[markis42]

I have just returned a Fly truck which i have to say i was a little disappointed with.It ran for about 30 mins then began to lose power and then stopped much to my annoyance.
It looked pretty good but felt a little feeble compared with the Scx trucks i had years ago.Might be my imagination but old Scalextric still feels better to me as do some older Scx.

 

[rick1776]

Look on the bright side guys. If the UK pound and European Union Euro keep going the way they are, manufacture will soon return from China to the UK and Eurpoe.

On a more serious note, licencing fees can easily run up to 10% of retail sale price depending on how hard ball you negociate.

I think it would be reasonable to assume that everyone wants a slice of the pie along the way. Manufacturer, Wholesaler/distributor, retailer. I think a $10 profit is reasonable. Cost of manufacture in China is about $25 per car (a resoanble estimate based on inside info). We are up to $55 without trying real hard. No licencing fees, no transportation costs. plant depreciation has been factored in yet!!

Now having said that the final cost of a product is what the market can bare. A Kia and a Bugatti both provide transportationn options, slight price difference though.

cheers
rick1776

 

[Guest]

Does anyone else think "stoner" is stoned when he posts

and check this out, related ???
http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?...c=60703&hl=

 

[Screwneck]

Racer cars are expensive because they are hand made, but when you think about it all slotcars are hand made. Machines do not clip in the motors or pop in the rear axle, or push the tyres on a hub. It's a bit of a marketing ploy, really. People fall for it and Racer make a lot of cash.

What you are looking at now, and back over the last 3 years, is the single and one-and-only industry in the world that has increased its prices by 40-60% across all manufacturers apart from Carrera and Pioneer. Although 'China' often gets the blame (the easy option but maybe not the right one) in the global transnational economic mix, I fear it is a pure desire to make profit and test the consumer in regard to how much some people with money to burn will fork out for 4 inches of plastic in a perspex box.

While people buy tiny little plastic cars for huge amounts of cash, everyone will get hit with higher and higher prices.

Let's face it, Scalextric did not make a loss last year, or the previous, or the previous. But prices keep creeping up and up and up.

 

[rallyP]

I have been in this hobby for 4 years now. It is difficult to figure out exactly how much the price is being going up as a whole. Brands have changed the price differently (even inside each brand) and it seems that there is a higher variety of prices out there in the retailers.

For example: I would say that Ninco move up from 40% to 20% (from 55$ to 77$ to 67$)
Slot.it move up about 20% from (50$ to 60$)

My main worry is if this increase changes the nature and perception of this hobby. It is moving further away from being a child toy and
becoming only a grown up hobby. If this change of perception is completed, then there might happen a dramatic impact. This is because many of us enter this hobby with the
excuse that it is for our children (I am guilty of this). If new people do not come to our hobby, then this might impact the big manufacturers.

Another worry is that the main fuel of the enthusiasm we have for this hobby is buying a new car. We need to keep this enthusiasm at a good level.
In my case buying a car at 50$ is easily justified but for example if it was 90$ it would be hard to justify and even if one would bite the bullet the
guilt factor would decrease the pleasure and impact the enthusiasm. Soon the retailers should introduce financing for us to buy a new car.

Having expressed my worries, I think this forum is as lively now as it was when the cars were cheaper so maybe the future is not all bad.

 

[Ember]

QUOTE (Screwneck @ 28 Jan 2012, 09:51) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What you are looking at now, and back over the last 3 years, is the single and one-and-only industry in the world that has increased its prices by 40-60% across all manufacturers apart from Carrera and Pioneer. Although 'China' often gets the blame (the easy option but maybe not the right one) in the global transnational economic mix, I fear it is a pure desire to make profit and test the consumer in regard to how much some people with money to burn will fork out for 4 inches of plastic in a perspex box.
I know we've been through this one time and time again, but....

a. One does not normally go into business with the aim of making a loss. One can not possibly grow or continue in business whilst making a loss. I can not possibly understand why the idea of making a profit is such an evil one.

b. I would like to see proof of you supposition that RRP prices have increased 40-60% in the last 3 years. I certainly have not seen it. I paid AUD 52.95 for my first stand alone Scalex car just over three years ago (Mercedes 300SLR) and AUD 49.95 for an SCX (Morgan Aero8). From the very same retailer a standard Scalex car is priced AUD 52 - 54 and an SCX AUD 49 - 50.

c. Scalex's RRP went down last year. It has gone up this year, but it has returned only to its previous mark.

d. Scalex's parent company Hornby is a multi-platform, multi-national company. They make toys for other disciplines as well. (Wonder if the train community go through the same quibble each year?) They do not thrive on Scalex car sales alone.

