Like a few folks have said, I've pretty much fill up my freight car fleet. The problem that leads to is the things that tend to catch my attention now are the odd and special cars. That is of course another way of saying the higher $$$ cars. Trying to be good but it is so hard sometimes……
Don't forget that some of these increases are the results of higher costs from Chinese manufacturers. It is not inconceivable that the day will come when China loses it's edge in low cost manufacturing. One reason for the cost increases is the increased need for social benefits, usually from outside pressures, that raises workers pay. The day will come when another country becomes the hub of low cost manufacturing. I once spoke with a person with inside experience with Chinese manufatturing, and he said that that time was soon, and he expected India to take China''s place. I have noticed a lot of inexpensive clothing comes from other places than China. Cameras now come from pther places as well.
Dont forget the astronomical rising cost of plastic pallets to make those freight cars. I know a guy who knows a guy whos ex brother in law knows a guy who is a janitor at one of the manufactures. He say a hopper full of plastic pellets now has a million dollars worth of real gold flakes mixed in it !!
Jeff, I'd have to dig through some of my old RMC and MR magazines, but if that Shorty Tank Car was selling for $4.50 in 1975, then per my inflation calculator it's selling for the same price. In other words, what $4.50 would purchase in 1975, now requires $22 to purchase the same item or service. It's a dog chasing it's tail type situation. We ask the boss for more money, so the boss raises the prices of the products being sold in order to pay our new higher wage. Think about this for one minute, the average yearly income in 1975 was $8,630.92. The average yearly income in 2017 was $50,321.89, things cost more because we earn more.
I wondered where all the gold was going?!?! This former hospital administration assistant director has a thought to share. Now don't be knocking that janitor. If I wanted to know what was going on in administration all I had to do was ask one of my environmental technicians what they were seeing on the desks and you'd be surprised what I learned. They see things you and I will never have a chance to.
I admit you are more then likely correct. BUT!!! Odd, I don't care what the inflation calculator has to say. It sold for $XXX and that should still be the price for that piece of junk...today. I won't pay the inflated price. No sir!! I'm not interested in keeping up with inflation......when I'm on a set income. I hope you've caught on by now but they keep our income just slightly out of reach of balancing with inflation. Today, my take home income is less now then it's ever been. Yes, it is a dog chasing it's tail. I asked a dog how is life? He wagged his tale slowly and responded "Rowf"!!
Being 70 years old with multiple eye surgeries I dont need to pay big bucks for rolling stock with supercalifragilisticexpialidocious details...I can't see em that good anymore anyways !!
BUT....to add to the OP....In 2013 I paid just north of $32.00 for a special run boxcar. I stll have it and it sits over on the team track where its being unloaded everyday for 6 years now...lol.
They went on strike for higher wages. Okay, I thought it was funny. Edited add on: Well, I didn't think it was funny enough to repeat it twice. To the mod., you can remove this one or not. My computer has been acting up and I suspect it's responsible for the duplicate. Oh well!
I think I've paid around $30 for a freight car. On the flipside...I got 4 MTL boxcar kits, three Rapido-equipped hoppers, and two MTL cabooses for $20 once. So I guess it balances out! In my opinion, freight car prices are crazy now. A little more detail doesn't equal 4x the price in my mind. That's why I'm glad to have the majority of freight cars I want, and I look for deals otherwise.
I question that original 1975 price. I purchased numerous Atlas hoppers, boxcars, gons, flats etc. for $2.00-$2.25 in 1978. Still have the price stickers on the jewel cases. Based on that price the price today should be between $9.00 and $12.00. That's with a cumulative rate of inflation of 372.5% That is an over simplification of the economics. However, the economic world is not so static that only one variable changes. Along with higher wages has come increased productivity, lower costs (the reason cited for moving production to China), fewer employees along with the resultant reduced overhead and taxes. But the price of rolling stock is only part of the story. Look at locomotives. Once you deduct the DCC chip with sound etc and get to a basic analog locomotive you will find that they have not appreciated in price anywhere near what rolling stock has. So the simplified economic answer is really not the answer. The most recent rolling stock release I have seen had a MSRP of about $40.00. Now that car may be loaded with all kinds of hand applied details and the manufacturer can fully justify the price based on the additional cost to apply all those details. But all of that is moot if sales suffer because the price drives away prospective buyers. Price is becoming an important consideration in the market today. The model RR market has lots of retired people with limited incomes coupled with increased living expenses and they are not inclined to spend the money.
Looking at our spending abilities, via income averaging, can easily give a false impression. (Extreme example, average my income with that of Jeff Bezos, and I am a very wealthy person!) Averaging can either inflate spending capabilities, or decrease them. In the instance above, 2017 income average as cited is way above my reality. Such that my available discretionary funds, for potential participation in the market as imagined, simply don't exist.
I’m below that average and I have a college degree and a very well paying job for my area. But you know what? I wait for someone to sell at a price I agree with. If no one does, then I won’t buy. If the company goes out of business or stops selling n scale because they aren’t making profit, than that’s ok too. For what they charge now, you could 3D print with nice detail, add mT trucks, and a detail kit and still come out ahead or better. Because they’d be correct prototypes for your era and railroad, not SF or NYC models just repainted with a different logo.
Price has always been a consideration of the model railroad market, that being said, there also must be a lot of non-retired people in the hobby, why? Rapido trains is expanding. Have you ever looked at the prices of their products? MSRP for a HO Scale Rapido Passenger car is $64.95, discounted it's still $39.99 Someone has to be purchasing their products and they are no where near the size of Atlas or Athearn. Have you looked at the prices of Lionel Trains lately? Business is booming for Lionel Trains. Remember my income number quoted above is an average, there are many people in this hobby far above that quoted number and they are the ones driving this hobby. Yes my above economics example is simplified, but bottom line is manufacturers moved to China to increase their profits. As wages increase in China, manufacturers will begin looking for new cheap labor to tap into in other countries. One major model railroad manufacturer stated not long ago, they could not afford to move production back to the United States, train prices would triple. It may take another 50 years, but at some point it's going to become too expensive to produce model railroad products in China. I doubt any current manufacturer would honestly tell us the current markup on model railroad products, but if wholesalers can sell the products at 40% off, you know the markup is greater than that value. Yes, I'll agree computer controlled machines have reduced operating cost, but there are many tasks robots cannot preform in the production of model railroad products. Have a look at this video to see what really goes on in a Chinese model railroad factory. And while I'm not disagreeing with you that the price of model railroad products seem to increase every year. I'm also saying someone has to be purchasing these products or the model railroad companies would soon go out of business. Believe me, you are not the first person I've heard say modeling railroading is becoming too expensive for someone on a fixed income. I heard the old timers saying that 50 years ago at the local hobby shop that is now closed.