I really find that the Kato passenger sets are a bargain when compared to the individual cars now being offered by Centralia Car Shop/IMRC. Even the ConCor Budd cars are more expensive than the comparable Kato issues (except that Kato sells them in sets of four). I'm sure that there will be some that would say that "$100.00 MSRP" for four Kato passenger cars is NOT a bargain... but in light of the alternatives... and average of MSRP of $40.00 for Centralia/IMRC and $20 to $30 for ConCor Budd Cars... (caveat: Kato only does western roads ) Twenty years ago... Kato did smoothside cars which were selling for $80.00 MSRP... I found them to be too expensive back then.
I think a lot of this gets lost in the perspective of the modeler. 99% of the posters on here I would believe are experienced modelers that expect as close to perfection as possible and are willing to pay for it. How much they are willing to pay is debatable. There are plenty of inexpensive entry level loco's and rolling stock out there that will make the average person (please read as "not model railroader") very happy. The average beginning railroader doesn't know how many ribs this box car should have, doesn't care if the loco has the wrong style trucks, and as long as their toy train runs, they are having fun. There is a lot of knocking of the Bachmann, LifeLike, ModelPower, etc. entry level equipment on these boards by experienced modelers. The average person, that hasn't owned a loco that cost's more than their starter train set, doesn't feel compelled to make $100 loco purchase because they don't know the difference. Most, not all, of the loco's selling in the $25-35 range are better than what we had 20 years ago that sold for the same price. You will spend what you feel it takes to get enjoyment from the hobby. If you are happy with a $60 Bachmann train set going around a loop of track, then a $500 Kato Loco and Passenger set is not going to increase your enjoyment. If you are looking for prototypical accuracy, then you have to be willing to pay for it. We have a shelf full of $3-5 train cars at our shop and they sell 10-1 over the Atlas, IM, MTL cars. Mom and Dad would rather buy their child five $5 cars than one $25 MTL autorack. That is my rambling take on the cost of things. BTW - I built a small display layout for our store to prove what could be done on a tight budget. The layout complete, including materials, track and rolling stock came in under $400, well within the budget of most people and that could be spread over time as you build it. This is Atlas code 80 track, Bachmann starter set loco and cars, some prebuilt buildings and an assortment of Woodland Senics materials. This same equipment has been running 8-10 hours a day for over a year now with only periodic cleaning and one loco replacement. One engine, 5 cars, some track and scenery that makes the kids smile just fine.
By no means is the hobby inexpensive. However, as others have pointed out....what hobby for the most part is inexpensive....not many. I go in cycles with purchasing phases. The last wave of purchases lasted well over a year. How much did I spend on this hobby over the last year or so.....I think it is safe to say it is pushing aroung $3000.00.....YIKES!! But then again, my locomotive roster grew to 84 locomotives. In October 2005 I owned 37 locomotives. I also expanded the number and type of freght cars greatly (more growth percentage than the locos). I also look at the fact that I am starting a pretty good sized layout from virtually nothing. So I dont really feel guilty. One good thing about our hobby, almost all of the equipment we buy can be used for years and years to come. I used to be into model rockets.....now that is a costly hobby as the engines are a use once deal and hope your rocket recovery system works so you dont bust up that $50 plus rocket model
Oh...and by the way...I am on a self imposed purchasing freeze now and even cancelled some reserved items due to unforseen money setbacks....the wife had was laid off but is now back at reduced hours. I was working there part time as well (geek stuff). I have more than enough to keep me busy as construction just started recently of the layout.
