Well Hasegawa you are about to lose another customer!!

[KenM]

Yea, I think that might be it.

Here it is on HLJ http://www.hlj.com/product/HSG09862

And their price is: ¥2,800 About USD $29.80; €22.28

Plus about $10 worth of shipping.

But that's throwing the thing in a box and flying it here. The distributors pay pennies for their shipping because they load thousands of these things at a time into a container and put it on a boat.

Not to mention the fact that the distributors aren't paying the Japanese hobbyshop price of ¥2,800. Remember that's the shelf price, not the distributor price.

That's true but don't forget the distributor is also paying for a building, brokerage fees, wages, taxes, insurance, etc. As far as shipping goes there are too many containers that go to the U.S. with no load to go back and guess who's paying for them to go back empty. it certainly isn't the shipping company.

Ken

[LanceB]

Could some of the countries also be charging duties on imports, also driving up costs? It might even be happening here. Don't get to keep up with politics that much, but I know folks have been tossing around protectionist stuff in congress on and off...

At least in the US, Canada and Japan, toys and model kits are duty-free. If you are importing kits for resale into Japan you, as the importer, do have to pay 5% consumption tax before the post office or shipper will hand the products over. But that is all, and if you resell those products to someone outside of Japan you can claim that 5% back from the government at the end of the year.

In Europe 15-18% seems to be fairly standard for duty VAT (sales) tax, but no import duty on model kits.

The only place I know that went crazy with duties on toys was Mexico - for a while there they imposed a 300% punitive tariff on anything made in China, which is pretty much every "toy" (but Japanese etc. kits and books were OK). The Mexican government was complaining that the Chinese were stealing Mexican jobs.

Edited April 7, 2010 by LanceB

[Julien (UK)]

In Europe 15-18% seems to be fairly standard for duty on model kits.

In the EU Model kits are Zero rated for Import duty.

Different member states impose a Value Added Tax, something the US would call a sales tax. In the UK this currently 17.5%

Julien

[LanceB]

In the EU Model kits are Zero rated for Import duty.

Different member states impose a Value Added Tax,

Sorry, yes, that is what what I meant, VAT.

[jbrundt]

Just saw Hase's TBM-3S2 for $63 on SB. Wow....$63 for a 1/72 model.....and it has maybe a 7" w/s....just...wow....

[Mark M.]

I don't buy hase except on rare occasions because of this lunacy. If anybody else anywhere has a similar plane I'll get that kit instead. I reserve my Hase purchases to rare planes and "splurges" that I know aren't worth the money.

Even in the absurd price world of Hobby Lobby, you get Hase Betty bombers going for $80-$90+

And that's Hobby Lobby! This is the place that sells EVERYTHING at the wrong price, has frequent 50% off coupons, etc! You can get an Academy 48th F-16 for about $10-$15 with the right coupon/sale, but a 1/48th Bf109E from Hasegawa is almost $60!

It's mad crazy. Or just crazy mad.

[Gundamhead]

And if you were in Japan you'd be saying,

Why would I ever pay $75.00 for a Revellogram 1/48 B-24 when in the US it only costs $30.00.

[Mark M.]

I doubt it. Even the Japanese prices for Hasegawa planes have been going up lately. Even on overseas distributors medium-sized, twin-engine, WW2 planes still run $30 USD or more. These often are old-tool kits, nothing new or re-mastered, but they cost the same as new-tool kits of the same aircraft size (same amount of plastic). They put a new box around it and (sometimes) new decals, and increase the price 30% for kicks and giggles. That's both here and there, impacts us all. Shoddy business practice IMO, and they'll pay for it (in the pocket book, I mean) as more folks stop buying from them.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Mark M.

[sweier]

You will find the Hobby Boss range of 1:72 kits cheap pretty much anywhere. I believe you can get them in the US for around US$9.

<and also....>

New kits are more detailed, have more parts and include resin, etch and white metal. They are not the more simple kits of years ago that were produced in far more higher numbers keeping costs down and thus making the product cheaper.

