Why are some goods so expensive?

ste_bla

ste_bla

ste_bla

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Just had a thought while out looking around toysrus and have a question..

How can anyone justify how a scaletrix costs £100? I mean the design doesnt really change does it? From what I can see The track is all the same (between sets), the cars are the same with extra stickers depending which one you go for, all the R+D must be done? so how come so much??

The same with train sets.. all it is is 2 rails with a bit of plastic.. the trains are simular motors with a bit of plastic on top and £100+!!

And then you can get a 20" tv for less than £100 and theres a fair amount of electronics in them so :rolleyes:

Why? :confused:
 
I guess both make sense :(

I can now understand why i never got one way to much dosh, just a shame i didnt realise when i was younger
 
The same with train sets.. all it is is 2 rails with a bit of plastic.. the trains are simular motors with a bit of plastic on top and £100+!!
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Might be still to do with the supply side of things i.e. if there arent many producers of such stuff, the ones on the market can get to charge higher prices. For the TV sets, for instance, we all know what sort of competition we got there. Also the product is different in a sense that it individually loses its value over time.

On top of all that, it may sometimes happen that government taxation stays behind some unlogical pricing policy by firms.
 
Don't forget "perceived value". A company will charge what it thinks a customer will be prepared to pay. Pefrume is a good example of this, the cost of the actual prodect is pence.Even when you factor in development and advertising, the markup is huge. But artifically created exclusivity can also add value! CDs and DVDs are also victims of this.
 
Is that higher than they used to cost?

I can't imagine Scaletrix is really that popular a toy these days.
 
Nexus said:
Is that higher than they used to cost?

I can't imagine Scaletrix is really that popular a toy these days.
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I'd probably put it in the same sort of category as Lego tbh. You can get some lego sets close to £100 and they're just bits of plastic....

Never was really into Scaletrix, but I know the 'high end' Lego sets were always about that price.
 
Have you seen the cost of extra Scaletrix track ?!?!?. To replicate a GP circuit (2 lane) you're looking at £400+
 
its also about branding. I guess they have to pay to use certain logos and car names/designs...
 
Things cost as much as people are willing to pay for them. If a price rises too high, demand falls (since fewer people think it's "worth" that much) and then prices fall as a reaction. If a price has settled at a certain level, that's what it's worth (according to the market).

The cost of production has virtually nothing to do with the eventual price of the good.
 
Scaletrix is cool :D :cool: . I have an older set here, got it out a few weeks back for fun. Annoying thing I remembered which is when you haven't used it for a while, the tracks go all oxidised and don't make good enough contact. You have to scrape it all with a penny before it'll work :( . I connected it to a higher voltage supply and my PWM controller; the cars flew a long way :p . Needed more space though.

Remember the top gear test, where people had a competition for the fastest car. They set up a massive track in an airhanger, some cars were amazingly fast (if scaled up to real car size it was the equivalent of 400mph or something).
 
I think software is a real culprit for overpricing. When you think about it, the actual value of the commodities involved in your retail copy of XP is under a quid (box, CD, shiny booklet), yet it'll sell for £50 up. XP Pro has more features than home I agree, but it's still the same box.

Given the volume already sold by MS, and given that XP is already a couple of years past its anticipated lifespan, current prices do not represent the costs involved in the production of XP. All development costs will have been paid for years ago, so all we're left with is a profit-making vehicle.
 
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