Unusual trend in sales.

[Will_annand]

Greg, yes we do.

Muskoka Computes and Hobbies

www.muskokacomputes.com

 

[tooter]

Greg, yes we do.

Muskoka Computes and Hobbies

www.muskokacomputes.com

I see... at over $80... and, hey, $8 for under isn't too bad, eh?

I notice that almost of your listed items are marked * * with the "ominous" disclaimer: you can order these, but they will take longer to ship

Is this because you're just starting out, or do you operate on the European system of backordering for vague unstated interminable periods of time? For example, what would be the time from order to delivery for a set of Rix ingot buggies with molds? Many American consumers traditionally tend to be much more willing to buy items that are actually in stock and ready to ship.

Greg

 

[Will_annand]

Right now our online inventory system is not working right, the one technical glitch our guys have not figured out yet.

I will check on Monday as per the ETA of the Rix bugggies. Most items take 6-10 days to come in.

 

[tooter]

Thanks for letting me know...
I was asking to get a representative comparison to a US seller.
Hobbylinc has the the Rix ingot buggies in stock and ready to ship for $11.71 +$5.99, and they ship in 3 to 4 days so while you're in the ballpark pricewise at only costing 16% more, they hold the overwhelmingly decisive edge on shipping time. It's hard to compete with an in-country company. I'm sure the US companies are at the same disadvantage to Canadian customers.

Greg

 

[Littlefoot14]

I think tooter said it right, its bad, but not for everybody. I think the media is making it sound worse than it is. Dont get me wrong, things are bad, but nowhere near as bad as what it sounds like. It really depends on what was happening before this mess. My moms real estate business has slowed, but my dad actually wound up expanding his business, and no he doesnt reposess cars . Anyways, more people are out of work, but here at least, things are looking better. Its more of a regional thing as well, there is certainly areas of the country that got hit worse. Being 14, i was surprised how desperate and determined some adults were, and how others didnt even seem to care. I.E, i went to apply at a local theme park for my first summer job. There was a 2 hour line, and most of the people there were out of work adults. I did not get hired because of that, even after applying online, going to a job fair, an interview and speaking with them when they visited my school, and my dad is golfing buddies with the General Manager of the park. At least some of them got jobs and can pay some bills, i wound up with a different job too so it all worked out in the end.

Ill also agree that high shipping charges tend to keep me from spending my money in other countries. I usually look at how close they are too, im not a patient person when it comes to shipping .

 

[Wojo]

The economic picture in the Northeast US is distorted. Based on the last two decases of unrestrained exuberance, and unrestrained consumer spending, it is depressed. But based on the general reduction in consumer debt it is becoming more responsible. Business is down, as people are watching how and what they spend on. It is cyclical, and in five to seven years, it may become unrestrained, again.

The real down side is that we are now missing all the jobs "outsourced" to other countries, and all of the manufacturing exported to low wage regions. It's going to be a long time before this jobless economy again begins to generate jobs. That is factual, and not political.

Of course, that means less money to spend on hobbies, such as Model Railroading. The lack of disposible income and the price increases predicted for model railroad products imported from formerly low cost sources will cause a downturn in hobby spending.

JW

 

[68 Camaro]

I haven't purchased as much off the internet hobby stores as I use to. I did make a several purchases for slightly used shipping containers off Ebay. I have been shopping Ebay more frequently for detail items.

I recently purchased a new posi unit for my 68 Camaro from a large speed shop and the price was reduced a 100.00 . This was only after they dropped their price to meet an internet stores pricing. I have found that some internet stores ship for free and this saves several dollers. When you don't have the overhead of producing a catalogue several times a year, prices can be reduced.

As a food microbiologist for a large frozen food manufacturer, I have seen several of our assets go overseas, where labor is cheap. Customer service operations such as material procurement have moved off shore to Manila. Fortunately, my job is stable and I am within a couple of years of retiring. However, I don't see things changing soon and future generations will have it much harder. Having several part time jobs will become the norm. This is global economy and it's not going to change and I don't believe it is cyclic.