Sigh. I get suckered into this discussion each and every time. And I know I should not. But people really need to open their eyes and take some notice of the world around them.

fw14b that comment was uncalled for and rather pointless.

 

[Dopamine]

Ember, I agree.

The complainers need reminding that manufacturers aren't charities, nor is earning as much money as they can a sin. Just take a look at the Swap Shop section here to see some of the ludicrously high prices being asked by some of our own users; everyone wants to make as much as they can. If any one of you complainers genuinely doesn't believe in a free market, pm me and I'll buy all your cars from you for £1 each.

Prices too high for you? Then don't buy. Simple. Market forces will do the rest.

QUOTE (Ember @ 28 Jan 2012, 00:33) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>fw14b that comment was uncalled for and rather pointless.
Maybe, but it is funny.

 

[rallyP]

As a worrier and not exactly a complainer, I think people have the right to complain. The complains are in part just expressing that this hobby might be going out of the financial
possibilities of some people. They should have the right to express their discomfort. I also agree that they should be careful to not blame the manufacturers unless they have a justification for the blame (not just wishful thinking).

 

[Dopamine]

QUOTE (rallyP @ 28 Jan 2012, 01:21) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>As a worrier and not exactly a complainer, I think people have the right to complain.
I agree with that too. Free speech, free market, all's good.

Yes, it is a pity when prices rise to the point where some can no longer afford their hobby, but that's life. Making a healthy profit is not wrong, though, and the hypocrisy of some - "why do they charge so much? It's not fair" - who wouldn't themselves dream of selling their own goods at less than market rate is silly.

When all's said and done, we are the market, so if we don't buy in sufficient quantities, prices will fall and/or manufacturers will go bust.

 

[Mohawkk]

If you want to play, you have to pay.
No matter what hobby you are in, 1/1 racing, 4wding, cycling,base jumping, knitting. All hobbies have a cost.
If I want a car and have the funds I will buy it, If not, I dont. I will buy cars on special, when funds alllow.
If you cant afford slotcars as a hobby you can always do what my 3yo son does and push matchbox cars on the loungeroom floor. They are only $2au each

 

[Ed.]

QUOTE (fw14b @ 27 Jan 2012, 12:18) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Well that's your opinion. I wonder on what you base it ?

x2 - saw NSR's for sale at RRP in Belgium (so priced in Euro and I knew exactly what the amount was) and felt like I was going to pass out - crazy prices and nobody would buy them for that if they had sanity

The only £40 NSR's Ive bought were discounted from a well known Blackpool based online retailer and were possibly being sold as loss leaders. Needless to say they sold out very quickly

Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Being that the only slotcars I can buy in a shop in Ireland are Scalextric, Ive begun quite adept at hunting down cars at the right prices and know a bargain when I see one. Slot.its can be got for £30 if you know where to look

NSR's are probably the only cars in the 'more expensive' bracket that are truly worth the cash. Ready to race and win straight from the box.

 

[John Cahill]

QUOTE (fw14b @ 27 Jan 2012, 23:24) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Does anyone else think "stoner" is stoned when he posts

I'm trying to understand this comment. Is this one of those things that sounds funny when you say it, but on the written page (or for that matter if one thinks twice about it) is clearly objectionable? Either way, it is definitely not adding anything to the thread (Stoner's thread).

John

 

[Guest]

Let's put it another way: am I the only person struggling to understand stoner"s post ?

 

[StuBeeDoo]

QUOTE (fw14b @ 28 Jan 2012, 07:54) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Let's put it another way: am I the only person struggling to understand stoner"s post ?
OK, so it has some grammatical and punctuation errors. So does yours.

Mine isn't 100%, either. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with inhalation of certain chemicals.
The guy's trying to make a point. The rest of us may or may not agree with him - it's a debate. It's what forums are for.

Back OT.......
I've bought one car that cost me over £50, and a couple of £40+ ones. No-one made me do it.
OK, there are cars out there that are priced a lot higher than that, but I won't be buying any. Much more than £50 and I'd be too worried about damaging them to use them. So I stick to (roughly) a £35 per car limit, on the whole. Having said that, the prices of most of the cars on my wish-list have crept over my limit, but likely my wife will be buying most of them for me anyway.
If I'm not going to use a car, it becomes an ornament. What is the point in having a motor and a guide in an ornament? I don't do ornaments!

