I just think that they are getting rather  expensive, or am I just tight?

Quote from: paulprice on March 10, 2015, 07:37:23 PM
I just think that they are getting rather  expensive, or am I just tight?

As I said earlier on in this topic, I have up to now been reasonably philosophical about price rises accepting that we had it "good" for a long time.

Last year we saw a lot of big increases justified by said wage costs and if I recall correctly a "correction" of prices as some models were not profitable - probably fair enough.

However more recently I have become slightly cynical, it doesn't seem to me the compulsory 20% wage increase in China justifies all of these increases, and it seems to me prices are being hiked for other reasons too.

Ignoring my back of a fag packet calculations and accepting that this is just the way it is, what is the impact going to be?

Is £200 for a really superb, reliable, long lasting, state of the art "big" steam loco too much? Probably not if that is consistently delivered.

Is £150 just another psychological barrier to overcome and accept as £100 was not so long ago? Maybe.

Can Bachmann design in cost savings in future locos without significantly compromising detail/quality and is that the way to go? Possibly.

It is sobering that the yet to be tooled 64xx is now being listed at £89.95, goodness alone knows what it will actually be priced at when it does arrive!

I hope these price hikes are not too detrimental to the sustainability of British N deterring would be starters on cost grounds, but if it is, there's nowt we can do about it I guess..

I suppose at the end of the day it is only a hobby, not life or death...

So back to the question. Yes, they are getting rather expensive, and it would seem (and this is my big worry) destined to become even more so if similar rises continue next year etc, and no, you are not tight!

Regards

Roy

I think it's all about how much we want the offered products.

If the promised J72 is up to the standard of the other Farish locos I've got (A1, B1, 3MT, WD), then I'll pay £90 or thereabouts (guess it depends on how long it takes to develop), maybe not as happily as I paid for the others. A J72 is an essential for NE Region BR Steam.

However, I'd planned to get some 3-sets of the weathered 16 tonners, but I think I might now buy cheaper unweathered models and weather them myself (should have been doing that anyway, but it's nice to minimise the amount of work you've got in the pipeline).

I'm hoping we might get some Thompson carriages in due course, but I fear they'll be expensive.

However you look at it the prices have gone up for the manufacturers how much the shops add on well that's a different matter.

Look at Hattons I know not every ones cup of tea but they do some cracking prices on some models. Pure and simply due to the amount they shift they may not make as high a percentage profit per model as other places but since they sell x amount more than a number of shops then they make that profit and more and sadly for the smaller independent shops this is the way the world works these days as people go to the best offer that been the likes of Hattons who work on high volume of sales to make the profits.

As for willing to pay x amount per model well about a hundred pounds I can live with when we start hitting 150+ that may be another issue, this is the balancing act the businesses dealing in N gauge have to work with.
I remember back in the day getting 2 OO class 92s for 45 pound but we are talking some time ago but sadly things only ever get more expensive.

The one thing that has slightly perplexed me is that unlike Dapol, you never see Farish doing special offers on their own website. Now I know the stuff Dapol do is end of range clear the shelves stuff mainly but if Farish have similar stuff that shops don't want isn't it a good way to at least get rid of the stock and at least break even if not make a small profit on it?

So the money isn't tied up in the warehouse and maybe used in the like of R&D on some fresh new and appealing models.

Of course, there are many methods of pricing, 'cost plus is one, but another is 'Market rate' ie: What they can get away with. You'll never justify logically the latter.

Think about razor blades - do you really reckon they should cost that much?

Quote from: acko22 on March 11, 2015, 04:31:56 PM
The one thing that has slightly perplexed me is that unlike Dapol, you never see Farish doing special offers on their own website. Now I know the stuff Dapol do is end of range clear the shelves stuff mainly but if Farish have similar stuff that shops don't want isn't it a good way to at least get rid of the stock and at least break even if not make a small profit on it?

So the money isn't tied up in the warehouse and maybe used in the like of R&D on some fresh new and appealing models.

Bachmann is a much larger outfit than Dapol with deeper pockets and more warehouse space. They can afford to hold onto unsold stock until people are willing to pay the asking price without it affecting their cash-flow.

Quote from: Roy L S on March 10, 2015, 08:28:38 PM

Quote from: paulprice on March 10, 2015, 07:37:23 PM
I just think that they are getting rather  expensive, or am I just tight?

Is £200 for a really superb, reliable, long lasting, state of the art "big" steam loco too much? Probably not if that is consistently delivered.

Roy

This is the issue for me personally; I don't mind paying the money for something I know will work straight out of the box (near enough), but to be paying that kind of money for something that will not run excellently, possibly fail at a later date, is difficult to swallow.

I've had 3 out of 3 failures of a certain class of locomotive by one manufacturer, at over £100 each, and a lurching gear issue with 3 out of 5 of another loco from a different manufacturer, so as far as I'm concerned after the experiences I've had, no N gauge manufacturer is making locos of this standard yet - but we are being charged the prices.

