[tjwgrr]

From a number of larger retailers I'm seeing B-17's for $175.00, DC-3's / C-47's for $150.00, B-25's / He-111's / A-10's for $105.00, WWII fighters for $60.00 - $70.00 etc. etc.

Looks like upwards of a 40% increase from retail prices not too long ago.

Anyone know what's up?


....... guess I better grab some of those eBay deals before they're gone too.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by tjwgrr

Anyone know what's up?

Yeah,.....FM is (severely) suffering from delusions of grandeur.

[Ara1]

Here's my idea: they should develop a new line, their "deluxe edition." This new line should include better historical accuracy (paint colors, markings, correct tooling), better fit and finish, and a minimum of 2 fresh liveries per plane per year.

THEN the price would be worth it.

They've lost a lot of goodwill in the last four years. Simply improving the current brand isn't good enough; the public perceives Franklin Mint's quality as hit or miss, which, in fact, is not fitting of the Armour legacy of the 1990's. They need to re-brand asap (the aforementioned deluxe edition is my suggestion) and bring bring back consumer confidence.

We want to buy. But not junk. And I don't want to roll the dice with my hundred+ bucks, esp. via mail order where I cannot inspect the item before buying.

[tjwgrr]

$70.00 for an Armour / FM, or $70.00 for a Carousel 1, or $80.00 for an Eagles Intl. with a stand? Not a hard decision, but first we need a few more to choose from.

Perhaps a retailer here can tell us if their costs from FM have gone up, or has FM just told their dealers to raise their "suggested retail" without an increase in cost?

[david cotton]

Originally Posted by tjwgrr

$70.00 for an Armour / FM, or $70.00 for a Carousel 1, or $80.00 for an Eagles Intl. with a stand? Not a hard decision, but first we need a few more to choose from.

Perhaps a retailer here can tell us if their costs from FM have gone up, or has FM just told their dealers to raise their "suggested retail" without an increase in cost?

I could not work this thread out, until I realised FM = Franklin Mint, and not Flying Mule

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Yeah,.....FM is (severely) suffering from delusions of grandeur.

Yeah, and for that they shall suffer the consequences.....bwahahhahahahaha!!!

[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by david cotton

I could not work this thread out, until I realised FM = Franklin Mint, and not Flying Mule

David,
It happeneds all the time i think... That's way i will use "TFM" for Flying Mule.
Anyway.It's really too bad they did raise the prices up like that because i think it's going to hurt them
in the long run..So far i have been getting them at least 30% to 50% off on many online sites.
JP

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

David,
It's really too bad they did raise the prices up like that because i think it's going to hurt them
in the long run..So far i have been getting them at least 30% to 50% off on many online sites.
JP

One reason we saw many retailers "dumping" their FM stuff not too long ago.. They saw the price increase and were afraid to be stuck with a bunch of stuff they couldn't sell..

[FormerViperDriver]

Joe Pilot still has FM/Armour models at reasonable (or downright bargain) prices. For example the new F-22 for $65 (versus $105 most other places), and I got Showtime 100 there for $56. I don't know how he does it, but it is so, at least for the time being...

FVD

[Armour Addict]

Well, after the recent FM takeover the prices were adapted in order to relaunch FM as the premier diecast manufacturer.

I took this from an online store:

Items That Previously sold for $49.99 will now retail between $60.00 - $70.00
Items That Previously sold for $59.99 will now retail between $60.00 - $90.00
Items That Previously sold for $69.99 will now retail for $105.00
Items That Previously sold for $119.99 will now retail between $150.00 - $175.00

Going forward, all dealers are now being asked to price the line at the MSRP, whether it be at a store, online or through an auction site....[posted 1/19/2007]

AA