Bachmann Blue Circle Cement Presflo Price Hike?

I bought a set of 4 of these (38-270A) earlier this month for about £44.  On the same seller's site (and on most of the others I've looked at) they are now selling at £22+ each and £80 for a set of 4???  Other Presflos are still at the cheaper prices?

I know and understand that Bachmann are putting up their prices but this is almost a 100% increase.  Am I missing something?

Just one of many well published Bachmann price increases for their latest releases in rolling stock, buildings etc, although some of their latest train sets have been reasonably priced.

The more separate parts to an item there is, the higher the price rise.

Persflos at cheaper prices are stock from before the price hike rise. If you see them, buy them.

I have a nice rake of 15. Glad I got them at the old prices. Definitely not getting any more. Mind it will be interesting to see how Oxford rail develops with what appears to be competitive prices.

I bought a set of 4 of these (38-270A) earlier this month for about £44.  On the same seller's site (and on most of the others I've looked at) they are now selling at £22+ each and £80 for a set of 4???  Other Presflos are still at the cheaper prices?

 

I know and understand that Bachmann are putting up their prices but this is almost a 100% increase.  Am I missing something?

Sounds like you got a bargain :-)

Triple packs of weathered BR Bauxite Presflos 38-287 list at £ 78.50!

Steve

Sounds like you got a bargain :-)

 

Triple packs of weathered BR Bauxite Presflos 38-287 list at £ 78.50!

 

Steve

We saw some of those at that price, at the Ponty show on Saturday.

We just looked and laughed.

Both said he has got the price wrong on them?

I think this will develop in to a problem for Bachmann. If I popped into a model shop for a quick browse I always made a point in buying a wagon or something similar however there is no way I could afford £20 or £30 on a whim. So my money is remaining in my wallet.

I bought one just before Christmas at the Spalding show for £7.50 - the chap's last one. I thought it would be good for comparison with the Dapol kit, which at these later prices looks the way to go!

John.

My local model shop returned most of the ordered stock of the recent presflo versions they received from Bachmann, as they decided that they could not sell them at the price, even with a 10-15% discount. When the huge price increase occurred on these wagons back in June last year, I looked around for some Hattons weathered 'Blue Circle' 3 pack sets to complete my rake and was able to pick up 4 packs, some via e-bay, for no more than £30 incl p&p each. It's interesting that recent new wagon releases from Hornby - the 21 ton BR hopper and LMS horsebox seem very keanly priced, the hopper is about £15.50 full retail, compared to Bachmann's recent BR pipe wagon at £20.50 approx, with comparable levels of detail. Hornby has also reduced the price of the BR/LNER long CCT versions released this week compared to last years releases, by £2, so are Hornby trying to significantly undercut the Bachmann pricing. With Oxford Rail announcing an rch wagon at less than £10 for release in early 2015, Bachmann may have to rethink their price strategy. 

the impulse buy is fast becoming a dim and distant memory for many these days........another round of increases will no doubt be the ying to Bachmanns forthcoming 2016 release program announcements yang.

The Parkside Dundas Pipe kit is £6.95....  So about a third of the price of Bachmann if you're prepared to kitbuild. And Hattons are selling the Dapol Presflo kit for £5.40

I fully understand why RTR prices are rising, and they will keep rising. But this sort of price differential calls into serious question the old assumption that a wagon kit was dead in the water when an RTR model was announced.

In this sector at least, we may see a revival of kitbuilding

This might be of interest to someone. £40 for a s/h weathered 3 pack http://www.cheltenhammodelcentre.com/products/28864-Second-Hand-38-270z-Bachmann-Set-of-3-22T-Blue-Circle-Cement-Presflos-Weathe/

I would concur with a lot of the above sentiments. I was at a rather large swap meet in the Midlands today, and it brought home to me for the first time the unrealistic pricing that Bachmann are now lumbering themselves with. Brand new Bachmann wagons - from cattle vans to brake vans and fuel tankers - were anything from £12-£20 a throw, whilst a trader across the hall had the self and and same wagons - albeit released over the last decade - for anything from £5 unboxed second hand, to £7-£10 for boxed and in good nick. I helped myself to a mint boxed GWR Toad for £7. The soon to be released version? £12.20. Same again with the old Mainline tooling LMS cattle van. To be had today at £5 for a nice boxed example. The RRP of this years equivalent? £15.95.

