The state of Model Railroading


wombat457 said:
people just don't have the money to spend on their hobbies .
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There is less buying power in the "middle class" and a smaller group of people. Also, what Terry and Chet had to say about health insurance gobbling up more of our income. And Railrunner with the trends that go seasonally.

I would add the tons of old stuff that I have been purchasing while new stuff is being manufactured and put up on sale at super low prices (see recent threads about good deals).

I guess you could see this as a win for the discriminating buyer and maybe not so good for the seller. lasm
 
Around here the hobby is just weak. Of the old model railroaders in the area they didnt seam to want to waste they time on a newby with questions witch doesnt incourage growth.
 
engineerkyle said:
An interesting phenomenom is happening with my eBay and website sales.

Regarding the auctions; I seem to be giving away models these days. .

Is eBay different?
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In the last few weeks I have won several items as the only bidder. Mostly vintage accessories. Maybe this is a precurssor to a major softening, like 2008; I hope not.
lasm
 
A long time ago on Ebay, I stopped even looking at stuff that was offered for auction. I got tired of bidding a reasonable amount, and having two others come in with five seconds left, and bid the item to sometimes double current retail.
I just started looking at reasonable buy it now prices, but that is now also going away.
Maybe I should give the auctions another look.
 
bnsf971 said:
A long time ago on Ebay, I stopped even looking at stuff that was offered for auction. I got tired of bidding a reasonable amount, and having two others come in with five seconds left, and bid the item to sometimes double current retail.
I just started looking at reasonable buy it now prices, but that is now also going away.
Maybe I should give the auctions another look.
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What I've seen in the auctions is going for outrageous prices. There are a few ej&e sd38-2 engines going for well over $100 right now and the bidding still has days left. eBay used to be a good place to find deals. It isn't so much anymore
 
The problem with auctions is too many people get caught up in the "thrill of it" and adopt an attitude of I HAVE to win no matter what. The price is secondary to the chase. Keep in mind that many of these, so called, ebay business use "ghost bidders" to do nothing more than bump up the price to draw in the "addicts".

The more I think about this hobby, and other interests, the more I think that the "state of the hobby" is being degraded as a result of the cost of things. Those of us who have been in the hobby a little while, or a long while, have most likely already got our foundations in place and; as such, buy what we choose to buy for o reason other than we want it. The problem, as I see it, is that companies are pricing themselves out of the game in an economical environment that can't (justifiably) sustain the "nice to haves". While those of us who are already in the hobby persevere, it makes it difficult for someone trying to "break into the hobby" when they have to decide on a hobby or, as someone mentioned, health insurance or gas or food or a roof over their head.
v
 
Wombat, if I'm understanding you correctly, I agree with your post. I've got a rather nice size collection of rolling stock already and have no NEED for new cars. So when I buy new ones I'm very selective since I really don't to spend the money. So while a lot of folks want the high end fancy stuff I'm ok with my subpar accurail kits (or whatever manufacturer) because they serve their purpose. And for those who are trying to get into the hobby, I can see why they may be deterred. There isn't much anymore that's really affordable. Model trains may be cheaper than collecting cars (like Jay Leno) but it certainly isn't cheap. My wife refers to my layout as money pit. Which is probably a very valid point considering what things cost. Is there really an affordable hobby? Maybe that's the big question?!
 
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"...Is there really an afford ale hobby? Maybe that's the big question?!..."
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I think your right, now a days most hobbies are , as your wife says, a money pit, and most are expensive in one fashion or another whether it is a Model Railroad or collecting Cars or anything in between.

You also understand what I was saying too. Those who are established are okay, anything they/we buy we buy out of choice not out of need.

I also think that a hobby is as expensive as the individual wants to make it though. Certainly there are the absolute basics, but once you have them, it is up to you how much you spend. In reality, a person could have a "train set" for a small amount of money, by comparison. I just think it is a shame that there are people who want to have a "Model Railroad" who just can't afford to start one due to the cost of some of the things associated with Model Railroading, locomotives and rolling stock for one. I don't mean the "gee wouldn't it be nice to have a train set" person either, I mean those people who genuinely have an interest in Model Railroading.
 