I guess I'm atypical, when I was working in semiconductors, I mostly bought the magazines since that was all I had time for (shouda got that NSN Piggypacker, tho), and when I had my shop I still didn't go crazy, as I had formulated a want list. I did take advantage of buying collections when available and taking first dibs and selling the rest. Since I retired, the biggest single purchase was the 20+ LL GP20s on clearance a couple of years ago to power some of my collection of shells. Since there are few CNJ, LV, RDG engines made, and they usually aren't 100% correct, buying shells and kitbashing/detailing/paint and decal worked for me. The downside is that with almost 100 engines, almost everything still needs something to finish them up, but I'm still having fun. Bob in IDaho
Quite true! I remember back in 1984... My first experience with buying 'Junk Class' locomotives. I purchased 3 locomotives and about 10 freight cars for less than $40.00 including shipping. Unfortunately the three locos were RSD-15 from PMI (Mehanotechnica)... the rolling stock was Atlas... fortunately.
Only as Much as We Want to Spend I got lost in all of the comparisons. When all is said and done any given hobby is only as expensive as you make it. What would it cost to build a control tower? From scratch using trash. Yes it will take more time. Yes it may not win a contest but - it will still look good. Yes that is over simplified. My point is that as nice as it is to buy the pricy things we are "modelers". Let's model.
There are no really cheap hobbies. Cost should be measured in enjoyment. I have at least a Harley Davison Fat Boy or nice boat worth of trains at this point. I have been back in the hobby for 10 years and have gotten 10 years of enjoyment, lots of new friends and time spent with my two boys. I have friends that have hobbies and their hobbies cost about the same. Besides. If I could only afford to drop about $30 a month on the hobby I would still have enjoyed it. I would just have planned a small switching layout instead of the basement empire I am currently planning (awaiting basement)
Even the packaging is costly. Most of the containers are packaged in an inexpensive poly-bag with a simple cardstock piece stapled on. Occasionally a company will actually use a box with a plastic cradle which only adds to the cost. I really found that the ConCor/Herpa trailers which were offered for about $12.00 MSRP (for 3 trailer) to be an excellent deal. I bought a bunch of them years ago for half the MSRP ($2.00/trailer)... those were the good-ole-days. The Atlas trailers are about $4.00/trailer even when discounted. I can feel your concern for the cost for the containers... even though I don't by them. George & Deb... your prices are so good all the time that I find it hard to believe you're able to make a living on the 'spread' between the price you get the items for and the prices you sell them for. It's ashame that you and other low price e-tailers get maligned on the forums... you really have to move a lot of product to make ends meet. :thumbs_up:
Most of my purchases have shifted to the secondary market, ebay and consignment, as well as closeouts at dealers. When I really sat down and analyzed what I was spending buying new it was a real eye opener. Buying used has represented considerable savings for me over the last couple of years, and it is rare I haven't been able to find something on ebay for half the cost of new. A problem with N scale being less popular than HO for example is less of a variety of price pointed products. We seem to have extremes at both ends of the market - "high end" and "trainset" and not much residing in the middle ground like HO tends to have.
I have been in this hobby off and on for 30+ years and what was first offered was (in today's dollar) cheap: rolling stock for $1.50 each, excellent (high quality) locos made in Yugoslavia for $12.00 and most of the structure kits that were available look like they were all from the movie set of the Sound Of Music; great if you were modelling Austria... The quality today is of no comparison, what a relief, and the prices should and do reflect this. We have a lot more choices and now we can be much more selective. Buying at a hobby shop was the only resource and retail prices were rarely discounted. Now we have e-tailers and I find it quite odd that there are some customers out there that would rather buy at smaller discounts and complain about an etailer that offers more significant discounts. Not me! I just keep buying more - at better prices and I never complain about paying too little....and sleep well. Manufacturer price increases are tied to alot more than the stabilization of fuel costs - manufacturing, labor (people do deserve salary increases; don't we?), tooling, marketing and sales and distribution costs. If you look at the increases in the prices and compare the quality over the years; we are getting a pretty good deal. By the way, this hobby is by far a steal in comparison to the cost of boating. I could be modelling in multiple scales and it still would be cheaper than my yearly boat costs. Brian
Storage alone for a boat here in S.FL is at the 'least' as much as two Kato diesels per month. If you go out on your boat (based on $2.50/gal diesel) it may cost you another couple of Kato diesels.
