Who's Buying?

[jerryl]

   I wonder who is buying those new $400 engines.  Seems most model railroaders are getting long in the tooth & many are retired & really can't afford these new engines ( me included). On the other hand, most young new commers can't afford them either.
    I'm not saying that there aren't engines in everyones price range,  just doesn't seem there are that many that can afford these high end products.  Jerry

[rustyrails]

Hey, Jerry,
I have wondered the same thing myself.  The thing that amazes me is the proliferation of RTR everything.  Built up boxcars can be 35 bucks, more for passenger cars.  I find that I am getting much more discriminating.  I'd much rather have a few really good cars and locos than a whole roundhouse full of engines that didn't run worth a hoot.  For a while I thought I could buy bottom shelf RTR and upgrade it myself, but it turns out that's not really cost effective.  It's the old economy of scale thing.  Bachmann can get a much better deal on 10,000 decoders than I can on 2.   

And I'll tell you this.  I don't think the hobby is real healthy.  Have you noticed the decrease in MR's size every month?  RMC is shrinking, too, but not as fast.  The little guys aren't advertising.  And in the model railroad industry, even the "big guys" aren't really big...just better known.    It's enough to give me one of pd's headaches. 

Rusty

[richG]

I believe you are talking retail prices. Any examples?

Rich

[rustyrails]

Well, for example, the being a Bachmann board and all...all prices are MSRP.  I know that discounts are widely avaiable, but the proportional difference ought to be about the same.
 
Bachmann sells its FT for $44 without a decoder.  They sell the same engine with a baseline decoder for $69.  That means that I have to use my time and gas to find an appropriate decoder, buy it and pay sales tax, get it home, and spend more time installing it....all for $25.  If I buy on line I'll probably dodge the sales tax, but have to pay postage and lose more time.  And if I want a decoder with more features...?  Well, that for sure isn't going to be any bargin. 

A non-Bachmann example:

Proto 2000 F-7's (hardly a bottom shelf item) are $300 for an A-B set, straight DC.  They'll gladly add DCC and sound for 50 bucks/unit.  I sure can't do it for that. 

Rusty

[richG]

I have seen $400.00 Spectrum sound locos and can be bought for quite less if you are a good shopper.
Some pepole like paying retail. I do not.

Rich

[Tylerf]

We'll you know though, those costly locomoitves are basically as good as it gets and I do know many modelers that are only satisfied with that perfection (that somewhat includes me) exept I like to think I'm a good shopper because not one of my top of the line locomotives were bought at full price. It Is very possible to find those locomotives on sale. I think atearn genesis is about as good as it gets and also as expensive running at about $180-$300. At the past train show I managed to score an sd70m for $95 brand new, yet I wouldn't really pay full price even for that.

[pdlethbridge]

Don't chock on this one. I just purchased a B&M Bachmann 44 tonner with Decoder for $30.50 including shipping and no tax from the favorite spot. If you look around and are patient, there are a lot of good deals out there. My 4-4-0 and 2-10-0 were each under $60 with shipping and there own decoders.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

And I'll tell you this.  I don't think the hobby is real healthy.  Have you noticed the decrease in MR's size every month?  RMC is shrinking, too, but not as fast.  The little guys aren't advertising.  And in the model railroad industry, even the "big guys" aren't really big...just better known.    It's enough to give me one of pd's headaches. 

I wonder whether this is a reflection of the state of the hobby, or a reflection of the decline of print media overall? Look at all the newspapers that are folding, and my favorite general interest magazine, The New Yorker, is also getting thinner and thinner, with fewer and fewer advertisers.

Just thinkin' out loud here. ...

[jerryl]

Don't chock on this one. I just purchased a B&M Bachmann 44 tonner with Decoder for $30.50 including shipping and no tax from the favorite spot. If you look around and are patient, there are a lot of good deals out there. My 4-4-0 and 2-10-0 were each under $60 with shipping and there own decoders.

Like I said, there are locomotives available for all pocketbooks, I was just wondering if there were enough people able to spend that much to justify the production of these high end locos. By the way, did you see the price of the Bachmann Large Scale 2-6-6-2 ?  even with the usual discount I would have to take out a loan! Not saying it's not worth it, just saying, how many can afford it.

[rustyrails]

The prices are extremely high is you look at MSRP...I used to be buddies with a lady who ran a hobby shop up north of Baltimore.  She would order anything from Walthers for me for 20% off list.  She said that her cost was about 60% of list so by giving the customer a 20% discount, she was doing a favor and still making a profit margin of 20% and she could live with that.  In those days, I think that was probably a pretty standard split between dealers and distributors.  Of course if you could deal directly with the manufacturer, you could cut out the middle man and sell for less.

Today, nothing seems to make much sense.  I bought a HO Bachmann 10-wheeler that lists for around $200 for less than $50 from a dealer on e-Bay that consistently sells Bachmann stuff for very little.  Now, I know he's not giving it away.  So what is his real cost?  Gotta Run

[Chris350]

I am and I'm not paying MSRP for them either.  I 'm in them for the detailing, the built quality and DCC/sound.  It's a matter of taste I suppose.  Even when I find inexpensive locos, I end up spending time and money to add DCC and sound, to the point where I will machine the wieghts to make space for speaker enclosures.

[Pacific Northern]

I too am wondering how many model railroaders can afford these new engines.

There was a thread not long ago addressing the rising cost of passenger cars, some readers tried to rationalize these new prices with comparisons to 1960 dollars and that when thought was given to the inflation factors prices were not that bad.

That kind of logic totally ignores these extreme increases. I shop today and pay in today's dollars. 

[Chris350]

...
There was a thread not long ago addressing the rising cost of passenger cars, some readers tried to rationalize these new prices with comparisons to 1960 dollars and that when thought was given to the inflation factors prices were not that bad.....

That's just plain specious logic.  As you say we shop today and spend todays hard earned dollars.  I don't even want to start in on the prices of rolling stock.  Then there is the total decline of kit cars.  Like I said don't get me started.

[richG]

If things bother me too much, I get some cheese to go with my whine. Then everything is ok. My pay check is $1995.00 a month. I have learned to shop wisely.. Rants only cause unhappiness and high blood pressure.

Rich

[Yampa Bob]

I prefer aged cheddar, the sharper the better.