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It's a similar situation in other hobbies now. Even collectible autos and vintage race cars are a soft market except for the few examples traded by the high-roller crowd.

I have friends in that business as well as selling NOS parts for old muscle cars and it isn't the shark feeding frenzy like it was in the past. Most of the good cars are already restored and sitting in garages. The ones that are sold are sold by people that are suddenly desperate from having no job or some illness issues. These go for much lower prices because the buyer knows their desparation. Some of this is because we as a group are getting older.
 
Hey guys,

I had no idea this would lead to such an interesting discussion. I'm using eBay now as advertising for my website.
 
I feel its definatly a buyers market if you are willing to shop around. Prices on older brass imports are way down, seen a factory painted Oriental Limited GP7u/GP10 in Burlington Northern sell for $150ish. That was a $300 engine all day long a few years ago, espicaly the factory painted version, a non painted one might fetch $150. Prices for older Athearn and Roundhouse kits are normaly resonable if its not a special run item. Most of the new stuff is priced out in left field IMHO, and out of my budget. I will buy a late run Oriental Limited brass diesel, can motor and quiet running before I drop close to $300 for a plastic wonder fill with electronics that tend to have lots of gremlins. I will say the market has something for everyone and in every price range, between the LHS, Ebay and shows, heck you can even find deals on Craigslist if you search from time to time. Mike
 
I'm just getting back into Model Railroads after about 15 years and the first thing I noticed was the huge price increases on nearly everything involved in the hobby. I'm just glad I have tons of earlier rolling stock, and 4-5 locomotives that are DCC ready, but even then it'll be around $120 to get each of them ready for the layout at the club. One of the positives though is maybe the higher prices will keep new people to the hobby from going wild on buying equipment, track, and accessories. and they'll take the time to plan out and actually learn about real railroads and how they work and incorporate that into their projects. Something else I've noticed, and it's the apparent lack of kits. So much is ready to run (RTR) now. To me one of the great things was buying a kit and building it. Plus then if there was a problem later since you built it, you understood how it went together so then you could make repairs....
 
The kits died due to societys "gotta have it now" and "i dont have time to build kits" mentality. I agree thats a shame as I also enjoy building kits. I stay out of DCC, due to cost and decoders and the CTC block detection circuity dont get along at the club I belong to. We have a second club but the high cost of thier dues and some political issues that goes on with that group. HO is my minor gauge to model with, my main scale is 1:22.5 modeling Austrian narrow gauge outdoors with LGB product. Mike
 
malletman said:
The kits died due to societys "gotta have it now" and "i dont have time to build kits" mentality. I agree thats a shame as I also enjoy building kits. I stay out of DCC, due to cost and decoders and the CTC block detection circuity dont get along at the club I belong to. We have a second club but the high cost of thier dues and some political issues that goes on with that group. HO is my minor gauge to model with, my main scale is 1:22.5 modeling Austrian narrow gauge outdoors with LGB product. Mike
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I've run across the same problem with the RTR craze in RC cars.....Kinda sad since I always thought building was as much fun as racing or pulling a train of cars I had built....
 
Same here, I used to race RC10's, still have my kit built gold pan that I restored. Atleast the true race level Team Associated cars are still kits you must build and tune. Mike
 
malletman said:
Same here, I used to race RC10's, still have my kit built gold pan that I restored. Atleast the true race level Team Associated cars are still kits you must build and tune. Mike
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I race mostly on dirt ovals, so you need a purpose built car. You can get chassis kits that are pretty complete, but the rest is all separately sourced. No RTRs there...;)

Fortunately for the RR Club I have a giant box of unbuilt kits my father and I had collected for a railroad we were working on before he passed in 2003. Since many of the steamers I have are smaller with a couple exceptions, I may try to build a small 3x5 or 4x6 layout in my apartment, just so I can enjoy having something to run some simple trains on. I just began planning so I have no real idea what I want to do, but that's part of the process....
 
My indoor train room is only 8 foot by 9 foot, so a decent size HO layout isnt possible, I have a small 3x5 layout. I also run only small engines. I am looking for a brass SW unit right now. My friend beat me to the last one that ran nice, many dont run nice without some help. The rest of my model train time is spent on my outdoor large scale stuff. Mike
 
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