When did the prices go crazy?

[Hammons]

I have not been in the hobby since 2014, though I have recently taken the time to look at various sutlers. I still see some of the high end companies have not changed much in price. But some of the "sutler row" companies have skyrocketed in what they are asking for basic items such as machine sewn shirts (made in the USA) etc..

I understand tariffs on imports but some things are going way outside what I would think common. I have also notice a lot of defunct businesses etc. I assume supply and demand issues? Hell even Jarnigan and Townsend even though higher end prices (before) have gone IMO off the rails.

Do not even get me started on Muskets

What am I missing with my naivety of 11 years?

 

[iron bender]

Always an excuse to raise prices...'due to covid and for your convenience'....'due to war in Ukraine'.....etc. Hobby stuff always gets screwed. My older brother does N gauge trains. Same thing. Dirt bike stuff still seems to be reasonable (though I haven't been to the Honda shop in a while)

 

[Hammons]

Yeah it just surprises me that the hand made bespoke stuff went up maybe $30-40 over 11 years and the typical stuff went up by 200%. $100 for a off the self machine sewn shirt with regular cotton fabric.. or the same but now some are using osnaburg which is $9 a yrd at the high end and way lower for vendor bulk pricing charging $130 for again a machine sewn not so great pattern shirt.

I am starting to think the infighting everyone said was going to kill the hobby 10-8 years ago was nothing compared to what it takes to get a new recruit into it now. I mean the 250th rev war is going on, low numbers are probably due to pricing (conjecture). What used to be $1,500-$2500 for a great impression including musket/rifle is now twice that.

 

[captaindrew]

Rifles/muskets doubled in price during Covid and were hard to get at that price. Supply has improved a little since but the price certainly hasn't

 

[Conquerordie]

Companies, any company, won't lower there prices as long as people pay it. Doesnt matter if it's medicine, cars, or reenacting gear. But when you see massed produced reproductions selling for the same or more than originals, then you know the world has gone crazy.....................and it has!

 

[JOHN42768]

Supply and demand but, wages go up and prices follow

 

[johan_steele]

Inflation kicked everything in the teeth. Reros as expensive or more than an original firearm... I'll stick with my originals; they're generally better quality IMHO anyway.

 

[archieclement]

Could the hobby declining from its heyday be contributing? A rather niche market becoming even more so.....less sales mean higher prices?

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

Could the hobby declining from its heyday be contributing? A rather niche market becoming even more so.....less sales mean higher prices?

Thats my thought on it. ACW reenacting overall has taken a huge hit since the 150th cycle. Events now bring out half of what they did in the 2010s, which was already half of what it was in the 90s.

The departure of some mainstream folks to the campaigner side of things has cushioned that side of the hobby from the mass exodus, and I think prices reflect that. There is also a realistic top end that you can expect someone to pay for any given item before you can't sell them at all. So I think all these factors including the economy are contributing to prices for mainstream gear skyrocketing, while campaigner stuff remains highly priced.

 

[Hammons]

Always an excuse to raise prices...'due to covid and for your convenience'....'due to war in Ukraine'.....etc. Hobby stuff always gets screwed. My older brother does N gauge trains. Same thing. Dirt bike stuff still seems to be reasonable (though I haven't been to the Honda shop in a while)

Yeah I just started getting back into historical research last year and was looking at table top historical gaming to maybe scratch the itch of reenacting. Was looking at the epic scale stuff which I thought was pretty cool but once the terrifs hit that doubled as well. Looks like most are going the home grown 3d print route.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

Yeah I just started getting back into historical research last year and was looking at table top historical gaming to maybe scratch the itch of reenacting. Was looking at the epic scale stuff which I thought was pretty cool but once the terrifs hit that doubled as well. Looks like most are going the home grown 3d print route.

Have you considered computer games? Wargame Design Studio (formerly John Tiller) makes some really nice regimental level ACW campaign and battle games. They also do other eras from musket & pike all the way up through modern times.

 

[Hammons]

Have you considered computer games? Wargame Design Studio (formerly John Tiller) makes some really nice regimental level ACW campaign and battle games. They also do other eras from musket & pike all the way up through modern times.