 

[tooter]

I think tooter said it right, its bad, but not for everybody. I think the media is making it sound worse than it is. Dont get me wrong, things are bad, but nowhere near as bad as what it sounds like. It really depends on what was happening before this mess. My moms real estate business has slowed, but my dad actually wound up expanding his business, and no he doesnt reposess cars . Anyways, more people are out of work, but here at least, things are looking better. Its more of a regional thing as well, there is certainly areas of the country that got hit worse. Being 14, i was surprised how desperate and determined some adults were, and how others didnt even seem to care. I.E, i went to apply at a local theme park for my first summer job. There was a 2 hour line, and most of the people there were out of work adults. I did not get hired because of that, even after applying online, going to a job fair, an interview and speaking with them when they visited my school, and my dad is golfing buddies with the General Manager of the park. At least some of them got jobs and can pay some bills, i wound up with a different job too so it all worked out in the end.

Ill also agree that high shipping charges tend to keep me from spending my money in other countries. I usually look at how close they are too, im not a patient person when it comes to shipping .

Whenever you see media coverage of any disaster, it always looks like everyone's home is destroyed. We live in an extremely high wildfire danger area, and always get panicked calls from the relatives whenever they see the media's disaster coverage even though our home has never actually been in any danger. It's exactly the same with the financial credit collapse. It only seems like everyone is economically destroyed, when the actual damage has already been determined by how each person was living prior to the disaster and how each person responds to it.

I smiled when I read about your Dad...
During the last really rotten recession in 1979 I got laid off, but instead of trying to get another job I created my own job by starting a business that still employs me today. Financial upheavals can sometimes offer the best opportunities if you're willing to take a risk.

I'm the same way. If I order something... I want it yesterday!

Greg

 

[lmackattack]

its not great here in IL

I took the plates off my Semi 2 years ago and all the guys I was working for dont have work for their trucks either. the work that is around would give you beer money at the end of the day. Whats worse is that this "Hope and change" goverment of ours is putting up so many walls for a person looking to open a new buisness. EPA is killing off jobs, raising costs to the point that companys shut the doors or forcing them over seas or beyond the borders.

Rant off....

 

[Will_annand]

Thanks for letting me know...
I was asking to get a representative comparison to a US seller.
Hobbylinc has the the Rix ingot buggies in stock and ready to ship for $11.71 +$5.99, and they ship in 3 to 4 days so while you're in the ballpark pricewise at only costing 16% more, they hold the overwhelmingly decisive edge on shipping time. It's hard to compete with an in-country company. I'm sure the US companies are at the same disadvantage to Canadian customers.

Greg

Greg unfortunately the local supplier is out of stock and if I order directly it would take 2 weeks to get them to us. If the local supplier had it it would be 2 day delivery to our shop.

 

[TWaters]

Industries that save money thrive in hard times. Witness the '30s golden age of radio. The way to hear the latest popular tune before that was buy a phonograph record. But with radio you only paid once, and then listened to the local station's huge stack of wax every night for free. Victrola sank. And the now booming RCA bought them out.

 

[WP-MOW]

Mabye the dream is

Sorry for the rant but I hate when things are out of control. To bad its not a bad dream!
Wayne

really a hang over from all the tax cuts to the rich by our last party(bush) in power. After all, never been so MANY billionaires

 

[tooter]

really a hang over from all the tax cuts to the rich by our last party(bush) in power. After all, never been so MANY billionaires

Hi WP,

That's a very common fallacy held by the overwhelming majority of people who have only sought out the feeling of security of working as hired employees... but who have never participated in autonomously assuming the risk of developing their own businesses.

For that missing personal experience as an American Capitalist would irrefutably be proven to them in actual practice that wealth is not finite... that wealth is created through productive labor.

And neither is wealth zero sum. The rich can't make the poor, when the poor are personally responsible for the just and deserved consequences of their own failure to be productive.

 

[tooter]

Industries that save money thrive in hard times.

...and so do individual Americans.

 

[tooter]

Greg unfortunately the local supplier is out of stock and if I order directly it would take 2 weeks to get them to us. If the local supplier had it it would be 2 day delivery to our shop.