People aren't daft and they won't pay it. Fascinating to see what Bachmann do here. 

CoY

personally on a 4 wheel wagon I have it in my head that around £10 maybe £12 is about where I want to be and then to the bogie wagons maybe around £16 but no more than £20.

knock on effect is liekly to see second hand prices rise at least where auction sites are concerned.

Fascinating to see what Bachmann do here. 

 

What they'd be highly unlikely to do in the future is produce them for less than they are doing; costs are only to rise and unless they invested in new tooling to simplify the detail (difficult in this case) then this is the price they will be. If there isn't a market at the price they just won't produce any; I wonder what will happen to values then?

Hmmm,

It does seem the more complex the more the cost.

I see bachmannn polybulks on hattons, to pre order for £46 each.

I'd have to really want them for that much .

Could be time to leave China for India. Move to the next cheap source of manufacturing. A lot of companies are exploring alternatives

What they'd be highly unlikely to do in the future is produce them for less than they are doing; costs are only to rise and unless they invested in new tooling to simplify the detail (difficult in this case) then this is the price they will be. If there isn't a market at the price they just won't produce any; I wonder what will happen to values then?

This is a valid point if you accept, hook line and sinker, the current Bachmann line that the price rises visible at the moment actually are inevitable. Could it possibly be, in part at least, just a means to increase margins? Smaller companies (eg RealTrack ) and new entrants (eg Oxford Rail) don't seem to be asking these eye watering prices and are seemingly confident that they can make sufficient profit on their range.

I don't necessarily believe my energy supplier or my insurance company when they tell me the prices they charge are inevitable and I maintain the same healthy skepticism about the pronouncements of any commercial concern, Bachmann included.

ROB

Well, it's easy to say make the kits but :

A- I don't have time, I'm more money rich than time rich.within reason

B - they'll probably not be very good.

I have cutoff points in my head for how much I'm willing to pay for the different categories of stock.

Could be time to leave China for India. Move to the next cheap source of manufacturing. A lot of companies are exploring alternatives

Too many people seem to thing everyone else in the world should work for low wages so just so we can have cheap models etc. The assumption seems to be their jobs won't be affected or 'exported'.

Another comparison with Liliput:

An open wagon £19.40 [actually the cheapest wagon they do] this compares in size with the pipe wagon at £20.95, however the cheapest wagon Bachman do is the china clay open wagon at £9.35.

Coaches: Liliput Bogie coaches £44.90. Bachman Porthole £39.95.

So it would seem that on rolling stock our prices are approximately the same as Continental ones, but our locos are still cheaper. The most recent wage comparisons seem to date from 2012, but they show British workers earn more, on average, than Germans

As for the arguement that 'people aren't daft and they won't pay' then I suspect all the manufacturers will do is redirect the production slots to more profitable market areas; Bachmann Branchlines are a UK company and would be affected, but given Kader is a global one it may be we need them more than they need us, especially if our products are not particularly profitable. The fact is these companies are in business to make a profit; end of story.

And no I don't like these price rises, but then I've always been prepared to build kits and don't insist on replacing my older models just because they've been superceded by a new version [so speaks someone who still runs 2 Trix A3s]

One thing I would say is that Bachmann and Hornby prices are not necessarily the benchmark. Both these companies have significant overheads to cover and this has to be reflected in the prices of their products. In Hornby's case they have the additional costs and pressure of being a PLC.

What might not be economic for the two big players can be a fantastic opportunity for someone else.

Paddy