Just my 2p on the subject.

 

[Ember]

QUOTE (StuBeeDoo @ 28 Jan 2012, 18:24) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>So I stick to (roughly) a £35 per car limit, on the whole. Having said that, the prices of most of the cars on my wish-list have crept over my limit, but likely my wife will be buying most of them for me...
Thank you for recognising that is what we do, generous souls that we are. Of our collection I believe His Lordship has purchased 3 cars (all Morgans for his collection). The remainder have been purchased by me. In typically womanly style, if HL sees a car and comments that he likes the look of it, eventually I will see to it that he has it. And then consider that it probably needs a running partner.

How many cars has the man in my life bought for me? None. Nada. Zip. Zero. How many have I bought for him? Let's see...30 odd at last count.

If I see a car I want i'll buy it (eventually) and a running mate for HL.

So. If anyone has a right to complain about the price of slot cars it is I, but I don't because I have some idea of life in the real world and what it takes to see things through from design to manufacture.

Sorry for rant but it's hot here and I feel better now.

 

[StuBeeDoo]

^^^^

Ember, you get my vote!

In our house it works something like this:- (* = delete as appropriate for the time of year)

Wor Lass - "You'll be wanting more slot cars for *your birthday/Christmas*, then?"

Me - "Yes, please. I can't think of anything else I *want/need* at the moment."

Wor Lass - "Right, you order the ones you want and put them on my credit card. You can spend up to £xxx"

Me - "MINT! Thanks, Pet." Rushes off to boot-up laptop.........

 

[McCrash]

StuBeeDoo, after a few years now my partner has accepted how i employ my spare time and get a similar offer as you do, i'm told "if u want it and we have the £, then u can have it!" shortly followed by the the pc booting up or starting the engine to goto modelzone lol only prob now is theres not much i want

till the 6r4 and new lotus come out lol

if it's the car u really want, then u buy it. simple really! unless buying a proper mclaren f1

then 50 notes for a slot version is quite reasonable me thinks lol

 

[AAWSCC]

I think the last 2 post are quite rare.
I'm sure i'll get a few nods for this.
For many years if I wanted a new slot car then it would be a case of taking a diversion whilst at work and then smuggling it in when I get home. Or ordering on line at a time when I could work out that the 3 day delivery would work out to arrive when the other half was due to be at work. Thankfully those are days are gone. Now I just buy the cars to sell and if there happens to be one I like then I order extras and buy one from me.
I know there are peeps on here that have cars sent to there work address. This may seem off track, but there is only so much cash you can squirrel away that the other half doesn't know about.
I also se the other side now that I am a retailer, there really is not much money to be made in selling cars and if retailers get their order numbers wrong they can be stuck with models that are sooo last year and they then face a choice of keeping hold of them and hoping that they will sell at some point or putting them on sale. As Pendles did with Pioneer last year. Also the large amount of SCX cars that appeared last year.

 

[honestjudge]

I'm with the other two on this. I have a very understanding wife who earns a lot more than me. She is more than happy to sponsor my addiction.

but now I have a job, I can start buying my own again.

Thankfully, I am afraid that I am 'not' afraid of the wife and I don't have to justify what comes through the front door.

 

[stoner]

this has been interesting reading. just a couple of points. a thank you to john cahill, who did me a massive favour when i was skint. top bloke.to FZFsemans ive got no vested interest in carrera, i was just wondering why they can produce at this sort of price and why cant any one else.the other point is to FW14b- stoner is a nickname i acquired in the 1960s when i dam near consumed the gross national production of purple hearts single handedly. i,m older and a bit wiser now,thanks guys for defending my honour! but i fail to see why you couldn,t understand my post when so many people took the time and effort to air their views. the fact is its a bit of old fashioned envy, i,d love to be in the position to buy a truckload[well a couple anyway] of all the dear cars, different liveries, models ect, as i suspect a lot of people would. coming back to my original thread, yes it cost pennies more to prodce a slot it gear as opposed to a plastic gear, the pinions, axles, mabuchi-motors, brass axle carriers, guides, cost the same[roughly]. motors-you can pick up a spec that you want from millions of motors that they produce every day, custom wind or wire thickness is a touch on the computer button, that leaves bodys chassis and paint-tampo, that varies the cost, as their all made the same way it must be down to the mould that accounts for the £175 spread in costs, do you reckon thats about right. any punctuation-spelling errors, you can put down to the poor schooling i had in the east end. big up to all. john.