R/C Hoarding & Price Gouging

[kyoshofan223 11]

I was just wondering if I was alone in this conclusion that certain segments of the R/C market has gotten a little out of control in the last year or so.

I suppose that could be said about prices on everything, ranging from the somewhat legitimate (shipping problems / shortages related to COVID in Asia) to outright gouging (eBay sellers charging $75 for a spur gear that'd otherwise be $18 retail if it weren't backordered for > 1 year & just impossible to get otherwise). I have to wonder about why the prices of used items or vintage parts/kits are also increasing in price suddenly at such a ridiculous rate beyond normal inflation, sort of like used full-sized cars, seemingly because..well, I don't really know. I sorta get the full-sized car thing, assuming the shortage of new vehicles contributing to supply problems in the used market, but is it just the same reason anything nostalgia-related has just blown up the last few years? Classic cars from the 70s have increased astronomically, while the demand for toys, collectibles, retro video games.. .just about anything middle-aged folks like myself with too much disposable income can buy that recaptures a piece of their childhood now costs far more than it did just a few years ago. I'm getting a little off topic here, sorry...

The main reason I'm ranting is because of the last two R/C kits I've purchased (both re-release incidentally) - a 1/12 Kyosho Fantom & a Tamiya Wild One (Blockhead Edition). The latter is still on backorder, but in both cases, there were a glut of marked-up examples on eBay, seemingly offered by sellers who, aware of the limited production runs, bought in bulk intending to resell for a profit. Now there are those who'd argue that this is just free enterprise, but other industries/products, like concert tickets or even auto manufacturers (with less success) have stepped in to try and help poor schnooks like me who wind up waiting months & months because we don't want to pay 1/3+ more than retail just to get it sooner. I was just wondering what y'all thought. 

[Snappy1 959]

The RC market has been out of control longer than just the last year.

Corporations have gotten incredibly greedy since the start of the pandemic, I feel that’s what is really out of control and I am not pointing the finger at Tamiya .

Most of the cars , even basket cases I have bought over the last 10 years have pretty much at least tripled in value.

I also have large vintage gaming and vinyl collections, and the current values are just craaaaaaaazy.I feel they have far surpassed my RC collection in percentage of value increases.

[Frankster 1892]

Factor in less people traveling or going out during the pandemic, leading to more disposable income and higher demand.  I think also a few of us rediscovered our childhood hobbies during this period as well (I am one of them 🙋‍♂️)

[Knighte 12]

Apart from people having more disposable income and rediscovering childhood nostalgia, there does seem to be an element of large corporations taking advantage by limiting supply… eg the re re Avante Black was really hard to source in Australia this year… with release delayed and when finally released, was sold out immediately to those that got in early with a pre-order.  I was on the pre-order list and missed out.

Spares is an even worse situation, with spares even for re re cars that just came out being hard to get, and certain chassis types that are still available at hobby stores being hard to find spares for.

Being in other hobbies as well such as action figures (GI Joe, Star Wars, MOTU), the situation is similar, with limited releases of nostalgia items… free enterprise then results in certain sellers snapping them up and posting them on eBay etc for crazy sums.

[Stewpac15 31]

Lol at the "pandemic".  Had anyone ever even heard the word "pandemic" before all this nonsense started?  It's time to start holding businesses accountable for bad behavior.  I also remember the "medical experts" screaming, "2 weeks to flatten the curve!"  Whats that all about then? that means.  The goal posts keep shifting and we are left scratching our heads...or our butts.  This hasn't been hard on everyone, however...the medical field is Killing it right now hahaha haha.  Unions here in the States have decided to use their leverage to go on strike for more monies.  It's an exciting time to be alive.

As far as price gouging, it's out of line.  I've been waiting for one of the larger gundam kits to drop to a decent price for over a year.  Bandai Finally re-releases it as a "premium" kit only for it to be bought up by fans and scalpers in minutes...sigh.  it is what it is...

[BuggyGuy 1090]

I think things have always been a bit crazy for out of production parts, but eBay and the like have increased the pace of it all. And increased popularity has led to price inflation.

I started racing in 1996, even back then parts for recently out of production cars were quite steep, initially when a new model came out the price of parts for the previous model would drop with shops trying to clear stock, but quickly prices would rise as parts became harder to find.

The RC10 parts and Yokomo YZ10 parts were super easy to get cheaply when I started racing, but within a year it made more sense to move to car a car with parts still in production as there's no point driving to an event a 100 miles front your house and not carrying spares for the weekend (and running an out of production kit means there's very few racers who can help you out in a pinch).

I still race a Tamiya buggy (201xm) but to do it I have to carry enough parts in stock to know I can complete a weekend of racing if I have a big smash. Once I run out of front arms for example I'll have to retire a perfectly good race car and get a newer TD2 which I know will not perform as well. The TD2/TD4 releases might have given the 201 a slight reprieve from retirement actually - though I've not tried it I think the ball diff, and maybe the suspension arms from the TD2 will fit a 201 (though it would shorten the damper stroke by 3-5mm up front).

 

[alvinlwh 5286]

I actually have a slightly perspective on this, Tamiya (and some other manufacturers, not just RC) are rereing old crap at today's price (or even more) to play on some people's nostalgia and reliving of old hobbies/dreams/collection. 

One example I bought recently, the Frog, which TBH, is pretty rubbish OOB and built according to instructions than a more modern DT-02/3, and those cost less. 

Or what is this rereing of that TT-01 Subaru? Which happens to be my first touring car (and I still have it), from 12 years ago. Just lazy turning on some old machine instead of releasing a brand new TT-03.

[kyoshofan223 11]

Yeah, I guess it really is just everywhere. I went to a Retro Gaming Expo last month and my jaw dropped at what they were charging for old Nintendo & Sega games... games that could be had at a local Gamestop for more than 10x the price. Sure, shows like that are always more, but it was completely bonkers. It's the sheer profiteering though that bothers me more... Like how gas is $4.00 one place, then up the block it's $4.50.. Hotels that don't offer housekeeping daily anymore because they don't want to bring their staff back (and make the COVID/environment excuse). That's got nothing to do with the price of oil or the pandemic, it's simply greed... Unfortunately consumers largely don't seem to impact that stuff with their choices & just seem to pay whatever the price... More disposable income, more people willing to spend it on convenience I suppose... We've all gotten a little spoiled with the Amazon & Instacard lifestyle, but I'm still annoyed I have to wait 6 months & pay 500% markup for a part for my Kyosho pancar. The problem with it all is that I don't think the cat is going back into the bag... For one brief moment you heard all about how wages had finally gone up, but anyone in the job market can tell you that salaries are nowhere near what most people need to live a comfortable lifestyle if you're a runofthemill worker-bee. 

[alvinlwh 5286]

I started hording about two months ago. Why? Because I predicted this will happen. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-16/pound-hits-lowest-since-1985-as-cost-of-living-crisis-bites

 

[Willy iine 17934]

I don’t like over paying, but as I noted on another thread, I look at eBay as a second chance opportunity to get something I couldn’t.  

Sure it could be that I was just too slow and too dumb not to act earlier, but if that’s the price I have to pay, then it’s really my decision whether that makes sense or not.  No one is forcing me to buy it.  

I was pretty close to ordering that 45th the other day, but decided not to pay near $600 for it.  No one was forcing me to buy it.   Instead I spent a bit more and ordered a 420X which made more sense to me.  (and only ordered one unit this time as I have no place to drive it.. usually I buy 2 units at a time, one for building/driving and one for backup or NIB collection , whatever.. so I did not hoard an extra unit for no reason).