Most of my locos have had to had something done to them to improve their reliability, and they are all new models bought/released within the last 5-7 years. Mostly pick-up mods, some classes so unreliable they've requiring hard-wiring between bogie and circuit board/chassis which I think is ridiculous considering how far we've come.

Cheers,
Benn.

Quote from: acko22 on March 11, 2015, 04:31:56 PM
The one thing that has slightly perplexed me is that unlike Dapol, you never see Farish doing special offers on their own website.

Bachmann don't routinely sell anything through their website or direct to the general public, and the only stuff they sell at exhibitions is returns and seconds...

It is a deliberate policy to support the "bricks and mortar" retailers...

Owe I totally agree with that and would be upset if they didn't.

I just meant for the stuff that the shops aren't getting off them as they don't sell at all!

[/quote]
Bachmann is a much larger outfit than Dapol with deeper pockets and more warehouse space. They can afford to hold onto unsold stock until people are willing to pay the asking price without it affecting their cash-flow.
[/quote]

Karhedon is most likely right they just keep hold of it until there appears to be a demand however long down the road

Quote from: Karhedron on March 12, 2015, 09:35:43 AM
Bachmann is a much larger outfit than Dapol with deeper pockets and more warehouse space. They can afford to hold onto unsold stock until people are willing to pay the asking price without it affecting their cash-flow.

To a point, but not indefinite periods I think as Bachmann too have had clear outs at low cost - they don't offer direct when they do, but sell stock cheap to retailers - they did this most recently with class 60s and Red class 47s which could be got from Hattons for £40 new! That was reportedly from a warehouse clearout.

Also, I think they do sometimes put stocks of older unsold models into train sets - e.g. V2 sets, presumably to help clear the remaining V2s.

Cheers,
Alan

Has anyone had their GF catalogue yet as members of Collector Club?

I have not, yet according to the retailers they have copies.

Out of Order, my opinion. Why be a member?

Quote from: Dr Al on March 13, 2015, 09:45:51 AM

Quote from: Karhedron on March 12, 2015, 09:35:43 AM
Bachmann is a much larger outfit than Dapol with deeper pockets and more warehouse space. They can afford to hold onto unsold stock until people are willing to pay the asking price without it affecting their cash-flow.

To a point, but not indefinite periods I think as Bachmann too have had clear outs at low cost - they don't offer direct when they do, but sell stock cheap to retailers - they did this most recently with class 60s and Red class 47s which could be got from Hattons for £40 new! That was reportedly from a warehouse clearout.

Also, I think they do sometimes put stocks of older unsold models into train sets - e.g. V2 sets, presumably to help clear the remaining V2s.

Cheers,
Alan

Indeed and here is another example: -

http://www.ehattons.com/38724/Graham_Farish_372_726_Standard_Class_5MT_4_6_0_73158_in_BR_lined_black_with_late_crest_BR1B_tender/StockDetail.aspx

It is an absolute steal at that price..

Roy

Quote from: georgehgv on March 13, 2015, 07:56:52 PM
Out of Order, my opinion. Why be a member?

Yeah, not as if they give you anything like a wagon, or offer small editions of locos that you can't get elsewhere, or a magazine that puts the Hornby Collectors mag not only in the share but frozen solid ...  oh wait ... 

And do you really want to believe retailers that say engines we've been waiting for years on are "coming soon" ?

We already know at least 75% of what will be in there - just look at last years copy ... and I doubt we'll have any surprise new entries.  Surprise deletions on the other hand ... ...

Quote from: georgehgv on March 13, 2015, 07:56:52 PM
Has anyone had their GF catalogue yet as members of Collector Club?

I have not, yet according to the retailers they have copies.

Out of Order, my opinion. Why be a member?

Hi there,

I understand they are being dispatched early next week.  I believe there is news about a forthcoming N Gauge commission.

cheers

Ben A.

Quote from: Roy L S on March 13, 2015, 08:07:04 PM

Quote from: Dr Al on March 13, 2015, 09:45:51 AM

Quote from: Karhedron on March 12, 2015, 09:35:43 AM
Bachmann is a much larger outfit than Dapol with deeper pockets and more warehouse space. They can afford to hold onto unsold stock until people are willing to pay the asking price without it affecting their cash-flow.

To a point, but not indefinite periods I think as Bachmann too have had clear outs at low cost - they don't offer direct when they do, but sell stock cheap to retailers - they did this most recently with class 60s and Red class 47s which could be got from Hattons for £40 new! That was reportedly from a warehouse clearout.

Also, I think they do sometimes put stocks of older unsold models into train sets - e.g. V2 sets, presumably to help clear the remaining V2s.

Cheers,
Alan

Indeed and here is another example: -

http://www.ehattons.com/38724/Graham_Farish_372_726_Standard_Class_5MT_4_6_0_73158_in_BR_lined_black_with_late_crest_BR1B_tender/StockDetail.aspx

It is an absolute steal at that price.

They've been on offer since at least last October, though the green version has evidently sold out recently. And yes I did get one (green), not a kettle person usually but it's almost the same as one I had in an early childhood OO trainset.