Another thing that is not connected with the state of today's economy is that in terms of early diesels there are almost all types available as models (except some Baldwins). Which means there are not many models I "must buy". What would be left are steamers, but I don't expect so many new models in the next future because making a steam engine is a really heavy investment. What I sometimes do is buying a model on ebay that no one else wanted, i.e. which could be obtained at real low prices. But these are normally models I would not have bought otherwise.... If it really comes to hard times, spending must be stopped completely, except the preorders I am committed to buy. Long-term planning is not alway possible these days.
Bad economy? Not at all..In fact my spending has increase.I went from Atlas track to Kato's Unitrack,bought several high end cars etc.. Suffice it to say I am doing more then my fair share to help boost the economy.
The economy has put my hobby on a total moratorium. I've been unemployed since before Christmas. I just started a job this week making significantly less than my last job. Anyway some units had to go, more are on the way to eBay. I owe taxes to the IRS and the car needs serious repairs. I was hoping to be back on my feet before the PCM FEC E7s and the Atlas Dash 8s. Not looking good.
My purchases are down the past few months mostly because my wife lost her job as a right-of-way agent (pipeline) for a company in Houston, and even though I got a promotion (with the associated 40-hour increase in salary ), the joint income is down. As it is, I don't have much of a need to get a lot of stuff, so no problem there.
DaveWonders, I'm Sorry to hear about your job lose and the many others who might not reply to this thread do to their own situations. I'm amused by some of the comments of some members thinking they are untouchable and so secure in their job situations...kinda funny,they might be oK for the next year but if things don't start improving they will all be looking after all it's taken a few years to snuff the construction industry one of our biggest financial indicators. I'm one of the lucky ones still employed for the time being but things can always change. I have cut down on my hobby spending but like everyone else the money gets spent through other avenues. I amuse myself on E-bay low-balling with my bids and trying to get some steals.
Hurricane Katrina put s stop to my modeling. So I shifted my interest back to photography. Anyone interested in buying some freight cars? LOL
Depends on what ya have and how much. All I run is freight...and could use some cars in T.H.E. Yard. I have 15 cars on each consist out on the rails...but THE Yard is barren. LOL. :tb-wacky: .
I definatly think about a purchase much longer than I previously did, and I will only pay cash now. Since I am closer to finishing my layout, the trips to the LHS put a smaller dent in my wallet. However, my thirst for locomotive kitbashing lately has take up some of the savings in the layout department, with the need for parts and details. I am definatly finished with purchasing any more complete locos until the AC-12 comes out and finishing the layout will have to wait a few months since I'm currently packing it up for the next move.
I think Texas has been pretty immune from this economy. I don't know a single person who's lost their job. From what I've heard, something like 80% of the new jobs created in the US last year was right here in Texas. The fact that I didn't buy a new car last year like I originally intended to has saved me $25K. Lately I've been buying a lot of used stuff from other people. If anything, I'm spending more than ever.
I'm pretty much shut down. Just a few small purchases such as detail parts and magazines. Had a major health setback this winter, which almost took my life + many associated bills. Now possibly permanently disabled. And just yesterday my wife expired her vehicle's transmission all over a parking lot.... Boxcab E50
I'm buying all steam ahead. I'm planning on retireing next year so my buying will continue so i don't have to buy as much once i retire. So this year i have 7 of the Kato heritage units coming, AC12 cab forward, 3 DD40ax's, and 3 Athearn FP45's in the blue & yellow warbonnet plus a ton of freight cars, i'm afraid to count what is on order. Also i just switched to DCC so i am now converting my entire fleet to DCC (about 25 locomotives). I have to do it now while i have the extra money, although money will not be tight when i retire it's best i do it now. Dave
Same issue in Canada, as the Netherlands. The Canadian $ tanked against the US $. My buying power was slashed. An 80 cent exchange rate places the equivalent of a 25% price increase on everything I buy from the US. Canadian retailers are expert at immediately reflecting higher prices due to a worsening Canadian $. I called a not so local Canadian LHS yesterday to check on some prices. Their price is full US $ list price + actual exchange rate hit to convert their prices to Canadian. We are taking a beating financially vs last year when the Canadian $ was at par with the US $. Combine this with increasing US prices and yes it has an impact on a Canadian's buying capacity, especially on higher dollar hobby purchases. Keith.
