Mr Matt Foley Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Darren Roberts said: But it's not just in the hobby industry. That's in every industry that distributes. The distributor is in business to make money. They don't distribute out of the goodness of their hearts. Most companies focus on manufacturing, not distribution. Wingnut Wings is a perfect example. They did their own distribution for awhile, but have not gone to outside distributors. Another reason for the distributor is the stores themselves. If I own a store, I don't want to order from a dozen different manufacturers. I want everything in one place. Being a distributor is a very expensive proposition. For all the products that sell well, you have twice the number of products that just sit on the shelves, and that's revenue not being made. You're correct! I never expected (or even mentioned) they should distribute from the good of their hearts. My point is that there is a much less production cost coming from China which makes for good profits for the distributors. I am by no means looking at your small business as part of that equation or your relationship with your distributor Darren. Edited March 21, 2017 by Mr Matt Foley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bobo1953 Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 hello, guys & gals. i don't kow very much about inflation, exchange rates or customs taxes, neither i do of the production process costs. all i know is that dragon kits -for instance- that had a good price per value ratio, have become unaffordable. and i am talking of the same 1/72 kit i bought for -now i can't recall exactely- but, say, in the 20 usd range, that has skyrocketed to almost 40 usd range within the space of six months. and the same for most of the kits in their catalog; i know as i have subscribed to their newsletter. presently, i am working at an f-86d sabre dog, a 1/72 from hasegawa limited edition. this is the lofty hasegawa allright, and a limited edition, ok, but i paid 43 usd only because it was the only 1/72 sabre dog available at the moment, and i guess it still is. now, for 43 usd i find a bare smooth cockpit with -nice but just b&w- decals for the panels...i don't see it fair. all the more so if i compare it to the detail i did find in an old academy f-86f sabre from 2000 -still 1/72- i finished a couple of months ago; it has a cockpit that if i were to show you one would say it's 1/48! and it did cost me less than half the 2012 hasegawa f-86d which i bought in 2016. ok, one should calculate inflation etc., but i did buy the academy sabre some 5 years ago. furthermore in the hasegawa kit there's a lot of, yeah! a lot of flash! we sure are about to have better kits, but all in all: how much better if you want/need to stay within an affordable, reasonable price range? i believe that monogram of old has set some standards and there is no sense in buying more expensive kits that can't be so much better than those standards. if you want to improve then turn to resins and p.e. -if you like it... let me go a bit astray, but: we modelers do complain for the price of some kits, and then we spend tens to almost hundreds of dollars in aftermarket stuff to improve the same kit. so: if that kit was so expensive because it was so much better than the ones before, then why going for the aftermarket? end of parenthesis. all i actually want to say is that in my opinion some manufacturers have lost their bearings and the market is at risk of blowing up in an escalating race and/or a strange loop to who sells at the higher price. globalization & liberism... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper730 Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 all this talk has me happy my stash is overflowing with ,by today's prices, Bargains ........ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 1 hour ago, Mr Matt Foley said: You're correct! I never expected (or even mentioned) they should distribute from the good of their hearts. My point is that there is a much less production cost coming from China which makes for good profits for the distributors. I am by no means looking at your small business as part of that equation or your relationship with your distributor Darren. No worries. I never took it that way. I probably read too much into your post and took it to mean you thought distributors should cut their prices. I will say there are some distributors who probably do try and charge the maximum amount they can and probably overcharge from what the manufacturer wants them to. That brings up the interesting situation of whether or not a manufacturer drops a certain distributor because they are hindering sales with higher prices than the manufacturer wanted them to be set at. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
murad Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 someone once said hase is not a kit company but a decal maker... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MoFo Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 4 hours ago, Darren Roberts said: Wingnut Wings is a perfect example. They did their own distribution for awhile, but have now gone to outside distributors. No they haven't. They have started distributing to 3rd party retailers rather than pure direct marketing, but distribution is purely in-house. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kotey Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Cost of lasts Trumpeter\Hobbyboss model is unimaginable for Russian modellers - as examlpe MiG-31B\BM 1\72 - 65 USD with airmail delivery to Russia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beingthehero Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Thing is, are Trumpeter's new kits really better than older takes? I heard their 1/72 MiG-29C came up short compared to the Zvezda kit. Same with their Su-33 vs the Zvezda one. I have no clue about their 1/72 MiG-31, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's the same as or only slightly better in terms of accuracy compared to the older ICM one. That said, I've also noticed the steady inflation over time. I remember back in 2008 the companies blamed high oil prices, but oil is much lower than what it was back then. I guess nowadays it's "just because." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
murad Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 popularity/anticipation of the subject might be a factor too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, MoFo said: No they haven't. They have started distributing to 3rd party retailers rather than pure direct marketing, but distribution is purely in-house. Sprue Bros. is a distribution point for some of the third party retailers carrying WNW. Edited March 21, 2017 by Darren Roberts Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 1 hour ago, beingthehero said: Thing is, are Trumpeter's new kits really better than older takes? I heard their 1/72 MiG-29C came up short compared to the Zvezda kit. Same with their Su-33 vs the Zvezda one. I have no clue about their 1/72 MiG-31, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's the same as or only slightly better in terms of accuracy compared to the older ICM one. I don't know. Still seem to be hit or miss. I mean they might get the basic shapes pretty right but then do some rather glaring error on some part of the kit and often because of pure stupidity or complete lack of research on that part - and they still stick a hefty price tag on their kits! By no means are they crappy products but those annoying little mistakes have driven me away from them. Ask me again why and I tell you to check up the In-Progress section and that certain Tupolev... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I'm a bit amused by this sudden alarm over Trumpeter prices... has no one noticed the prices of Fujimi 1/72 kits over the past decade or so ? ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1 hour ago, habu2 said: I'm a bit amused by this sudden alarm over Trumpeter prices... has no one noticed the prices of Fujimi 1/72 kits over the past decade or so ? ? To me, Fujimi 1/72 prices have dropped over the years. This one: https://hlj.com/product/FUJ72271 went for over US$40 at my LHS some time ago. I guess it was the "rarity" factor back then. Their 1/72 Tomcats are under US$23-25 at some online outlets. I do wish they'd re-issue their wonderful 1/72 Skyhawks though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 MiG-31 is available for pre-order on luckymodel for 35USD; http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=TP01680 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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