I think Firecrown needs to ask a couple of members to be after hours moderators.
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I was not here at the time, but didnât the Jimmy Carter inflation begin under Nixon with the Arab oil embargo?
As for trains I screen shotted what I have on pre order just to see the prices change. I think my Athearn pre orders have gone up 10%. I can handle that so far. However, that may change if living expenses increase significantly.
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Ill second this.
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No, it started under Lyndon Johnson, trying to pay for both the Vietnam War and the War on Poverty at the same time. By the time Nixon was elected, inflation was in full bloom.
âWe pay $8 for the night and you can take 2 popsicles out of the freezer!â
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Swing voters elected him to bring down inflation. Things are going in the opposite direction, and it wonât be helped by the new 104% tariff on China. The trade imbalance has been going on for 50 years and wonât be solved overnight.
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Looks like I picked the wrong year to seriously dive back into the hobby. My plan was to build a new layout to replace the basic 30+ yr layout I have now. Track and switch costs will more than double on top of the regular annual increases. Might have to put it off until Washington comes to its senses or possibly almost 4 years down the road. 
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Regards, Chris
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Well good, as long as youâre consistent. I canât stand when people, no matter where they stand politically, complain about a politicianâs attribute, but completely ignore the same thing in âtheirâ guy.
I agree with the left on a few issues, agree with the right on a few, and think theyâre both FOS on most issues.
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I think that the second hand market will be the best solution for most of us. Real bargains can be found at train shows, and many do sell their old stuff at very reasonable prices. You can find pretty much anything at train shows, except perhaps bigger things like a DCC system. But even that can be found used if you are patient. Otherwise, from what we heard today, the price of most MR items will go up dramatically. I try to focus on things that give me a lot of âMR timeâ, like model kits or beat-up things that I can revamp. I still have a small stash of unbuilt kits on my shelves⌠And our clubâs layout still needs a lot of work.
Simon
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I donât recall too many Libs defending Bidenâs age but Iâm witnessing many MAGA folks defending the market plunge. 
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Do you really think that some vendors at train shows arenât going to hike their prices just because they can? Think supply and demand.
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We already saw Athearn didâŚ
Even on already in stock product
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As I explained much earlier in the thread, If they donât increase the prices on what is in stock, they very well might not have money to buy as much stock later on.
A small price increase now may allow them to hold the line at the small increase.
Manufacturers who have their products made overseas basically have to pay for the product in advance. That takes cash. So if the next batch of product costs more, and they have not sold what they have at a large enough margin, one of two things will happen.
One, they will have to buy less, and make less money on the next go round, and maybe not make what you want, or maybe go out of business. Or-
Borrow money which will increase their operating costs which will cause them to raise prices even higher.
If any of you think these companies are making huge profits, think again. This is a tough business where âwindfall profitsâ and âhigh marginsâ are rare at best.
For the most part they are making just enough to pay their people a decent wage and a make a reasonable living for themselves.
Do you know how many model train companies are on the NYSE? NONE.
Do you know how many model train companies are on ANY stock exchange anywhere in the world? ONE.
Even the biggest, Walthers, Horizon (who owns Athearn), Bowser, etc, etc are all privately held companies.
Only Bachmann, is just a small part of publicly traded Kader toy company in China.
All the rest are âsmall companiesâ in the scheme of Apple, or GM, or FORD, or Samsung, etc, etc.
If you think there is a fortune to be made in model trains, have at it. Otherwise donât complain about prices - pre tariff or post tariff.
Sheldon
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Did you vote for Trump
Some may test the waters on that, and the market will answer that question for them.
Others will be happy that they have a larger customer pool if dollars get diverted from newly released products to products already in the secondary market.
And remember, a large percentage of the product at train shows is ânew old stockâ product that had never been sold to a âuserâ or has never been out of the box even if it was sold to a âuserâ at some point.
The amount of model trains that remain ânew in the boxâ after 20 years, 30 years, and even longer is truly amazing.
Sheldon
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Are you asking me that question? Who did you vote for?
It does not matter, I simply know how business works, and I have experience inside the model train business.
And I have been self employed most of my life.
Sheldon
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I had a business so I know how things work .so we bring something in from china at 100 and charge 75% tariff and we sold it for 120 now we increase are cost to 190 i still have to make a profic is fair for american people to pay that big make up
Thatâs what I was ballparking, a 5 to 10 percent price increase to buyers. If a guy is wiling to spend 275 for a loco he will pay 300. And a 40 dollar boxcar 43 dollars. I donât see much impact. Jmo.
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