Climbing prices?

[Guest]

Is it just me, or are a lot of the scale model cars getting more and more expensive these days? Some of the prices are just stupid. I've seen a 1/43 scale Focus RS (the new one) going for £210! How do they justify it? I know the RS stuff fetches a lot of money, but even the £55 that someone else is asking for the SAME model is pushing it a bit? I used to have a 1/18 scale Escort RS Cosworth by UT models, I bought it brand new from a model shop years ago for £20. Sadly it got damaged and chucked out and now I wouldn't mind another one, the trouble is finding one for less than £50. There's even one example of this model currently on Ebay for over £113! There are a lot of 1/18 scale cars holding around £10-20, but some seem to be climbing quite steeply. I know some brands like Minichamps and AutoArt are expensive anyway, you're paying for quality and the name I guess, but some of the Burago and Maisto stuff is over £30 now. I recently bought a 1/18 Maisto Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera from Halfords for just £11, I'd be lucky to find one for less than £30 on the internet.

I don't know maybe I'm turning into a grumbling old fart, but I honestly think they pluck some of the prices out of thin air, and then rely on the sad fact that there really is one born every minute.

[Guest]

Funnily enough I was looking at Minichamps bikes recently as I've always fancied the Honda CB 750 and thought about getting one. Apparently they have now stopped doing the gold one so the cheapest you can find one for is well over £100.00. Even the new blue one is going for around £75.00 when the last one I bought was 50!

That's quite an increase over a couple of years.

[Guest]

I'm keeping all the boxes for my models (the on'es that came with boxes) as this seems to make a notable difference. There must be people paying these silly prices otherwise they wouldn't be selling them for so much? That Focus RS though, £210 I mean come on ffs!

[Guest]

I dread the day when we are going to start selling our own bodies to keep up with our beloved hobby. On the other hand, if a nice lady customer comes around, might not be a bad deal after all.:tulip:

[Ian M]

Although retail prises are not to bad, with the exception of some newer models, prices on 'previously owned' kits on places such as E-bay are getting silly money. Its all down to supply and demand. I have a kit I want to sell, I can do several things. I can put an add on here, with a fixed price and hope someone wants it, or I can put it up on e-bay and wait for the buyer that wants it the most to turn up and bid. If you are really lucky there are two that 'must have' the item you are selling. Then you can just sit back and watch the bids go up.

I s'pose what I am trying to say is its not the sellers that are money grabbers with no scruples, its the buyers that get into a bidding war and just keep pushing hoping that the other bidder chickens out.

There are some sellers that set a minimum price that is way to high, and are just speculating on an open market.

E-bay, or the like, is a thing you either love or hate. I am actually indifferent as I have a will of iron and know when to quit. I Place my maximum bid and wait. If its a thing I really want and I know that the next one will be a long way off (and over priced), I will sometimes place a new bid but if that gets beaten, that just to bad. I go away and sulk.

Some of the members here have grabbed some terrific bargains on e-bay and saved a fortune. I dont know how the do it, I must have a tendency to go after the hard to find and most desirable kits.

Dont forget to check out the interweb shops! I found more there at better prices than on e-bay.'

Ian M