You might add the new Airfix (Hornby inspired) range of kits among the cheap kits.

For not much over A$10, a nice new Spitfire, Hawk, whatever.

A couple of weekends ago I did my usual Sunday visit to a Brisbane model shop where in the space of 15 minutes I saw three father/son pairs buying an Airfix Spitfire in the bright red boxes. Eavesdropping mercilessly I discovered that all had seen the James May Toy Sories episode on Airfix kits, that two of the Dads built models as kids and the other hadn't.

All of them also bought paint. ALL of them seemed to be driven by the kids, not the dads.

Good news for modelling in general and Airfix in particular. At least *someone* is looking for a future market segment.

Shane

[Scooby]

Even the Japanese prices for Hasegawa planes have been going up lately.

No they have not. This problem is one with the distribution. Hasegawa sets a suggested retail price but lately too many middle men have got there hands in the pot.

[The Mikester]

No they have not. This problem is one with the distribution. Hasegawa sets a suggested retail price but lately too many middle men have got there hands in the pot.

Yup, I'm still paying the same street price for in yen for the 1/72 Hasegawa Ju 88A-4 (among others) as I did when it was released. Unfortunately many of the people who come here to crucify Hasegawa for price gouging really don't have all the facts.

Yeah, it sucks that the price of these kits is making them unattainable for many people but let's lay the blame where it really belongs.

Edited April 8, 2010 by The Mikester

[zerosystem]

Yup, I'm still paying the same street price for in yen for the 1/72 Hasegawa Ju 88A-4 (among others) as I did when it was released. Unfortunately many of the people who come here to crucify Hasegawa for price gouging really don't have all the facts.

Yeah, it sucks that the price of these kits is making them unattainable for many people but let's lay the blame where it really belongs.

since when have facts gotten in the way of story?

i'm in agreement though, there is blame being laid on a single entity rather than looking at all the factors involved, sadly this is the case with alot of issues the world is currently facing (without getting into politics)

[Tomcat27]

i went to my local hobby shop today and he said he hered today that hasegawa is going to be lowering there prices again. I don't know if this is true but thats what he said.

[ventura_kelley]

You might add the new Airfix (Hornby inspired) range of kits among the cheap kits.

For not much over A$10, a nice new Spitfire, Hawk, whatever.

A couple of weekends ago I did my usual Sunday visit to a Brisbane model shop where in the space of 15 minutes I saw three father/son pairs buying an Airfix Spitfire in the bright red boxes. Eavesdropping mercilessly I discovered that all had seen the James May Toy Sories episode on Airfix kits, that two of the Dads built models as kids and the other hadn't.

All of them also bought paint. ALL of them seemed to be driven by the kids, not the dads.

Good news for modelling in general and Airfix in particular. At least *someone* is looking for a future market segment.

Shane

Yea, the Hawk is a fantastic deal. Beautiful kit for the money. Plus, you can get every upgrade available to super detail every single area of the airframe, landing gear, and cockpit and the whole package STILL costs less than the Italeri/Tamiya Hawk! I LOVE THAT!

The Spitfire/Seafire too. Even the Eduard re-release was a good deal at twice the price because of the extras, though I was pretty angry about the decals at the time.

The Airfix B-57 Canberra on the other hand is not a good deal by any stretch of the imagination. Clunky, chunky, and god-awful expensive considering the upgrades needed. I spend $55 on a kit and I expect it to be build-able out of the box, not several hundred in upgrades later (control surfaces, wheels, landing gear, cockpit, etc). And it's even worse when the most needed upgrades (wheels, cockpit) are not only not available, but not even on the horizon yet. It might work at half the price, but not at Hasegawa/Tamiya prices. I wasn't disappointed when I got the B.2 at $20 from a swap meet. But the B-57 at $55 from my LHS, I had serious regrets about (some of the worst in recent memory actually, second only to a lot of stuff I got from HobbyBoss).

