[mrblue]

i just noticed that the latest liveries of the porsche 908, lola t70, porsche 917 are all priced at £40, with previous liveries being £36.

does anyone know the reason for this?

do all these models have a new chassis? is this the reason for the increase?

or is it inflation? exchange rates? or greed?

 

[Gaugemaster Controls]

All the latest releases should have a recommended retail of £44.95 - it is simply that we have absorbed some of the increase ourselves to give the UK retailers a better deal.

Also, the ones priced at £36 were released some time ago, and everything goes up in price every year!

Aaron

 

[mrblue]

QUOTE All the latest releases should have a recommended retail of £44.95 - it is simply that we have absorbed some of the increase ourselves to give the UK retailers a better deal.

from limited research it appears that spirit and fly cost about the same in spain. yet fly cost more in the uk, and would be even more expensive in comparison if they were at the 'correct' price of £45.

QUOTE Also, the ones priced at £36 were released some time ago, and everything goes up in price every year!

really?

scalextric cars cost the same as they did last year. as do carrera and revell.

scx cars went up by 6% this year whilst ninco prices have actually gone down recently, and are the same, if not lower than they were last year.

ninco is perhaps the most useful of the comparisons as they are made in spain and are subject to the same issues as fly (exchange rates, shipping costs etc).

though if your definition of 'everything' is 'everything that gaugemaster distribute' you are probably correct.

 

[Wankel Ickx]

A preemptive strike here by a moderator - this is a touchy subject, dealt with so far here in a decent manner. Let's try and keep it that way.

 

[mrblue]

sorry, i'm not trying to cause trouble.

i love fly cars, especially some of their recent models. the bmw csl, viper, ferrari daytona are all excellent cars.

i just wish they weren't so expensive, and wonder the real reasons why they are.

maybe i should just move to spain.

 

[Robert Davies]

My Mother always told me that if you can't say anything nice... don't say any thing at all....

Which doesn't mean I can't think it though....

<thinks> I wonder if this thread and the one I started in the Pit Lane 'Spanish online retailers - recommendations' are linked in any way

-Rob

 

[Gaugemaster Controls]

QUOTE scalextric cars cost the same as they did last year. as do carrera and revell.
scx cars went up by 6% this year whilst ninco prices have actually gone down recently, and are the same, if not lower than they were last year.

Be careful with your definition of 'cost'. If you mean the rrp, then thats fine, but be aware of how many different elements affect this price. Any increase in price of these cars to the distributor or the retailer does not neccessarily come out in the rrp, that is up to the individual retailer or distributor.

And no, not everything Gaugemaster distributes goes up in price, but most does, as do most things in the real world from bread to car insurance. Once again, on anything for sale, it is up to the retailer what he sells for and therefore what profit margin he makes. It may be that he will absorb the price increase to keep a certain item at the same retail price to be competitive, or that he would rather sell in quantity and make a small margin than sell a few items with full mark-up.

Aaron

 

[andreg]

I think a recommended retail price above £40 for a std car is a bit high, but none of the Fly cars I have bought recently have been near that price.
This includes two new Vipers, a Fly Racing Lola and several others in the last month... All of them have been somewhere around £30 and sometimes less than that.
Look around on the different web shops, and you'll see that prices are often significantly lower than RRP.

André

 

[Harry Porsche]

Fly has become high-priced here, too(u.s.). The new Vipers are nice but not THAT nice, especially for heavy racing. Then at these prices, I have to do quite a bit more work than usual to field the car. I think its just flat-out greed that has been driving their price. One other small rant is all the flash that isn't cleaned off the car and the spots of "orange peel" paint, usually low or on the rear of the cars. For 80.00 us, they could do better. I almost never have to do knife work on my Scaleys which are very nice looking at about half the cost. These Flys are reminding me more of Harley-Davidson bikes. Okay, that wasn't nice, but then, I'm ranting!

Waaaa! Waaaa!

 

[mrblue]

QUOTE Be careful with your definition of 'cost'. If you mean the rrp, then thats fine, but be aware of how many different elements affect this price. Any increase in price of these cars to the distributor or the retailer does not neccessarily come out in the rrp, that is up to the individual retailer or distributor.

i was referring to the rrp in the uk. i can't comment on cost prices for distributors or retailers and to be honest i'm not really concerned about them. i'm just worried about what they cost me.

whilst you can compare real prices, the only fair comparison is the rrp as the prices charged by shops differs for a variety of reasons.

i only noticed the jump in price on some of the fly cars, which has occurred recently. must admit i'm not sure what the price change has been on the rest of fly cars over the past year or so. i have a feeling that isn't as bad, though i haven't checked this.

 

[slik]

QUOTE (Harry Porsche @ 6 Aug 2004, 22:15)The new Vipers are nice but not THAT nice, especially for heavy racing. Then at these prices, I have to do quite a bit more work than usual to field the car.
Hey there!

I'm afraid I would whole heartedly have to refute this.

