GeeTee
Well-Known Member
And how you determine that the margins are too high when you don't know what they are? Yeah a bottle of Testors liquid cement used to be 25 cents, and a tube of airplane glue used to be 15 cents back when I started building models. Freight car kits were $3.95. A weeks pay was $50-75 bucks, a new car cost $2,000 and you could buy a house for 12 grand. It's not 1961 anymore.
I do know what the cost of styrene is https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/...-styrene-margins-turn-negative-as-prices-slip they'll pay you to take it and that was before the virus, i do know what the cost of can of acetone is I purchased one from home depot 2 weeks ago at retail , I know what a bottle to put it in cost I purchased some from hobby lobby last week retail.
I know what MY costs are , and thats all I need to know , what their cost margins are are irrelevant , They either beat my cost / time or they dont get my money , I 'm not a charity or a philanthropic organization .
Those freight car kits I purchased 6 months ago for $2 bucks each ...assembled , The metal ones I paid $90 for 17 at Christmas. I haven't even opened all the boxes. I have yet to pay over $5 for a Shinohara /Peco or Mark 1 Atlas Turnouts . and I have purchased over 20 the last year.
Some of us, weren't born with silver spoons in our mouths , Us less fortunates couldn't afford fancy plastic , had to make our buildings out of packaging and construction paper.
You are right about one thing , I would rather spend $75 on a good used Atlas RS3 than glue , I can't pull a train with glue. I don't need the sound.
And if I another $75 extra I would double head. I also think that give a choice Union Pacific would rather have their money tied up in motive power than glue.
1989 Athean box $4.25 , Honda Civic DX New $9000
2020 Honda Civic $18000 ?(2X) Athearn Box ? (does it include air bags ,and meet CARB emission requirements and OBD2?) I bet t does include all the interest to service the debt from the mergers ,acquisitions and bankruptcies for Horizon. Dies do cost money but not nearly as much as bankruptcy.
It aint 1989 either.
If price /performance of 3D printers improves , things will change and those margins will come under significant pressure. Especially if there is an open source model initiative.It would surprise me if thats not one of the reasons that MTH is trying to fold their tent and get out while they still have some percieved value.