[jbrundt]

i went to my local hobby shop today and he said he hered today that hasegawa is going to be lowering there prices again. I don't know if this is true but thats what he said.

Since Hobbico is the new North American distributor for Hasegawa I can believe this statement......

[AX 365]

No they have not. This problem is one with the distribution. Hasegawa sets a suggested retail price but lately too many middle men have got there hands in the pot.

I would have to agree with this statement. When I was in Tokyo just over a year ago, I purchased a couple of kits for approximately ¥3,400 each, or about $36 Cdn. An identical kit in an LHS here was over $50 Cdn and the prices here and now are just like my blood pressure...going up!

[frankv74]

This is why i am trying to build everything i have and not adding to the pile. I will go to the Local show's and by sell or trade with others. I am even trading with the guy in My club.

It is not worth to go to the haobby shop anymore to by models. Also Squadron sometimes puts on some good sales to push the stuff they have.

My Moto "If it is not on sale i will not by it"...

Frank

[Gundamhead]

I doubt it. Even the Japanese prices for Hasegawa planes have been going up lately. Even on overseas distributors medium-sized, twin-engine, WW2 planes still run $30 USD or more. These often are old-tool kits, nothing new or re-mastered, but they cost the same as new-tool kits of the same aircraft size (same amount of plastic). They put a new box around it and (sometimes) new decals, and increase the price 30% for kicks and giggles. That's both here and there, impacts us all. Shoddy business practice IMO, and they'll pay for it (in the pocket book, I mean) as more folks stop buying from them.

What is there to doubt?

Here's what a 1/48 Revell B-17 costs if you buy it in Japan. Surely one of the most reboxed kits in history. $90.09

http://www.hlj.com/product/REV04297

1/48 Revellogram Catalina $68.64

http://www.hlj.com/product/REV05617

Do you still think that Hasegawa is pricing themselves here? Or that Tamiya and Trumpeter are? Or that Revellogram is pricing themselves in Japan?

Just for the sake of arguement, here's what the Hasegawa 1/48 Seaking costs in Japan. The start of this threads rant. $55.77

http://www.hlj.com/product/HSG09863

Or the 1/48 Tamiya F-16CJ $38.61

http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM60319

There's something inbetween our shores that hikes the prices. Nobody knows who or what it is though. That's what we need to ***** about. Wether it's the distributors, taxes, duties. That is the thing killing hobbyshops by forcing customers to go overseas online. That is the thing driving prices.

[pollie]

I doubt it. Even the Japanese prices for Hasegawa planes have been going up lately.

Yes and no. Some 1/72 kits have seen a slight price increase of 200 Yen per kit, the 1/48 kits stayed the same price. Some of the newer (and very good quality) 1/48 kits they released ten years ago still sell for the same price as when they were released. In Japan that is!

Tamiya did raise its prices. A 1/48 F-16CJ Block 50 had a MSRP of 3600 Yen in 2007, now it's in the catalogue for 3780 Yen, a 180 Yen increase. Not shocking, just look around you at the prices of everyday stuff.

I went to Japan in October 2007, and bought a total of four Tamiya 1/48 Block 50 F-16CJs in two different hobbyshops for 3024 Yen each.

At that time, 1000 Yen was roughly 6,10 euros, meaning I paid little over 18 euros for such a beauty of a kit!

Fast forward to 2010: 1000 Yen is now hovering around 8 euros!!!! You guys do the math.

When I bought those kits for 3024 Yen, I'm sure the owner of the shop was making a profit. If I paid 18 euros, the shop owner probably paid Mr. Tamiya less than 15 euros for that same kit.

If they can get it for that price, so can the worldwide importers/distributors!!!! If you ship ten kits overseas, it'll probably add three to four euros to the price of each kit, if not less. But for arguments sake let's say five euros shipping.

Than comes the 20% import tax and voila; 24 euros per kit max when it arrives on the importer's doorstep.

At the end of 2007 I found the same kit in both a local hobbyshop as well as the aviationmegastore in the Netherlands for: 49,95 euros!!!!!!

