Why is stuff more expensive now?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Biggles
  • 27 comments
  • 1,908 views
Biggles

Biggles

Messages
6,139
Messages
Simcoeace
I've been thinking about getting a Playseat Evo seat, but I'm noticing that it seems to be more expensive than it was about a year ago, where I would see it advertised around $250 regularly. Similarly, when I bought my G25 just under two years ago, I paid $225 CDN, but typically it is selling for $250 - $300 US at the minute.

Why, in the middle of a recession, have prices actually gone up?!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not the place for this. The subject really isn't about "Steering Wheels and Racing Cockpits".

MOVED
 
There is no inflation - we're in a period of deflation, especially for electronics. TVs, for instance, are going down by around 50% a year...
 
That’s not deflation. That’s improved manufacturing efficiency and market driving forces. The markets for TVs and Gran Turismo accessories are very different.
 
If fewer people buy your crap because fewer people can afford to spend their money on your crap, you have to charge higher prices for your crap in order to keep the same turnover.

Or "inflation", as Danoff says.
 
That’s not deflation. That’s improved manufacturing efficiency and market driving forces. The markets for TVs and Gran Turismo accessories are very different.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's partly true, but in fact I would say there IS also deflationary pressure right now.

Typically, in any case, gaming products are higher priced at release & then gradually go down in price with time. I would say that's what happened with the G25, but oddly, it seems to have gone back up again & is selling for more now than it was a year or so ago.

If fewer people buy your crap because fewer people can afford to spend their money on your crap, you have to charge higher prices for your crap in order to keep the same turnover.
Click to expand...

Or you lower prices in order to keep sales & revenue up & maintain market share. I imagine it would also depend a lot on how much inventory you have sitting around - if you have a lot of unsold inventory you are more likely to lower prices to move the inventory you have on hand (see GM for example!).
 
Have you seen what shippers pay for fuel these days? The last couple of years' surge in fuel prices is catching up to the shippers. That affects everything. Raw material has to be shipped to the people that make parts, the parts have to be shipped to the people that make assemblies, the assemblies have to be shipped to the people that make goods, the goods have to be shipped to the people that distribute them, the distributers have to ship goods to the stores. The stuff that doesn't sell has to be shipped back, too.

And comparing last year's Canadian dollar to this year's US dollar is a bit like saying "kites flake are blue kitty." Not much useful information there.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to Delphic Reason moving my thread, I seemed to have been dumped into pointless argumentative hell.

Yes, as I operate a business that has been importing & exporting to & from Canada & the U.S. for the last 20 years, I am intimately acquainted with shipping cost & currency fluctuations, & I'm aware on a day-to-day basis of where they are.

I did not want to make a point about the costs of goods in general, but specifically why the Evo Playseat & the G25 are selling for significantly more than they were a year or so ago. It's possible that shipping costs have increased the price (particularly of a bulky product like the Playseat), but I suspect that it is not the reason, as I notice other products (I just bought a new trampoline from Walmart for my kids - same price as it has been for the last two or three years) have not increased in price. More typically, manufacturers & retailers are dropping their prices to attract scarce buyers.
 
Like anything, I'm sure the playseat and G25 are more expensive because more people want one and are willing to pay a higer price for it. When people stop paying high prices for something, the price will go down.
 
Biggles
Thanks to Delphic Reason moving my thread, I seemed to have been dumped into pointless argumentative hell.
Click to expand...
No, that would be the Opinions forum :p

I think your thread is better off in here, not least because it is more of a general question about economics than it is about playseats... that said, I too am interested as to how companies can be putting prices up in these economic conditions. I'm not sure I agree with the simple "inflation" idea, but it stands to reason that prices would have to go up if the companies are less able to cover their costs... but that seems like a hiding to nothing if you ask me. If they are unable to sell their stuff, what good does asking people to pay more for them achieve? If, on the other hand, lots of people are buying them, then you could argue that the company might seek to maximise their profits by raising the price, but this would be the first time I'd ever seen that happen...
 
No, that would be the Opinions forum
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why I avoid the Opinions forum like the plague! :scared:

Actually, all I really wanted to do was speculate on why the Playseat (which I am interested in buying) is more expensive now than it was a while ago. :indiff:

I would certainly buy a Playseat if it was $250 or less, not sure I will buy one for $300. I'm sure a product like that IS very sensitive to pricing & the manufacturers/retailers are aware of that...
 
Biggles
I did not want to make a point about the costs of goods in general, but specifically why the Evo Playseat & the G25 are selling for significantly more than they were a year or so ago.
Click to expand...

Ah. See, I was thrown by the word stuff in the thread title and thought the seat was just an example. :)
 
The materials they use to make them probably went up, and like every company. They pass the cost on too the consumer.
 
Yes I have noticed the price of the G25 has increased quite drastically in the UK but only on the Logitech and Dell Website. All other sites like Amazon, Dabs etc are selling for around the same price they were doing last year.

Taking a guess these wheels are actually made in Japan, the production costs of Electronics in Japan have increased significantly since the turn of 2009 and hence this cost has been passed over to Logitech who then pass over to the consumer.

This doesn't explain why other vendors are able to sell the G25 for a lower cost though :nervous:
 
Inflation can be caused by a number of things and experienced in a number of ways. One cause of inflation is when governments spend huge amounts of money that they don't have - thereby devaluing their currency.

That, in particular, has been going on quite a bit recently.
 
fishfash
Yes I have noticed the price of the G25 has increased quite drastically in the UK but only on the Logitech and Dell Website. All other sites like Amazon, Dabs etc are selling for around the same price they were doing last year.

Taking a guess these wheels are actually made in Japan, the production costs of Electronics in Japan have increased significantly since the turn of 2009 and hence this cost has been passed over to Logitech who then pass over to the consumer.

This doesn't explain why other vendors are able to sell the G25 for a lower cost though :nervous:
Click to expand...

Different stocks. Dabs, Amazon, etc, have huge warehouses and keep massive stocks. Even with Logitech I doubt their on-line store keeps a big stock, no point as they can just buy it so easily from the manufacturers.
 
OK this thread has taken on a life of its own, entirely in a different direction from what was originally intended!

Actually, I've noticed that it is possible to buy a G25 for closer to $225 online. However, the Playseat seems to be stuck at the $300 mark. Of course, in the UK & Europe you are typically stuck paying far more for most things.

Not a chance that the G25 is manufactured in Japan - I just checked my box:

Made in China.
 
Sureboss
Different stocks. Dabs, Amazon, etc, have huge warehouses and keep massive stocks. Even with Logitech I doubt their on-line store keeps a big stock, no point as they can just buy it so easily from the manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Amazon uses just-in-time inventory, so their stock isn't that big.
 
Famine
If fewer people buy your crap because fewer people can afford to spend their money on your crap, you have to charge higher prices for your crap in order to keep the same turnover.

Or "inflation", as Danoff says.
Click to expand...
Wal-Mart makes more money than more expensive stores, because the lower prices bring in more buyers, and video games are no exception to this economic rule.
Less people with money = lower demand
lower demand = lower prices
supply and demand.

Notice the cheaper Nintendo Wii has sold more consoles than the 360 & PS3 combined?
 
TrievelA7X
Wal-Mart makes more money than more expensive stores, because the lower prices bring in more buyers, and video games are no exception to this economic rule.
Less people with money = lower demand
lower demand = lower prices
supply and demand.
Click to expand...
Ever consider the times that's its open till and location? Though what usually beats supply and demand is costumer service. ( from what I have experienced)
 

Latest Posts

Back