Slot car pricing?

[Ky.Slot Racer]

I may pay a c note and some change for "some" 2 car deals, but that is the top. and very rarely. Most purchases are directed by the eye appeal, and not necessarily the race class of a car, and solely for my amusement is how I would describe dollars spent. There are no manufactured car(s) that get me as excited as my own creations. Call me old school, but I still like banging out a hand modeled car that will give me a challenging drive, and be somewhat competitive if need be.
David,
I see where the 3d stuff is a plus for creating some items that probably will never cross a big manufacturers desk. But for me, I just can`t wrap my brain around that money only to spend hours getting the proto ready to copy. The 2j you speak of is beautiful, but once again, I used my own hands to create 2 with plans that are available, it took a few hours, and about $40 but I modeled it and it made me very happy.

[Modlerbob]

[Fast Co.]

[OctagonSpirit]

I've tracked spending over the course of a racing season and easily have spent $200+ on prepping and maintaining a single car for racing. With that in mind, I could feasibly spend $200+ on a car in one go for the right car.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I'm still singing the same old song I always do. Paying a ridiculous amount for ordinary slot cars harms the hobby, and is a big part of what nearly killed the hobby in the 60s. Of course, there are unique items, like the Sucker Car Chappy from Peter Pre and a few others that were produced in small quantity certainly don't qualify as ordinary slot cars, and that kind of things only harms the buyer's bank account in trade for being able to look on the shelf at it and smile.

While I'm on it, I remember Mark's version, and I followed the progress avidly, even though I never saw the car in real life as anything more than the genius of Jim Hall gone wild, it is surely unique and I would pay more for that one than for an ordinary slot car- because it isn't an ordinary slot car, it is one of a kind, made by a friend.

There is a third category in this, when ordinary slot cars are for whatever reason, sold at responsible prices then become rare and people pay more as a premium to loosen the grasp of someone who has it. But then, that is a secondary market, and just doesn't have a direct effect on production cars at retail prices.

But normal production cars must not be bought new for unreasonable prices or we are in trouble. Ninco became infamous for doubling their prices when everyone else just adjusted for the value of the dollar, and they learned their lesson, very late and didn't reduce their prices nearly enough, but they did get the message eventually. They even appear to be paying more attention to quality control now. That's how the market must work. Paying too much for something just because we can is irresponsible, and harms the hobby as well as the dollar itself. It has to be said that Carrera is the hobby's best friend in this regard. Reasonable pricing, very high quality, huge production numbers, and the cars are tough enough to play with. You just can't beat that. Right from the box, they are always just right to put on the track, and as a bonus, you can get a lot more from them with some simple tweaks and tuning. That is what will keep the hobby going.

When the kid with a paper route can afford quality slot cars, the hobby moves forward, when it costs so much that only adults can afford them, the hobby dies.

[Jesla]

What's a 'Shelf Queen'?.....I buy it, it gets raced.....

....buying the same old thing in different liveries doesn't advance the hobby, it cripples it.

Hi end Racer's and Lemans Miniatures are the current pinnacle of the hobby, and where I choose to spend most of my slot dollars.

[gascarnut]

Intersting topic, thanks for starting it!

I guess if I was not a builder, that I might have spent $200-plus getting some scratchbuilt stuff from other buiders, and some of my Eurosport cars have cost a lot more when you add in the price of the cobalt motors, but for 1/32 scale I struggle to justify over $100 for any kind of modern plastic car, let alone the $150-plus for the 1/24 plastic stuff.

I have spent close to $200 a few times but only when trying to land a very specific vintage car. My almost-mint Cox La Cucaracha was $180, for example, and I felt it was money well spent. And of course, if I could find a Cox mag-frame Chappy 2E for $200 I would buy it in a hearbeat!

[waaytoomuchintothis]

"buying the same old thing in different liveries doesn't advance the hobby, it cripples it"

Can you explain that? I can't see it at all.

[Fast Co.]

