhouse from Woodland Scenics.   It lists at $50+ and makes it about $10 more than the barrel factory they offered several months ago.   
      At this point,  I am going to have to keep a wary eye on prices because the way things are going,  I am slowly being squeezed out of the market place.

[max (uk)]

I think is because of the resin loads.

[the Bach-man]

Hi, Bob-
The short answer is that we can expect prices to go up across the industry due to materials. Certainly there will be occasions where a manufacturer will reduce prices, but that often reflects sales.
But let's consider your specific topic, pulpwood cars, and let's use street price.
A flatcar at the show was selling in the $18 range. Ken's wood racks (which are great, by the way- I have several) list for $11, so let's say 8 to10 dollars at discount. (  http://mountbluemodelco.com/products.htm  ) Your total is now plus or minus $28. The street price for the built-up cars is about $35, for a 7 to 10 dollar difference. Now go out and collect twigs, cut about one hundred to length, and glue them into five stacks with super glue. How long will it take you per car? Build the racks and add the time. Can you do both in two hours? If so, your time cost you $5 per hour.
I know it's a hobby, but some folks have limited time, and for 7 to 10 dollars, it's worth the time savings in order to work on other things. I think both Ken's racks and our cars are a great value, and my point here is that whether the relatively small differential is worth it is an individual  decision.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[Trevor Marshall]

I know it's a hobby, but some folks have limited time, and for 7 to 10 dollars, it's worth the time savings in order to work on other things. I think both Ken's racks and our cars are a great value, and my point here is that whether the relatively small differential is worth it is an individual  decision.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

Interesting discussion. To throw another option in to the mix, one can also scratch-build the racks AND the flat car AND the load. This saves a bit of money but does require more time. However, as the Bach-man points out, this is a hobby, and if one measures the cost of an item (or materials) divided by the number of hours it takes to build it, one gets a truer sense of the item's value. For example, if you buy a Bachmann Forney at, let's say $100 (lucky you - you found a sale!), and it takes you five minutes to remove it from the box and put it on the layout, your cost per hour of quality hobby time to get that piece on the layout is $1200. If you buy that same Forney at $100 and then spend another $100 on detail parts, raw materials, a book on Forneys to give you some guidance, and so on, and then you spend 20 hours reworking the Forney into a different Forney - perhaps an 0-4-4T, which would really require shortening the boiler/smokebox and frame, for a start - your cost per hour of hobby enjoyment is $200/20 or $10 per hour to get that locomotive ready for the layout.
Along the way, you earn some new skills and a greater sense of accomplishment.
Those interesting in knowing more about building accurate Maine-two-foot equipment from scratch might want to look at the TwoFootProjects group, where we are going to start by building Bridgton & Saco River flatcar #41 in On30 and On2 using nothing fancier than Mt. Albert scale lumber, brass wire in various sizes, and commonly available detail parts. And yes, the basic flat car can be dressed up with a pulp rack if so desired. The class starts in the next week or two.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TwoFootProjects
- Trevor (list owner) in Toronto

[J R Barnes]

Check out the prices of some other hobbies, telescopes for instance.  If you enjoy a hobby and get satisfaction, cost is not real problem.  If you have limited time, ready-built is for you.  If you enjoy building as I do, then kits are what you are looking for.  If you really enjoy building, as I do, then try scratch building from plans.  Time is the factor...how much do you want to devote to your hobby.  I have known people who ground their own telescope lens, talk about time consuming!  But that is what they enjoyed doing, trading time for money.  We live in a consuming world and as long as there is a demand for anything, the price will climb.  As mentioned above, I have cut twigs in large scale for tenders and such because I enjoyed doing it and it looks better.  I don't buy coal in lumps and break it up as I don't like the mess.  To each his own.

[ossygobbin]

micromark and the favourite spot are selling the pulpwood cars for about $30

[ebtbob]

Mr.B,

     Thanks for the response,  but I asked another question in my post.  Can you give us any idea as to the list price on the other cars that were announced at the Chicago show?  I take that back,  that were announced just in the past several weeks.....the new paint schemes on the reefers,  boxcars,  ventilated cars,  etc.

[Ken]

  Bob

  Just visited Caboose Hobbies for a price list MSP & Their price on
Bachmann Freight cars, may need to order my XMAS present soon.
Lists what is in stock and what has not yet arrived also.

  caboosehobbies,com

  Ken Clark
   GWN

[the Bach-man]

Dear Bob,
Those prices remain the same.
Thanks!
the Bach-man

[ebtbob]

Good Morning all,

      Thanks to you who have responded so far.   I guess what I am saying here is that it is not just Bachmann,  but other manufacturers as well and what I am seeing right now,  is not only  price increases - which of course we have all lived with - but dramatic increases.   Oh well,  to each his own....for me,  I am glad I lived by the process of "buy it now,  because by the time you are ready to use it the cost will be higher".   The thought of what I would be paying for my O scale laser cut kits is scary.
        Also,  I was looking for anyone's observations of other manufacturers and to see if anyone noticed any large increases in prices.