Bachmann hike price's by 20%

[Chris in Prague]

This is the well-known marketing strategy of 'price skimming': When companies 'skim' during new product launch, they are selling to customers with a high willingness to pay. Once this market is depleted (or at least slows down), the company lowers the price to sell to the next tier of customers. This benefits everyone. I had not realised, before, that this is what Dapol is, in fact, doing. However, I've heard that the moulds for the Dapol Hymeks will soon be destroyed so there will be no more. Similarly, a final run of the older Dapol tank engines has been reported as last runs before their moulds are destroyed. If I was in Dapol's marketing dept., I would certainly be monitoring average selling prices on eBay (very valuable free market research).

[red_death]

With, as I understand it, all manufacturers of British prototype models using short production runs

The Hornby strategy of having two ranges: one with adequate detailing and accuracy, and another with higher detailing, may well work in N gauge, too, IMHO.

Higher detailing is, anyway, only noticeable close-up. From a normal viewing distance, IMHO, old Graham Farish locos. and rolling stock look pretty realistic still.

Dapol and Farish have significantly different production runs for both a model and livery.

There is insufficient market in N to even consider doing a two-tier approach - it would be commercial suicide. 

Many of the old Graham Farish locos weren't even the right shape or dimensionally accurate! Apart from a well-worn phrase beloved of Railway Modeller reviews what is a normal viewing distance? It differs for every single layout...

Cheers, Mike

[Chris in Prague]

It seems that Dapol does, indeed, have a de facto two-tier market (pricing) approach which makes perfect sense. You only have to look at how quickly and for what prices old Graham Farish BR Mark 1 Standard coaches sell for on eBay to know that I am not alone in thinking that 'normal viewing' distances they look fine. 'Normal viewing' distances, I define as being very close-up to the viewer (which is how close you have to hold a N Gauge model to appreciate the fine details). However, I accept that normal viewing distance differs with each layout.

[D1042 Western Princess]

However, I've heard that the moulds for the Dapol Hymeks will soon be destroyed so there will be no more.

What a brilliant idea - take a superb and popular model then rather than make hundreds of thousands of them to sell at a reasonable price they destroy the moulds. What a waste.

[gc4946]

Today I've just bought a Farish A1 Tornado in blue and two carriages from Rails before the price rises, funded by disposing of unwanted OO stock that took up too much space at home.

I think more of us will have to dispose of unwanted stock in future in order to pay for more desirable additions to our collections.
Our modelling will have to be more focused to make best use of time and finance.
To some extent it'll return to the situation years ago before UK manufacture moved to the Far East.
The used market will be much larger as a result.

[EtchedPixels]

Moulds wear out.  I doubt anyone is destroying good moulds. Given they were intended for low volumes they'll probably be quite soft. There is also a *lot* of metal in a modern high pressure mould so you don't want to store/keep shot ones.

Alan

[Chris in Prague]

However, I've heard that the moulds for the Dapol Hymeks will soon be destroyed so there will be no more.

What a brilliant idea - take a superb and popular model then rather than make hundreds of thousands of them to sell at a reasonable price they destroy the moulds. What a waste.

That way they can keep the prices high for new ones (and, as well, the second hand trade; however, I've already sold my spare 3rd Hymek to a NGF member and, having had the other two renumbered as Plymouth Laira examples and nicely lightly weathered they won't be resold).

[MKP]

However, I've heard that the moulds for the Dapol Hymeks will soon be destroyed so there will be no more.

What a brilliant idea - take a superb and popular model then rather than make hundreds of thousands of them to sell at a reasonable price they destroy the moulds. What a waste.

The Numbers for a Dapol production run are normally 1000, which is normally then split between different liveries, Kato would produce in the 100,000 sort of mark but not british manufacturers.

Also the two "british" manufacturers try and pay off the mould from the first production run of a model, if they spread the cost over the amount of production runs they were expecting to produce that might reduce the price, but that would require a long term business plan

[Agrippa]

One point to remember is that British N gauge is a niche market within
British outline modelling which is itself a niche market compared with
North American and European N and HO products , and with limited
production runs in foreign owned factories will suffer from increasing
costs which N modellers here will have to put up with.

Unlike far eastern made cameras, dvd players, computers etc
which can be sold worldwide British models have a fairly limited
market.

[mr bachmann]

moan, moan, moan, if we are daft enought to purchase it they put up the prices, same with petrol comes tomorrow back we go to buy more 


alan

[Karhedron]

However, I've heard that the moulds for the Dapol Hymeks will soon be destroyed so there will be no more.

What a brilliant idea - take a superb and popular model then rather than make hundreds of thousands of them to sell at a reasonable price they destroy the moulds. What a waste.

I am not sure where this rumour came from but I would take it with a generous pinch of salt. Dapol have never destroyed a mold before, why would they start now? Their old tank engines have not been produced for years but they have dusted the molds off for another run. The Hymek has been a consistent good seller what possible reason would they have for destroying the mold?

[Chris in Prague]

A friend told me that he read the Hymek mould story in a railway modelling magazine. I'd have to dig out his message to find out which one. Maybe, as Alan wrote, the moulds cannot be used anymore?

[Newportnobby]

moan, moan, moan, if we are daft enought to purchase it they put up the prices, same with petrol comes tomorrow back we go to buy more 


alan

I think there's a world of difference there, Alan, in that if we refused to buy petrol we probably can't get to work so lose the job and then can't buy anything but misery. Model railways are a 'luxury' hobby, not a necessity. Although if I wanted a cheap hobby I'd take up ora origar paper folding

[longbridge]

Not all great hobbies are as expensive as ours.

I had a sticky at the model plane engines in our local hobby shop the other day, as an ex control line addict I think motors are cheaper today than in the 1960s and 70s, the planes don't seem grossly overpriced either,

A model Tug about 30 inches long with radio control and motor only costs about $200au but a Farish Black 5 costs about $249 in the same shop.

I think railway modellers are being ripped off, that is why I buy only second hand, 95% of what I buy is as good as new.

[red_death]

There are some misunderstandings on here:

The numbers for a Dapol production are not a 1000. As I said it depends entirely on the model produced and has varied greatly by model and by livery.  Some runs have been as small as 150 - 250 per livery (with multiple liveries per model), others have been much higher though I can't remember the the top end of the production range. Dapol's production runs seem to have more flexibility than Farish so Dapol can (and do) run lower quantities of both liveries and total production run of a particular model than Farish.

Dapol and Farish do spread the cost over more than just the first production run (well certainly Farish do in most cases - I'm aware of one model that might not be the case).

The Hymek mould is not being destroyed - it is a question of how much wear the mould has had and how much life it has left.  There are various grades of tooling normally connected to how hard the tool is, softer tooling is generally cheaper but lasts for a shorter number of shots.

Cheers, Mike

(NGS Product Development Officer)