No I had not will look into it thanks!

The human interaction and the selfish use of others that think about the same things you do. Being able to bounce different ideas or research off each other. Kinda like a grown man play date.. hahaha..

No there is nothing that can replace the smell of a camp fire or attempting to understand something by physically recreating it.

I hope for the best and I pray others are planning to keep it going.

 

[Mississippian1861]

A well known vendor told me about a decade ago that part of the reason prices were rising is that the Chinese pay over market prices to buy up the best quality raw materials in wool, leather, etc. in order to box out their competition.

As for muskets, part of the reason seems to be is that a lot of retiring reenactors just don't sell that part of their kit. So in 10-15 years we may see a glut of old repro muskets as boomers die off and their kids sell off stuff.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

A well known vendor told me about a decade ago that part of the reason prices were rising is that the Chinese pay over market prices to buy up the best quality raw materials in wool, leather, etc. in order to box out their competition.

As for muskets, part of the reason seems to be is that a lot of retiring reenactors just don't sell that part of their kit. So in 10-15 years we may see a glut of old repro muskets as boomers die off and their kids sell off stuff.

I'd be wary of that story from a vendor…it doesn't really address why the higher end, more authentic stuff hasn't skyrocketed in price like the mainstream stuff.

But yeah, I agree with you, there will be a huge tidal wave of old kits coming. Boomers grew up in a time when saving everything so that you could hand it down to your kids was the norm, and kids now just don't have that connection to "stuff," family heirloom or whatever.

 

[Mississippian1861]

I'd be wary of that story from a vendor…it doesn't really address why the higher end, more authentic stuff hasn't skyrocketed in price like the mainstream stuff.

But yeah, I agree with you, there will be a huge tidal wave of old kits coming. Boomers grew up in a time when saving everything so that you could hand it down to your kids was the norm, and kids now just don't have that connection to "stuff," family heirloom or whatever.

It's true that the high end clothing hasn't gone up much, but leather gear has gone up quite a bit. Twenty years ago a quality cartridge box was about $100, now it's pushing $200 it seems.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

It's true that the high end clothing hasn't gone up much, but leather gear has gone up quite a bit. Twenty years ago a quality cartridge box was about $100, now it's pushing $200 it seems.

Got it, I only know what I've purchased, I haven't priced a box in years. But the same model boots and brogans I bought in 2006 and again in 2022 from Missouri Boot & Shoe were basically in line with inflation, and a superior quality fatigue blouse has been in the $200 range for quite some time.

 

[3rd North Carolina]

why some of the prices has gone up is cause the labor rates to which these sulters have to pay themselves or the employees.

 

[7thWisconsin]

Yeah I just started getting back into historical research last year and was looking at table top historical gaming to maybe scratch the itch of reenacting. Was looking at the epic scale stuff which I thought was pretty cool but once the terrifs hit that doubled as well. Looks like most are going the home grown 3d print route.

Have you thought of gaming in 20mm (1/72) scale? A few boxes of minis and you're set for years. You should be able to field both Federal and Confederate armies for under $100.

 

[Sbc]

I have not been in the hobby since 2014, though I have recently taken the time to look at various sutlers. I still see some of the high end companies have not changed much in price. But some of the "sutler row" companies have skyrocketed in what they are asking for basic items such as machine sewn shirts (made in the USA) etc..

I understand tariffs on imports but some things are going way outside what I would think common. I have also notice a lot of defunct businesses etc. I assume supply and demand issues? Hell even Jarnigan and Townsend even though higher end prices (before) have gone IMO off the rails.

Do not even get me started on Muskets

What am I missing with my naivety of 11 years?

Over printing of fiat currency

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

There's one reason, and it's the same for why literally everything is more expensive:

Our money ain't worth the paper it's printed on.

And I see no end in sight for it. But hey, it was around 2016 due to rising prices I took up making my own uniforms, and now beginning to do my own leather. Necessity is the mother of invention in a way!

Besides, at least uniform wise I tend to be happier with the end product. And being blessed enough to study some originals and take notes, for me, the price issue has been rewarding.