S
sceic2
Guest
After having read in a couple of threads some posts regarding pricing, I thought it would be good to have a thread just for the topic of pricing. So here it is.
I am very surprised that the prices we pay for this hobby of ours have not risen more than they have. Here are a few of my reasons why I think that toy soldier producers have been very, very careful in their pricing so not to harm their market, better known as HaynesEcon 101. A few, did I say a few?
1.) The declining value of the US Dollar for the past year - US goods now cost less for foreign consumers and foreign imports cost US consumers more.
2.) The Chinese Yuan is controlled by the Central Bank of China and does not have a value fixed by the market but is artificially held at its current levels by political decisions made by the Chinese government - Chinese production costs remain relatively stable due to any affect or to any change in the value of the US Dollar.
3.) The price of labor is increasing in China - Due to a worldwide and increasing demand for cheap goods. The US is not the Chinese' only customer and Chinese businesses have many markets to choose from. The product goes to the highest paying customer.
4.) The value of a barrel of oil briefly flirted with $100 - It costs more to send products anywhere. Ships run on oil too.
5.) The US economy is going into a recession. Surprise, surprise, surprise. A recession will occur and it is a natural part of the business cycle. A recession will mean that more are unemployed and less is being paid as they were in a non-recessionary period. Prices tend to rise at first and then fall off as demand shrinks.
6.) Trade policies are changing worldwide - Tariffs and duty taxes are almost a non-issue in pricing products between trading partners and the US has a world full of them.
7.) The US credit market is having problems with the declining amounts of ready cash for operations. US banks have had to go hat-in-hand to foreign investors to obtain very large amounts of cash in order to maintain their cash flows.
8.) The cost of credit in the US is miss matched with the amount of funds available and the ability of borrowers to repay debt, especially in the housing market.
9.) The cost of credit in the US housing mortgage market is affecting the credit market in business finance. The Federal Reserve Board is still reducing the banks cost of funds and is expected to make a large rate cut next week. More rate cuts are expected into the year.
10.) The declining income increases for the middle class in the US. Pay raises are not keeping up with the changing cost of goods and services.
11.) The changes that take place in one part of the world’s having almost instantaneous effects on the world’s wide economy due to the increasing level of sophistication in the ability of the world to communicate and the interconnections of the world’s economy through not only technology, but through treaties, multi-national corporate decisions, and politics. We must never forget politics. North Korea is supposedly the largest producer of counterfeit $100 bills. Iran would love to see the US economy in shambles. Other countries do not have our best interests at heart.
I think that all of the producers in this hobby of ours should be thanked for keeping their prices reasonable and not increasing them to truly reflect the market. This means that people like Ana and her family at HB, Andy at K&C, John at John Jenkins, and all the others are taking home less profit and they are stretching their production levels to achieve more production for less cost. I say, "Thank You."
I am very surprised that the prices we pay for this hobby of ours have not risen more than they have. Here are a few of my reasons why I think that toy soldier producers have been very, very careful in their pricing so not to harm their market, better known as HaynesEcon 101. A few, did I say a few?
1.) The declining value of the US Dollar for the past year - US goods now cost less for foreign consumers and foreign imports cost US consumers more.
2.) The Chinese Yuan is controlled by the Central Bank of China and does not have a value fixed by the market but is artificially held at its current levels by political decisions made by the Chinese government - Chinese production costs remain relatively stable due to any affect or to any change in the value of the US Dollar.
3.) The price of labor is increasing in China - Due to a worldwide and increasing demand for cheap goods. The US is not the Chinese' only customer and Chinese businesses have many markets to choose from. The product goes to the highest paying customer.
4.) The value of a barrel of oil briefly flirted with $100 - It costs more to send products anywhere. Ships run on oil too.
5.) The US economy is going into a recession. Surprise, surprise, surprise. A recession will occur and it is a natural part of the business cycle. A recession will mean that more are unemployed and less is being paid as they were in a non-recessionary period. Prices tend to rise at first and then fall off as demand shrinks.
6.) Trade policies are changing worldwide - Tariffs and duty taxes are almost a non-issue in pricing products between trading partners and the US has a world full of them.
7.) The US credit market is having problems with the declining amounts of ready cash for operations. US banks have had to go hat-in-hand to foreign investors to obtain very large amounts of cash in order to maintain their cash flows.
8.) The cost of credit in the US is miss matched with the amount of funds available and the ability of borrowers to repay debt, especially in the housing market.
9.) The cost of credit in the US housing mortgage market is affecting the credit market in business finance. The Federal Reserve Board is still reducing the banks cost of funds and is expected to make a large rate cut next week. More rate cuts are expected into the year.
10.) The declining income increases for the middle class in the US. Pay raises are not keeping up with the changing cost of goods and services.
11.) The changes that take place in one part of the world’s having almost instantaneous effects on the world’s wide economy due to the increasing level of sophistication in the ability of the world to communicate and the interconnections of the world’s economy through not only technology, but through treaties, multi-national corporate decisions, and politics. We must never forget politics. North Korea is supposedly the largest producer of counterfeit $100 bills. Iran would love to see the US economy in shambles. Other countries do not have our best interests at heart.
I think that all of the producers in this hobby of ours should be thanked for keeping their prices reasonable and not increasing them to truly reflect the market. This means that people like Ana and her family at HB, Andy at K&C, John at John Jenkins, and all the others are taking home less profit and they are stretching their production levels to achieve more production for less cost. I say, "Thank You."