So both distributor and hobbyshop are responsible for the increase from 24 to 50 euros, and not Mr.Tamiya (or Mr.Hasegawa when Hase kits are concerned). Sidenote: the 1/48 aggressor/adversary sells for 67,95 euros

Take the 1/48 Hasegawa F/A-18F. It retails for 5800 Yen. In 2007 that amounted to 35,40 euros (48 US$), the current rate of the Yen makes that 46,40 euros (62,60 US$)!! And that is just the Yen. Of course the distributor and hobbyshop increase the price accordingly.

Some people complain about Hasegawa's limited editions: "releasing old kits with new decals and increase the price a lot".

More examples: the 1/72 F/A-18F retails for 1800 Yen. I have most of Hase's special editions of that kit, and they retail between 1800 and 2200 Yen. A 400 Yen price increase on some.

What do I get for that 400 Yen? A newly printed box (in a limited edtion, so costly to produce), new instructions (also limited, so adds to the kit price) and, oh yeah, in some cases a Cartograf decal sheet! And it gives me the opportunity to build versions not available otherwise, especially since most US decal manufacturers focus on 1/48 only. For 400 Yen, a bargain if you ask me.

Some people think that if Hasegawa releases a certain kit, five years down the road the development- , tooling-, and overhead costs have paid off, and they should release those limited editions for free or close to free.

What do you guys know about Hase's business plan????

And yeah, what a nerve to release a 20 year old kit with new decals, a new box and new instructions and sell it for everyday prices!!

If I was to buy a can of Coca Cola today, of course I'd pay the same price as 20 years ago, wouldn't I??? And they just changed the design of the can! Oh no, wait.........

It must be human to complain about everything you have no control over........

[jbrundt]

Tamiya did raise its prices.

That was last year. And quite a bit too, especially on their 32nd kits.

However, people seem to complain more when Hasegawa raises prices then when Tamiya does.

Jeff

[vimana]

About the 1/48 Hase SH-3 Sea King (which is of course the only game in town), I just bought one a couple of days ago for $50, not inluding shipping, from a seller on Amazon. It was the only one he had. I bought one back in 2010 for just $40, not including shipping (exact same kit). Today, this older Hase Sea King has been discontinued, replaced by new versions: a JMSDF one for $70, and another Japanese Sea King for $65. Not the exact same version, there are bound to be some differences, aside from the decal sheets, but still - these kits clearly are going up in price. And since I plan on building an Iraqi one I won't be using most of the kit decals, so I'm glad to have gotten mine for just $50.

However, some of the prices I've seen quoted here are almost enough to give me a heart attack. What in the world is Hasegawa thinking? Are they just pulling their older kits, slapping on a new scheme and new decals, and raising the prices disproportionately? Because most modelers won't pay these prices - everyone is more cost and value conscious these days. Hasegawa should just start printing and selling decal sheets and extra parts for alternate versions of their kits. What does everybody think?

Edited July 30, 2012 by vimana

[Two Mikes]

Wow, this is a blast from the past thread!! :)

[Sunliner]

I don't know the differences among the various boxings, but I got a US Navy Sea King about a year ago on ebay for $35.00. The seller had quite a few at that price. looked like a nice kit but I wound up having to sell it.

[vimana]

The Hase 1/48 Sea King is indeed a very nice kit, and can be finished in a variety of interesting markings and schemes. Save yourselves a few dollars, gentlemen, and buy the less expensive SH-3s wherever you can find them, now that this version has been discontinued.

[Neo]

Just to add to the crazyness of it Luckymodel is selling the Italery C-130J at 40$ plus shipping to canada +-70$

im pretty sure they aint loosing money on it so wy is my LHS selling them at 110$ plus tax .....

+1 also for someone that noted that he buys overpriced kits on the used market !! that what ive been doing for a while now and you see some amazing deals too i.e 1/32 Tamiya P-51D for 89$ shipped sound much better than 100+$ + shipping !