Whacky seemingly inconsistent model prices

Depends on the license holder.  Some may want to merely control who uses property- they ask for a very nominal amount and this affects cost very little.  Others see licensing as a gold mine.  In many cases they overestimate the market, and kit mfgs often decline to license that property. I have talked to some mfgs who told me of negotiations breaking down and the mfg refusing to kit a subject 'cause the licensing fee was way too high.

What gets me as a taxpayer is an aerospace company asking for licensing fees on projects the taxpayer originally funded :-(  As an engineer I knew that the government would own any patents for inventions.  Why is copyright or trademark any different?  I can see that a company ID, such as project nnn, might be a legitimate copyright, but when a model is identified by a US govt. created number, and Air Force agreed name, why should those be copyright?

I often wonder also, what is the percentage price/impact upon prices for the licences to replicate certain vehicles.

For example, you would think Tamiya has/had to pay a licence fee to General Dynamics to produce it's F-16. 

Is this fee incurred for each model (ie, for each different block variation) or does it only happens once off irrespective of scales, numbers manufactured, different variations etc?

Further, would this impact significantly on price?  Is there still somebody collecting licencing fees on Sopwith Camels?

Chris.

P mitch

What I have noticed is the difference on the same kit can be huge just looking on Ebay. I have one of the new Dragon WW2 German trucks and got it for less than half the price some retailers where asking.

I know over heads round the world may be different but not by that much surely

Pmitch

"One man's misery, is another man's gain". This is why I try to wait to buy new releases. Why pay retail, when some guy is going to need to liquidate the stash and I can pick it up for half of the cost. With ebay,  onlines, and shows, I doubt I'll ever pay retail price for a new kit ever again.

Size of the subject has nothing to do with the price of the kit.

You'll also see a price difference of the same subject and manufacturer based on the time when it was produced. As pricing increases retailers must adjust the selling price accordingly. I used to love to visit old hobby shops where the clerks just kept putting the new stock in the front. If you dug through the merchandise you could find often enough kits at much lower prices.

Now another question I have for one of our local shops...why is the "SALE" price higher than the normal price? I guess it has something to do with the quality of the people you hire...they just don't care how or what they mark the merchandise.

HnHT,

Sometimes it's an older kit, sometimes it's old stock, sometimes it's an updated/retooled kit with a ridiculous premium.

A little tip that you may or may not be aware of. All Japanese kits have the (Japanese) domestic MSRP in Yen printed right on the box. If you look at a Tamiya box, say the 1/35 scale Marder III, on the box end, you will see the Tamiya logo, below which is printed "1/35 - Item 35248 * 3000" I've had this kit for a couple of years now, so the price may have changed, but the MSRP at the time the kit was manufactured was 3000 Yen.

This may help you to work out how the kit prices relate to each other and how much your local distributor marks up a given kit based on perceived popularity (which also happens).

What I have noticed is the difference on the same kit can be huge just looking on Ebay. I have one of the new Dragon WW2 German trucks and got it for less than half the price some retailers where asking.

I know over heads round the world may be different but not by that much surely

Pmitch

In order to make sense of the price of a new kit, you need to know the cost of the tooling and other non-recurring costs.  You need to know their estimate of how many kits they will sell, the recurring (manufacturing) costs, and their desired profit margin.

For re-issued costs, they may have some refurbishment costs, but I suspect the costs are mostly the recurring costs.  They also have a better idea of how well that kit sells. I suspect re-issues are pretty profitable.