[mthornton]

Health costs can't be the reason as UK overall health expenditure is low by comparison with both the US and most European countries. Yes it is financed differently, but it is the overall value which would affect prices not whether you pay via private insurance or through taxation.

I agree with Gary, it's market size and real estate costs.

 

[mthornton]

QUOTE (Doug @ 11 Nov 2006, 15:15) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>my functionless steam locos.
Disgusting

, they should have at least one of sound or smoke if not both!

 

[mthornton]

The smaller sound ecoders are not much bigger than regular decoders and the speaker can go in the cab or coal bunker (on a tank engine). I have a rather large (older) sound decoder in a Bachmann standard 4MT tank. With a smaller decoder there would have been room for the smoke generator as well.

 

[mthornton]

You have to add in the cost of the US private health system as well. Those costs that are crippling companies like General Motors.

Yes overall tax is lower in the US, but you would also be paying much higher private health insurance charges there (or more typically your employer would be).

In 1998 the US spent $4178 per capita on health care while the UK spent only $1461.
For all the rhetoric about the cost of the NHS, it remains stunningly cheap compared to the US. Despite all that extra money the overall outcome in the US is worse than the UK; while better at the top end, the poor (non existent) service delivered at the other end drags down the overall result.

More on US health care costs
http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml

 

[mthornton]

QUOTE (dbclass50 @ 12 Nov 2006, 09:04) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I suspect that as regards wholesale prices the palying field is not level.
Why should it be? It seems reasonable for a manufacturer to give a discount for quantity.

 

[mthornton]

QUOTE (dbclass50 @ 12 Nov 2006, 14:31) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Mail order/internet sales are all very well, but when you have to wait a couple of days or so to get those fishplate/joiners to finish part of your project because your local shop is long gone................
Many of my internet purchases are delivered to my desk next day. As for DCC items, how many of us have a local model shop that stocks anything more than a few starter sets? A lot of the items I purchase on the internet (railway and otherwise) simply aren't stocked by local suppliers.