OMG!!! Price of Diecast

[motormania]

I've been away for a few years and have not kept apace with the world of diecast. Logged on last night and thought I'd have a look around - to my surprise I see that GPL are still around (unfortunately) and at first I thought they were up to their old tricks over over pricing the goods - but looking around it seems that the world of diecast has changed big time.

£39.99 for 1:43th F1 cars and up to £100 for the 1:18th - bloody hell!

I'm surprised any model shops online or not can survive at those prices, and to think how much I used to spend. I guess it will have to be the odd one every other year at those prices!

[motormania]

tr7v8 said:

But the quality for £100 is amazing! There is still a fair amount around for £20-50 as well so not everything is a hundred quid.

Back in the day when I was buying almost on a monthly basis, approx £100-£150 would get you a stunning model by Exoto. I can't believe that doubling the price has doubled the quality of the models these days. Can you really say that £40 for a 1:43 Minichamps gives you a model with twice the quality?

I'd love to go and look at some in person but my local model shop has vanished since I was away

I wonder how many more independents are being driven into the ground, shame really.

Interesting to see that Corgi's prices, espceically those for their 1:50th scale trucks have not moved as much as the likes of Minichamps and AutoArt. Has Corgi moved production away from China now?

I appreciate that China now has a minimum wage and has recently introduced NIC (National Insurance Contributions) to all businesses so although China is still probably the worlds manufacturing base at present, it certainly is not the cheapest any more and never will be again as their people want more money.

Yet since I've been away from the scene there are new brands, I thought there were too many before but it seems there is a never ending supply of new businesses wanting to make models.

As for the state of the UK independent model shop - I guess that was going down the pan pretty fast anyway, and despite the odd newby trying to change things and upset the domination of one such company, they still remain the goliath they have always been

I guess it's good that I have found other things to occupy my time now having got back into RC cars over the past 5 years At least with an RC model you can use it rather than just dusting it from time to time.

[motormania]

It would certainly be interesting to know if Minichamps and Autoarts sales have dipped in the past few years.

When did the prices rise, is this a recent thing or are these companies trying to cash in on the post financial crisis and creating a smoke screen for collectors so they can take even more money from us.

If some companies can keep their costs under control, what does that say about the big boys?

Maybe it's that same old story that those who are long in the tooth and who hold such a large share of the market feel they can demand any price they like because they believe they are untouchable.

Although I will not be buying any models at the moment, I will certainly be keeping a close eye on things in the months/years ahead as I can't see this being sustained and maybe finally the old guard will have to move aside for a fresh approach, hats off to HPI