I can't say I agree with you guys that say buying shelf queens harms the hobby. Collectors like me pump a lot of money into this hobby. That's a lot of money that goes to support a lot of slot car manufacturers as well as the wholesalers and retailers whose livelihood depends on sales. In turn, enthusiasts of all kinds benefit by a wealth of diversified product.

[Jesla]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I have never seen that. Nowhere. And if you reduce the number of liveries or cars, the price will be forced to rise, now you talk about crippling...

[RazorJon]

As long as cars are being sold they will build them

[Jesla]

[dreinecke]

A good and healthy discussion! I truly respect and enjoy hearing the perspectives posted here. There is no right or wrong and this just shows the breadth of the hobby.

A few more thoughts:
When I purchased the 2J it was for two reasons – no one made one at the time except for Peter (I missed his initial offering) and I’m a self-certified Jim Hall nut. Mark hadn’t built his version at the time, and while I could have hand-made one too, I frankly did not have the time. After Mark did his I almost made one again, but had started hearing rumors that another company was going to do the car and I didn’t want to put all of that work into something that a big manufacturer was going to come out with in the supposed near future.

3D Prototyping is what the name states: prototyping. Mark is correct – it takes me a good deal of hand work to get the car to the point where I feel I can sell it. That is purely OCD on my part and the desire to produce the best product I can. I have used 3D as a means to make a car that I just don’t think I can do justice to by hand. If you look at Mark’s recent Torino – that is art. Working on complex curves, attempting to get the “right” look takes quite a bit of time. I’m not much of a wood carver, so I carve on a model that at least is a good starting point. I could simply have the part printed and cast that, but I would never do that as I personally wouldn’t build something so rough nor expect my customers to.
Certain cars as have been pointed out have simply skyrocketed due to their seeming rarity and the fact that they may have been out of production for some time. For a new person coming into the hobby for instance that wants a Scalextric Penske Camaro that has not been available for almost 10 years, that means they have to hit the web to get it. Paying $125 for an out-of-production, mass-produced car sounds somewhat ridiculous, but if you are that Penske nut that just has to see it on your track – you will pay it - Simple as that. Interesting to see that this car is finally being re-released. I suspect Scalextric has finally realized what a cash-cow this car is. Fine by me – this means more newbies may get the slot car bug!!!

If financially, you simply set a limit to your purchasing – that’s great and can be viewed as a prudent financial decision. However, if you purchase 50 cars in a year and poo-poo those that buy 3 $200 cars…well, I would argue that setting a price-point bar and spending a few thousand dollars may erase that type of argument.

I don’t think however that setting a price point bar on principle is a bad thing. After all, these are really just toys, and it does seem rather crazy to spend that much on a frivolity. But ask yourself this…if your hobby were golf and you were pretty good at it – would you spend $100 on a “starter” set of clubs or $1000 on a good set of clubs?

I hate to speculate on what killed slot cars in the 1960’s as I was really too young to know. I do suspect the cost could have certainly been a factor, but as a self-described historian I think it was more heavily fueled by societal changes.

The bottom line is this: we have a great hobby with many facets: You can be a shelf-queen collector and love that aspect. You can be a scratch builder that feels deep pride of building something that runs on your track. You can be a pedal-to-the-metal speed freak that loves “Thingies”. You could be an occasionally rug-racer that likes impact resistant cars you can race with your kids. You could also just be a car lover that gets a kick out of watching cars you grew up with racing on a landscaped track.
All of these facets are great and keep this hobby fascinating to me. The interesting perspective I get to observe as a vendor is that I see each of these facets buying my products. What people do with them is always incredibly fun to watch!

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Jesla- Ah, that's what you meant. I see what you mean now. I like having a full range of liveries, so much that I paint the ones they don't bother to do. And I see what you are saying about the Legends F-1s. I am very tempted to start collecting or trading for more than I have in that group. I wound up with two sets of the first edition of that group. I don't want to start with a white kit for that kind of car, but it is tempting to detail one set and run the other. And that's just the two first cars.