[rb277170]

But there is a difference in Hornbys approach to pricing compared to Bachmann. Both made in China, both of much the same quality. Yet Hornby locos are much more expensive. £89 for a Class 60. £80 (sorry £79.95!) for an M7. Hornby know how to extract the maximum amount of profit from the market. In part this is a reaction to the "I'd have an M7 at any price" brigade. Well your getting what you want.

I'd personally rather have models that run well, are quality controlled and supplied at a reasonable price. Hornby are blatently profiteering . At least for £79 (probably £65 when discounted) we will get class 26 and 27s with smooth running characteristics and lights from Heljan.

We need to encourage competition and price competitiveness rather than accepting that prices will inevitably increase. Why should model railways be different from any other market where we expect value for money!

Russell

 

[rb277170]

I'm fed up with people who suggest that quality and low prices are mutually exclusive. They are not . When you buy any other type of item you expect good quality at the lowest price, but it seems not in model railways!

Per Chrisgus "Well i guess that you should be prepared to be buying less products.with your approach quality will inevitably suffer." No! We must drive standards up but not at any cost. Comments like this encourage increased prices.

And again per Chrisgus "Get real guy,nobody is profiteering" £80 for an M7 ! Come on !

Amazingly Hornbys super detailed 08 is now retailing at £45. Could that be because there's a pretty good Bachmann one. Now I would have thought an inside framed chassis 08 would be more difficult to construct than an M7 yet it will probably retail at £65. It only has coupling rods! Is the driver gold plated? Profit per unit must be huge on M7 compared to 08.

Russell

 

[rb277170]

It was true that Chineese labour is very cheap and this does enable more detailed locos.

But what about all the other Hornby locos shipped off to China. There's no super detail on them. What about the coaches, wagons and track? They must all now be cheaper since transferred to China. Haven't seen the price drop though.

Per Gary "The M7 is going to be Hornby's first superdetailed tank loco." I thought this was the Fowler 2-6-4T. About £10 cheaper I think , despite more complicated valve gear . Also my original comment stands - it can't be more complicated to construct than the 08.

In response to dwb ">quality and low prices are mutually exclusive. They are not
I disagree. I have the feeling that there is no room left in some products for further price reductions by simply shifting production to China."

Try looking at Hornbys Annual Accounts - you'll find lots of room in their. No not suggesting its bad to make profits- just that they might be driving their margins too high at our expense. Would love to see the unit costing for the M7

Russell

 

[rb277170]

Gary asks "What would it take to justify an £80 RRP in your opinion? "

Actually thats the point. I would find it hard to justify £80 for a simple tank locomotive . I see from Railway Modeller that the discounted price will be £63.99. Still too much for a casual purchase.

Compared to Bachmann 4MTs and forthcoming Fairburn tank, which look to be displaying all the detail I need, I still can't see how Hornby can justify the price.

What is an essential, however, is that the model runs well straight from the box. No quartering problems, squeeking gearboxes etc

Russell

 

[rb277170]

Fair enough Gary. Lets wait and see what they produce. You might be suprised to know that I own an original Triang Hornby M7. Price £5.00 , given to me as a Christmas present in 1974. It's still a good runner!

Russell