Prices

[aircooled]

How many of us have sat back and stared at our model stashes and thought, "Boy, that's a great investment right there..." I applaud the kit price gougers because in all likelihood that ultra-rare kit that they trying to make their retirement on is surrounded by a hundred or more that are worth pennies on the dollar what they originally paid. 

[Bullbasket]

Just throwing this one out there, but is this bit about having large stashes more likely to be aircraft modellers? In the 70's, 80's and 90's, when I used to build aircraft, I had a stash which ran into several hundred. Now that I build AFV's exclusively, my stash consists of no more than about 40 or so kits. It may be to do with price as most of them seem to start in the £30's and go up.

 

John.

[SprueMan]

Someone needs to restart the "show me your stash" thread

[IanC]

22 hours ago, Plastic_parts said:

Does anyone remember when a series 1 airfix kit cost 19p? I’m showing my age now am I not? Lol

 

The only ancient kit price I can actually remember was the Airfix 1/76 Series 1 'Assault Gun'. Bought for 23p from a model shop now long gone - J Sleep, in Reading, in Nineteen Seventy Something. For some reason it's stuck in my mind. 

 

Big sigh....

[IanHx]

Sticker shock ?  Yes, when the 2nd hand kit I bought online still had the price tag the previous owner had bought it at... half of what muggins paid !

[Cammer625]

TBH, price gouging isn’t about getting something above what you think that something is worth. The argument of adjusting for inflation etc is just a textbook exercise to to a value on something, predominantly to compare a like for like price. This doesn’t account for any of the variables already discussed (supply and demand, obsoleteness, unobtainimumly, etc). And who gets to decide when that price becomes price gouging? I look at my stash and know that 99% of that would be worth SFA. There might be the odd one worth something, but not many. And probably nothing ‘collectible’. The collectors markets is a whole different ballgame to where I play. But that’s in anything. Cars, houses, knuckles, Star Wars, etc.  and with the web, people have access to price their product according to the market. Still not price gouging. 

[IanHx]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:15 AM, aircooled said:

How many of us have sat back and stared at our model stashes and thought, "Boy, that's a great investment right there..." I applaud the kit price gougers because in all likelihood that ultra-rare kit that they trying to make their retirement on is surrounded by a hundred or more that are worth pennies on the dollar what they originally paid. 

 

Not even once.  Oh, occasionally when its time to renew the house insurance I might count the number of boxes and multiply by whatever the current price of an Airfix 1:72 kit is new.  But no, when I look at the stash all I see is kits I haven't built yet. And sometimes "where will it go when built?" 

[fatfingers]

Not a kit but was in WH Smith this morning and picked up the latest issue of Fine Scale Modeller to flick through, as it was a mag i used to buy fairly regular years back. Looked at price and nearly fell over... £11.99! Can't believe folk are still paying that for a 60 page magazine.... 😲

 

Regards,

 

Steve

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

There's little which gives me sticker shock as much as house and car prices. I'll soon turn 42 and unfortunately that means that by the time I was earning the (above average) income necessary to consider buying a house the prices were increasing faster than one could save. 10 years ago £30k would buy a new very nice car. Now £30k will buy a Fiesta. Naturally the main reason for sticker shock those is that our incomes have tracked at about inflation whilst the cost of essentials like shelter and transport have gone absolutely bananas.

 

In that context, the price of boxes of plastic model parts really doesn't bother me at all as toy planes/boats/cars/tanks/whatever really are luxury items so we can just not buy models if we don't like the price and nothing bad happens. That's also a good thing about stashes generally - one just needs to look at the stash and it should become obvious that we don't actually need that new model, we simply want it. If the asking price exceeds what I fancy paying I'll pass. I have plenty other ones I need to build.

 

As a final thought, I don't think @Dogtail2's attitude here is vulgar or toxic at all. These models are absolutely not essential at all, @RobL and it's not as though he's jacking the prices of medication, shelter or food. They're literally just toys for adults and bigger children to glue together to entertain themselves. 

[bootneck]

I believe that we are all guilty, in some way, of 're-pricing'.  I haven't come across a single occasion where items in our Sale section are quoted as 'at purchased' price.  I'm not looking for one but I haven't seen anyone offering an Airfix Rotodyne for 30p (six shillings).

 

cheers,
Mike