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Post by cwrr on Jun 28, 2021 19:22:34 GMT -5
Why are they twice the price of the AZL GP38's?! I was cruizing some of the AZL retailers and they are averaging $210.00 a piece, versus the standard ones for $105.00. Why is that?  |
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Post by fulingyu on Jun 28, 2021 19:40:42 GMT -5
Those fish hook couplers are huge and expensive. 😉
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Post by cwrr on Jun 28, 2021 20:29:06 GMT -5
I guess, lol!!  |
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rick
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by rick on Jun 28, 2021 23:04:03 GMT -5
Why is a Mercedes twice the price of a Ford?
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Post by zscalehobo on Jun 29, 2021 8:35:59 GMT -5
Someone complained about a lack of paperwork and a nifty box. Marklin heard these complaints. 😂
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Post by scanrail on Jun 29, 2021 9:33:00 GMT -5
Why is a Mercedes twice the price of a Ford? Quite an incorrect comparison, as both versions are indeed "Fords" - 100% identical locomotives produced by AZL. Following Mercedes' "superiority" over Ford, Märklin used optimized motors with golden winding that is quite expensive - that is the reason. Well, that was a joke  The "recipe" of doubled price is quite obvious: importing locos from USA to Germany, paying shipping and import taxes, fitting with ugly hooks, printing packaging and brochure about cooking oil and paying employees for their efforts, results in 210 Euro against 105 USD. Somewhat reasonable for European US rolling stock fans, but makes totally no sense for US buyers. Greetings, Alex |
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Post by sjl on Jun 29, 2021 9:59:16 GMT -5
Why is a Mercedes twice the price of a Ford? Quite an incorrect comparison, as both versions are indeed "Fords" - 100% identical locomotives produced by AZL. Following Mercedes' "superiority" over Ford, Märklin used optimized motors with golden winding that is quite expensive - that is the reason. Well, that was a joke The "recipe" of doubled price is quite obvious: importing locos from USA to Germany, paying shipping and import taxes, fitting with ugly hooks, printing packaging and brochure about cooking oil and paying employees for their efforts, results in 210 Euro against 105 USD. Somewhat reasonable for European US rolling stock fans, but makes totally no sense for US buyers. Greetings, Alex The Marklin E8s – I bought one before I learned that I could get a PRR E7 – do have a different board than the AZLs, with a separate lighting mechanism up front. The light is a real improvement; but I find the Marklin E8 runs much slower than my AZL E8s/E9s – perhaps to run better with other Marklin locos? In any event, I suspect the board, hooks, and import duties (as you note) explain much of the story. |
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The "recipe" of doubled price is quite obvious: importing locos from USA to Germany, paying shipping and import taxes, fitting with ugly hooks, printing packaging and brochure about cooking oil and paying employees for their efforts, results in 210 Euro against 105 USD. Somewhat reasonable for European US rolling stock fans, but makes totally no sense for US buyers.