Hi Will,

I understand your situation...
It's impossible to compete from the outside with businesses which are within a country. US businesses would be similarly handicapped in trying to compete from the outside with Canadian businesses.

I've been in my own business for 30 years, and clients occasionally approach me to work outside a practical distance, and I always recommend their money is much better spent seeking out a local source of products and services as they're always far more economical.

Greg

 

[Espeefan]

Hi WP,

That's a very common fallacy held by the overwhelming majority of people who have only sought out the feeling of security of working as hired employees... but who have never participated in autonomously assuming the risk of developing their own businesses.

For that missing personal experience as an American Capitalist would irrefutably be proven to them in actual practice that wealth is not finite... that wealth is created through productive labor.

And neither is wealth zero sum. The rich can't make the poor, when the poor are personally responsible for the just and deserved consequences of their own failure to be productive.

All true, but the numbers show that the middle class is in decline. Executive pay grows ever larger while salaries stay the same. The tax cuts given by the previous administration cost somewhere around 1.4 trillion dollars. The benefits reaped by the middle class were pretty sparse. (I think my tax bill dropped by something like $800 per year. Not much in the grand scheme of things) That might have still been fine if they had not then spent us into the ground. Whatever else happens from here forward, we should have learned a couple of things:

Trickle down is a pipe dream. Nothing ever trickled down on me unless there was a flock of birds overhead
You can't balance your budget by decreasing your revenue and increasing your expenditures.
Meaningful recovery will require a mix of spending cuts and tax increases.
It's not just the poor...the middle class is quite willing to work.

 

[Will_annand]

Hi Will,

I understand your situation...
It's impossible to compete from the outside with businesses which are within a country. US businesses would be similarly handicapped in trying to compete from the outside with Canadian businesses.

I've been in my own business for 30 years, and clients occasionally approach me to work outside a practical distance, and I always recommend their money is much better spent seeking out a local source of products and services as they're always far more economical.

Greg

I agree Greg, the two lines which we normally have in good stock, or can get quickly are the two Canadian lines we carry.
Juneco Scale Models and Osborn Models are both Canadian.

We also have plenty of RSLaser Kits product in stock as we are (I believe) the only dealer in the area that imports them.

 

[68 Camaro]

Hi WP,

That's a very common fallacy held by the overwhelming majority of people who have only sought out the feeling of security of working as hired employees... but who have never participated in autonomously assuming the risk of developing their own businesses.

For that missing personal experience as an American Capitalist would irrefutably be proven to them in actual practice that wealth is not finite... that wealth is created through productive labor.

And neither is wealth zero sum. The rich can't make the poor, when the poor are personally responsible for the just and deserved consequences of their own failure to be productive.

If I understand this correctly, if you're poor because you were born into poverty and lack the ability to get out of poverty, then you deserve to be poor. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If not then what a load of poo.

 

[Wojo]

If I understand this correctly, if you're poor because you were born into poverty and lack the ability to get out of poverty, then you deserve to be poor. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If not then what a load of poo.

Im not sure this thread belongs here, but since it is, I disagree.

It's more like you can't help being born into poverty, (you cannot pick your parents); but you have the ability to get out of poverty.
If you don't use your ability to climb out of poverty....then........maybe you should look at your self.
No one deserves to be poor, ever; but poverty is a self-inflicted wound.
Even in a recession, there is opportunity, you just have to look for it.

 

[tooter]

Im not sure this thread belongs here, but since it is, I disagree.

It's more like you can't help being born into poverty, (you cannot pick your parents); but you have the ability to get out of poverty.
If you don't use your ability to climb out of poverty....then........maybe you should look at your self.
No one deserves to be poor, ever; but poverty is a self-inflicted wound.
Even in a recession, there is opportunity, you just have to look for it.

Thanks, wojo...
I doubt I could have answered better than you just did.

These two irreconcileable views that were just expressed sum up the divide in this country:

1. You are responsible for how your life turns out.

2. External circumstances are to blame for how your life turns out.