First, they are THAT nice but I guess that is personal opinion which we are all entitled too. Even if you are wrong!

The prep work on these Fly cars is simply not needed to the same degree as before. Yes you need to a little oiling and some glueing if you are sensible but then do you not do this to all your race cars. I think with this release Fly have hit the nail squarly on the head. I paid £32.99 for mine delivered from a UK retailer and for a car that drives very well with or without a mag I think that is good value for money.

Cheers,

Julian.

 

[TSRF]

It is really quite simple, for gawd sake. Stuff made in Spain costs a lot more than stuff made in China because:

1/ Labor rate in China is below the poverty rate in Bangladesh.
2/ Spaniards work under Union rules and make serious money regardless if they work or not, costing the company much more, reflected on the wholesale cost of the product.
3/ The price of Chinese goods is tied to the value of the Yuan, tied to the value of the US Dollar. The day when this explodes, Chinese goods are going to be ex-pen-si-ve, be ready for it! This happened to the Japanese only 15 years ago, and look at where they are today compared to 1990 when they were the richest nation on earth.
4/ Carrera, Scalextric, Artin are made in China. Only the motors used by FLY are made in China as well as sub assemblies, but it is all assembled in Spain, hence the extra cost and the higher price.
5/ There are other costs involved to bring the cars to England and distribute them there, hence the higher price compared to Spain's.

Doc Pea

 

[Russell Sheldon]

I think that we all accept that Fly products are more expensive outside Spain.

There is a difference in price in the UK, compared to the rest of Europe, We have a similar situation with the Cartrix Mercedes.

If anything, given the value of sterling against the euro, prices in the UK should have come down.

Ninco appear to have passed the exchange rate savings onto the consumer.
Kind regards

Russell

 

[Harry Porsche]

Thank you for clearing that mess up TSRF. Their high price does make more sense given their costs. (But they're still not THAT nice, Slik

)

Cheers!

 

[Pendleslot]

QUOTE The answer is simple. If you don't want to get ripped off, just don't buy Fly products from UK dealers.
On behalf of myself and many other UK retailers, we have a minimum discount of 10% on all Fly releases with some as much as 20%.
I must admit that the price increases are difficult to swallow particularly on old models such as Porsche 908's, 917's etc which are simply repaints.
I've a feeling this debate will run and run, with little or no effect on the RRP. (we want a banging head against the wall smilie!)

 

[CMOTD]

I sometimes wonder if slot car fanatics actually live in the real world!

The answer is simple:
1) we live in a market economy - like it or not.

2) Gaugemaster and all the other suppliers are businesses that exist to make a healthy profit - not charities for hard-up (allegedly) slot car enthusiasts.

3) They are at liberty to ask any price they like for their products - if Aaron could get away with charging £200 for a slot car that costs £5 to produce then he would do it.

4) If you consider a price is exorbitant then either don't buy the product or source it from abroad.

5) If enough people boycott any product then the price is invariably dropped.

6) If you are daft enough to pay £45 for a toy plastic car then that is your problem - just don't whinge about it.

7) Endless discussions about production costs in China and Spain are pointless - the bottom line is: are you prepared to pay this amount for that product? If not then vote with your wallet and let the market take its course.

8) If UK dealers don't like Gaugemaster's (or any other suppliers) pricing policy then they should source their stock elsewhere - the buying power of the big dealers is more than sufficient to get a good deal on mainland Europe.

Brian

 

[taxi]

I'm not sure about blaming Gaugemaster or retailers for price increases - they probably pay the highest prices in Europe too!
The UK consumer has an unfortunate history of paying too much for just about everything! Remember the fuss about 1:1 cars a few years ago? UK car prices 20-30% higher than mainland europe. And similar stories about clothing, electrical goods etc. etc. Maybe they think we're all rich over here?
Bottom line is that if the importer is facing higher prices/costs then consumers will too. I'm amazed that Gaugemaster have taken the decision to absorb some of the increase.

Rob

Personally I just end up buying fewer cars - limited budget and all that.

 

[Scott B]

QUOTE Remember the fuss about 1:1 cars a few years ago? UK car prices 20-30% higher than mainland Europe

Problem not UK prices but varying taxation systems in different countries, even within the EU. Have common tax and the problem goes away, but that means common everything else fiscal and that is a very hot political potato.

As for complaints about slot cars, I guess everyone is just very relieved SlotForum is free; I mean, imagine it cost something to complain about your hobby....

 

[MRE]

QUOTE All the latest releases should have a recommended retail of £44.95 - it is simply that we have absorbed some of the increase ourselves to give the UK retailers a better deal.

I don't understand this.

Sean - pass the wall when you have finished with it please.

 

[Gaugemaster Controls]

@MRE - It is not difficult to understand Gary - the rrp on most of the Fly cars you recieve is £39.95, and you pay a specific price for that model at trade price. Since the calculation from trade to retail is always the same, you can therefore work out what the trade price would be if the models had an rrp of £44.95.

If you want to start paying the higher price I am sure I can arrange it........

Aaron