[CMOTD]

I love seafood, particularly shellfish and crustaceans, I can eat mussels till they come out of my ears. Crab and lobster come very high on the list as well but I am puzzled by the huge price difference between these two. They are both abundant in my home county of Norfolk, the inshore fishermen catch roughly equal amounts of each and a Cromer crab is one of the best you will find anywhere in the world. However, a dressed crab costs under £5 while a decent sized lobster is in the region of £20. Granted a lobster is heavier but most of it is shell and the amount of meat is not much more than a reasonable sized crab. They are a nice occasional treat but do not taste £15 better so I stick to crab most of the time. For some reason lobsters have acquired a 'luxury' tag that implies their taste is so superior it justifies a massive price hike out of all proportion to their true worth.

What on earth has this got to do with slot cars you ask? Well, I have been musing about the different makes and have come to the conclusion that there is a crab/lobster syndrome at work here with some makes, particularly NSR and Thunderslot, carrying an unnecessarily high price tag due to their perceived superiority.

Let's take a look at three of the different categories of manufacturer and their average price points:
1) Mainstream manufacturers such as Scalextric, Carrera and SCX. These are essentially toys, built to a price and designed for a mass market. Performance is just about acceptable for that market but components are generally of a fairly low grade - cheap motors, plastic gears etc and fairly rubbish tyres. They mostly rely on strong magnets to hide any design and production deficiencies.
Price range £36 - £41 for standard issues.

2) Enthusiast orientated manufacturers such as Slot.It. They produce significantly superior products, designed and built to be raced properly with or without magnets. Quality metal components instead of plastic, better motors and a wide range of tune up spares. Generally good performance straight out of the box without sacrificing too much scale accuracy.
Price range £50/£55 for standard issues.

3) Pure racing manufacturers such as NSR and Thunderslot. Cars built for speed alone, mainly achieved by taking some liberties with scale accuracy, producing cars that are lower and with a wider track than they should be. Very lightweight and somewhat delicate bodies also help their performance.
Price Range £65/£75 for standard issues.

Now I own examples of all three types and it is obvious why Slot.It cars are dearer than Scalextric. Their build quality and components are much superior and it shows on the track with better handling and significantly faster lap times. I am not so sure about NSR and Thunderslot though. Yes, they are generally faster than Slot.It but not by a huge amount and their component parts are certainly not of any higher quality so why are they so much more expensive?

Personally I don't consider a mere tenth or two off my lap times are worth a price premium of £10/£20 but what do the rest of you think? Are NSR and Thunderslot overpriced lobsters or genuine luxury items worth every penny?

[Anthony B]

Simpuls Brian  

Look  where they are manufactured to see their base costs.

We must not underestimate the impact of th virus either. Some of the directions I have been hearing about as corpoate businesses reevaluate 'how and where to do business'.
I see a lot of changes coming in the next few years.

Here is my prediction numbers 1: Far far more will be done at home. (read locally as well) Look at printing for eg. Those that adapt will prosper.

[Gordon Steadman]

I do not consider the money I laid out on the Thunderslot McLaren money well spent!

On my track, a SlotiT Ferrari with an NSR motor is quicker - and not just down the straight. The handling is more predictable and it's easier to push.

The chassis of the McLaren is incredibly soft and pliable so perhaps it needs a harder chassis for the wooden track. I'm still not convinced the premium is worth it though, especially as I don't really race modern RTR cars often.

I only bought it for one race at Bordo last December. It was OK but I chose the wrong car to race. I'm sure the Ferrari was quicker on the plastic too but I listened to advice!! Most unlike me.

PS. I prefer crab!

[woodcote]

Growing up on the Thames estuary, I also have a love of seafood - although nothing caught further upstream than the North Sea.

My tastes are certainly on the cheaper end of the market - whelks, cockles, mussels... and especially eels. A nicely-dressed crab is a treat. During lockdown, I've developed a bit of an addiction to crab sticks - although the Trades Description Act means no-one can use that name anymore, as the crab content rarely rises above 0%. What are euphemistically called 'Ocean Sticks' are plentiful, safe and - if prepared with a half-decent mayo & ketchup sauce - do the job until I can access my regular supply.

Preparation is key. On the lower end of the market it's the freshness and respect for the product that counts, plus the understanding of simple dressings, very basic cooking techniques etc. It's also what you know. As I go up the food chain, I get a bit out of my depth. I can eat a crab, but I wouldn't be entirely comfortable cooking or dressing one. I've only ever eaten lobster twice - each time was a disappointment. I thought it was going to be a life-changing experience and it wasn't. The first time was getting one of those small frozen lobsters from a supermarket. It wasn't nice. The other was paying an arm and a leg in a moderately posh restaurant for a tiny bit of tasteless lobster sitting on top of a bowl of pasta. I'd have enjoyed a good plate of dogfish & chips more. I probably ought to try top-notch lobster somewhere like Maine, cooked by someone who really knows what they are doing - but I might still have too high expectations to fully appreciate it.

I guess I am more comfortable - and ultimately happier - sticking with what I know I enjoy. But am I missing out? Are people looking down their noses at my simple tastes? Do I care?

[Scuderia_Turini]

Context is important.  

As a home racer <Tick>, speed is not important, overall I would admit that looks are more important than performance. Out and out racers will have the opposite preference and so happily purchase cars like the generic F1 from Policar or NSR (and then upgrade them). 

Expensive AutoArt versus expensive Racer - I'll take the AutoArt version.  (R.I.P. AutoArt )

Overpriced Lobsters - <Tick>

Leo

[autoavia]

Tony has hit the nail on the head. It is all down to costs per item produced.

 Scalextric and Carrera are both produced in China where manufacturing costs are significantly lower than most other countries that could produce a reasonable quality product. "Ah" - you may say "but SCX are made in Spain". This is true but the other benefit that all 3 brands have is a larger market share than the more specialist slot car manufacturers so they sell more of each product which reduces the manufacturing cost per unit which then means they can retail at a lower price.

 Slotit are a kinda middle road. Some parts are made in Italy which gives them more quality control but increases the cost. The parts requiring less stringent quality control are made in China to keep costs down and they get the benefit of reduced labour costs by assembling the cars in China. They also have lower sales per product than Scalex and Carrera but possibly higher unit sales than NSR and Thunderslot so they are middle of the road on price.


 NSR and Thunderslot are both made entirely in Italy so their labour costs are higher which ups the unit cost for the product. The product is aimed solely at the enthusiast so sales per product are significantly lower meaning they need to retail at a higher price to recover costs and make a profit. 
 I am not a fan of the spurious liveries made by NSR and some of the other smaller manufacturers (eg the NSR Ford MkIV Rothmans) but there is obviously a market for them and they are a way of selling more product to help recoup the cost of the moulding tools which keeps down the price of the authentic liveries.

 I think it is likely that the pandemic will see a move towards more manufacturing closer to home. In some ways that will be a good thing because it will mean less problems with language barriers that can arise when dealing with another country halfway across the world and probably better and easier quality control.
The downside is that the increased labour costs of manufacturing outside China are likely to lead to higher retail prices to cover the additional costs.  


 To put things into perspective - If anyone here believes that there is a huge market for slotcars in the UK please consider that one recent kit release from a manufacturer operating at a similar level to Slotit had preorders of just 12 kits for the whole of the UK and I understand that no UK retailer bought kits to carry as stock!