>> When I saw the price on that gon <snip>
>> I know costs, having been in industry, BUT double anything else?
>> Is the Calfornia State Deficit included in the price?
>> John
John..
You are normally a rather astute person, but...
Compare our drop-bottom gondola kit to a kit from Jim King. Both are fine
kits. Among the best. One comes painted and lettered and with twelve
different prototypically correct numbers for a price that is CHEAPER than a
similar kit from the competition that is unpainted. So compared to an
equivalent kit from an different commercial producer, the drop-bottom
gondola is not out of line at all. In fact, one might even say our kit
prices are quite reasonable.
"Double anything else" is an interesting comparison. The newer SHS freight
cars are running about $53. The DPH freight cars are running about $45-$56
depending on the specific car. The AM gondola costs about $36, but has a
LOT LESS detail. Comparing to the AM gondola is sort of an
apples-to-bananas comparison -- like comparing a very nice toy to an
authentic fully-detailed scale model. The two are not equivalent to each
other. I'd bet the next production run of AM gons will be higher in price,
but that is speculation on my part. The AM deluxe 40' box cars run about
$44. Our RTR gondola is priced at $91 which is higher, but not quite double
many other S scale freight cars. Why is that?
Our cars are manufactured, assembled, painted and lettered in Illinois.
Without checking the specifics, I would surmise the other cars are made in
an area where lower wages prevail. The company making our cars is a real
business with offices, shops, employees, health benefits, computers,
tooling, production machinery, etc. on the premises. They pay taxes, use
consultants and are well known in the O scale world. Yep, they have already
made an O scale gondola similar to the GS drop-bottom gondola we are
selling. So, for better or worse, our labor costs are much higher than
those of the honorable S competition.
The advantage of doing business in Illinois is that we can obtain much
smaller production quantities without the cost of hard tooling. We do not
need to buy huge quantities in order to have a new product for S scale.
This project is within our reach and we are happy to offer it. We did talk
to most of the existing S manufacturers/importers about this project, but
could not work out satisfactory quantities, costs and timeframes for this
particular car. One of the big hurdles was asking for both RTR cars and
kits and scale and AF-compatible wheels. We wanted our cake and eat it too,
but found that difficult to obtain from any single USA source. Sorry about
that, but it just wasn't workable in 2010.
I guess the proof of the pudding is in the end result. If this drop-bottom
gondola project is successful, there will be motivation for other similar
future projects. If it is not successful, then you will just have to wait
for some other firm to resume making new stuff for our favorite scale.
Actually, it is my belief that we all can co-exist in harmony - some making
kits, some making RTR and maybe some actually doing both. Now there is a
thought!!
Regarding California's budget crises, our new Governor Moonbeam says he will
take care of the problem. I guess Arnold the Terminator was not strong
enough. In the meantime, we do not charge any sales tax when the cars are
shipped to an out of state address. Buy it here in California and there
will be a sales tax of about 9% approx (forgot the exact percentage).
Thanks for your message, John, it gave me an opportunity to explain our
situation. I'd be willing to bet you can afford one kit merely by avoiding
Starbucks for 25 weeks. After all, 25 weeks times $3 per cup equals $75.
Just a thought to cogitate upon. After 25 weeks which would you rather
have: a really nice new car on your layout or fond memories of flavored
water?
Take care now... Much of this is meant in friendly jest and good humor.
Please do not take offense.
"S"incerely..Ed L.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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