The overall economy may have an impact. I am still working on my hobby, and in some ways because I haven't had a lot of money for things like going to events, movies, or dinners out I have been working even more on it. I haven't had a raise in nearly three years, so that negatively impacts the buying, but then again my housing escrow payment just dropped by a noticeable amount so that is in the positive column. Where the economy much more directly impacts things is when my our small business income tanks because everyone stops buying for a few days or a week. When that happens, we have to live much more off just my income from working outside the business, so then I end up having to pay everything for a month or two. This happened in the fall right about the time Lehman Bros. tanked. Yes, the behavior is not necessarily rational - most and probably ALL of my customers had no stake in that bank or anything directly affected by it - but the thing about having a small neighborhood business is that it doesn't matter if your customers are acting rationally. If they're not buying for irrational reasons they're still not buying. I am probably NOT going to get a raise this year, owing to the economy, but I am hopeful that I will be ripe for one in 2010 (since it will have been FOUR years without a raise by then).
Things are not very rosy... and could get worse. I think back to 2007 and early 2008 when I was very gung-ho about new announcements and buying more motive power, rolling stock and structures. But... time has a way of changing things. I recently had to make over $13,000 in repairs to my home... fortunately I knew I had to make repairs and had saved-up $6,000... but... I wasn't expecting the added $7,000+ in debt I incurred. THAT debt has to be paid before I commit to new model train items (I'm sure there will be some exceptions). I work for the local taxing authority and my wife works in healthcare. Neither of us are immune from some sort of potential reduction in income... either by lay-off, furlough or even having our wages reduced. We belong to unions and they are not looking for increases... they are hoping to keep the status quo or minimize benefit and income losses. So far we are okay... but I have chosen to take a defensive approach. I have curtailed most of my hobby purchases and will only honor my commitments to those 'reserved items' from 2008.
I buy most of my stuff from the States so the only way it has changed my buying habits is, as other posters mentioned, the exchange rate. We've gonr from 50p to the $ to about 65p. Ouch. it was even worse a while back and against the Euro it is almost on par. Luckily I have about everything I need at the moment so slowing down and the slow in theeconomy coincided luckily. Having said that I just purchased 200 FVM wheelsets. Cheers, Alan.
The economy hasn't affected my spending, railroad or otherwise. Just last week we traded our minivan on a new Eddie Bauer Explorer. I've missed my Explorer since buying that van six years ago, and with prices the way they are now, it's a great time to buy. I've been "full speed ahead" on buying stuff for the new layout, but I will be slowing down for a while. We're planning a family trip to Yellowstone in June, probably the last family vacation before the kids aren't interested anymore. After that trip, I'll be back to buying again, stocking up for fall/winter.
I'm sorry to hear about your bad news, Boxcab. Life can get pretty hard sometimes. My own spending has slowed because I now have enough to keep me busy for a looong time (scratchbuilding, scenery, tracklaying, painting, etc. etc.) and I was never much of a spender to begin with. I wanted certain engines and cars and now I have them. I think more about my old age now, too, and saving for that. I never had a lot of money anyway, and thankfully, nothing has changed for me in this economy. I confess I buy something occasionally just to help out retailers and manufacturers. My disability has been getting in the way a lot lately, too. Worse, I've "discovered" a software program I was given back in 2006--Trainz--that I've become positively addicted to. <gulp> It's just so tempting, to be able to build a (virtual) layout, put my own 60's ATSF rolling stock on it, and operate trains on it realistically in only a week! From the cab! For free! And such an escape from pain... I swear I'll get in the train room and get to work on the real thing any day now... :tb-embarrassed:
Buy Low! . I was really hoping the economy would knock the stuffing out of over-inflated pricing and hit us with a slew of fantastic clearance sales. I've only seen one that really moved me into shelling out some serious cash. My biggest regret is that I was already up-to my ears in alot of stuff that was being cleared out. There are some good buys out there, just not as much as I was thinking there would be, especially on ebay. I did hit a slew of great auction deals right here on TrainBoard N-Scale Auctions.
I am a retiree, so I feel the pinch. Most of my stuff comes from the U.S. and the US dollar has gone up against our currency. Although I placed orders for some new Kato diesels I will to be more selective and curb my spending. Looks like this economic downturn will last longer that expected and I am sorry to hear of job losses. Cheers,
It is cheaper for us to buy US products in the UK! Your shops have ordered many of their stock when the pound and the dollar were weak. Nowadays, the dollar has become stronger but the pound is still cheap for us. And since the UK is member of the EU, we do not have to pay the extra taxes when importing goods from the UK. Someone said that he was amused about people who don't feel their jobs are in danger. Well, I think that it depends on the kind of job you have. My wife works for a healthcare institute and those jobs are rather safe here. I work for the retirement fund, department of railway salaries, of the Dutch railways and our company is very solid. I do not have to fear for losing my job: someone has to pay those salaries, today, tomorrow, and next year etc. We are still making profits.
