Is Autoart Quickly Killing the Whole Diecast Hobby?
I saw this today in a Facebook diecast group, I think AA needs to really think about their selling strategy as Chinese has an old saying “殺雞取卵”，眼光短視只會更快地自斷財路。
I noticed that many supposedly desireable AUTOart models for sale here in the US should already be HTF (Hard To Find) now. Instead, they are still stuck on the listings of most sellers. The price of 180 USD and up drove many collectors AWAY from the hobby. The current economic state is not too friendly in the pocket as well, even oldie’ collectors fell victim. I suppose they’ve grown tired seeing these price increases occur rapidly in a span of just two to three years. Even for a luxury, a 180 USD display model car sitting on a desk with no other function than be a piece of static miniature art seem unreasonable. It has just become “too much” for a hobby, imo. Other hobbies that can cost you as much exists and should gather you as much friends as you did in the collecting community and be twice more fulfilling. I for one, fell for it. For $180 — I can tell, I have this new hobby that have allowed me to enjoy more than putting a model car inside a cabinet, keep it there… and then done. It has become one expensive dust magnet.
For me, model cars should remain at $130. The last price point increase of AUTOart’s Performance line of $135 should be FINAL. This also means the current Signature and Millenium Lines must stop increasing MSRP as well. They should find other means or add satellite businesses to keep it that way. Ever wonder how Mattel Hotwheels managed to keep their models below the 120 or so USD price mark? I think they can learn a lesson from them. Unless the model is already out-of-production, highly desireable, HTFs, there’s an excuse for an increase — but that is something the current model car owner dictates. NOT the manufacturer. Anything new out of the factory must be at the price point mentioned. This I highly suggest.
As for the hobby, I also noticed that a few prominent (or senior) members from long time diecast collecting hobby forums sites have retired as well. Well, I cannot speak of their other undertakings not seen in the forum pages, but who knows, they may still be collecting diecast cars but are no longer interested in posting… I could be wrong with that though… They “were” the guys so passionate about the hobby back then. So I would think their retiring from the forum can mean far more than it suggests.
Well, there will always be people who support AUTOart, and I am one of them… BUT ONLY if I find the model car I truly desire happens to come from them. Otherwise, I can leave it or wait. I sure AUTOart will be more considerate of the people who took them to great heights. Fortunately, people have their own financial capabilities and strong desires that none of these words even matter. And for that AUTOart continues to flourish.
中國工廠面對既問題，AA我相信亦一樣面對緊，我自己都做工廠，人工由我入行時RMB700包食住，到今日3500不包食住只不過係8-9年間既事，其它水電煤成半呢？人仔匯律由120到宜家80都無。 佢地既產品好labor intensive, 大部份都要人手去做，少對手都死。 人手流失又嚴重。呢頭train到你有6-7成工夫你個頭又話走。 佢D車又唔係架架賣得晒，受歡迎個D就話搶住有人要姐，無人買個D我諗佢都責幾多死貨係到。佢唔係平，但手工真係唔算差，加價我相信都係離補下成半上升，我個人覺得都可以接受，模形車呢家野，有手鬆咪買多兩架囉，手緊既咪行過望下止渴算啦。
其實這是一個惡性循環的問題，當成本逐漸轉移至消費者而到達一個警戒線的時候，市場自然會作出應有的反應 (就是市場效應)，這使得很多資深的收藏家開始心灰意冷，減少了這方面的固定開支，有些更是不再購買新的產品。
而這種持續性的購買力對車模零售商/上游批發商是最重要的收入來源之一，沒了這股熱情，導致銷售量一年比一年暴跌，所以我們看到了不止是個人收藏家的退出，而是根本的裙帶關係就連很多經營了十幾二十年的車模店也已經出現了倒閉潮，從而令最上游的車模開發商不得不再次狠狠地加價，然後這個現象不停地惡性循環，最後在自己都倒閉前大家能賺多少就多少。
這並非個別的案例，而是一個全球性的現象，君不見車模店關門潮由香港、去到澳洲，再看歐洲，最慘的是北美，幾乎無一幸免。剩下的無不都是在苟延殘喘，短短的幾年，轉眼之間，車模銷售已經成了夕陽工業。
AA只是最突出的一個，其它的車模廠均有受到很大程度的影響，有些加得不多但質量就強人差異﹔有些則採取加倍，但質量比以前更加差的也大有人在。
我在這股車模工業改變潮裡看到了一個聰明的領先者，它就是Exoto，從2年前起，它就從中國撤退了(應該是第一個)，把工廠搬回中東老家，再而大幅度地提高製作精密度，把對手(指的是CMC，AA根本不入流)遠遠拋離了好幾條街，再而大幅度地加價，完全集中消費者金字塔頂端的那群。因為佔盡先機，所以竟然給Exoto殺出條血路，找到了自己獨特的生存方式和跟別人截然不同的市場策略。
最近我的看法也開始有些轉變，與其付2千港幣大洋給AA這樣的中低端產品，我不如省下3部的錢去買一台質量上物有所值的Exoto，當然這個完全是我個人的看法，不代表大眾。