Once Chinas starts building a middle class, all goods prices will go up; as now they are growing to fill our demands, but when they start their own demands for goods, we will have to compete head to head for that. Kits might come back just to get a plane flying.

I did some calculations based on the street prices and dates given by TFF and RICKSTUBZ above and the results weren't quite what I expected. Let me say that I only compared products that I knew were a direct match with a currently produced airplane kit. First I adjusted the old price to 2008 dollars and then calculated the difference between that number and the actual street price listed on the companies website. No discounts, promotions or shipping stuff was considered.

The EAA Bipe offered by BUSA has gone UP +45% in real terms since 1990 but only UP +5% since 2000!
The Citabria Pro offered by BUSA has also gone UP +10% in real terms since 2000!
The Super Sportster .40 offered through TOWER has gone UP +25% in real terms since 1987!
The Sig 1/4 Cub was the only decliner at TOWER I analyzed. It went DOWN in real terms -23% since 1982!

SO...Buy a Sig 1/4 Cub. Its a steal!

i wonder if that trend follows most of the sig planes. it seems to me that the older kits have gone down a wee bit according to the prices from my hobby shop of choice. ex: spacewalker 1/4 scale was 249.99 now 189.99

BUSA has always had big jumps in prices. When they first came out people could not believe how cheap they were. $20-$25 for a 60 size plane; people wondered if it came with wood! 82 was about when the narrow radio specs came out and everyone was wondering what they were to do. It seems the current planes are ones of the early 90s with only a fiew leftovers form the 80s, but most of the 90s ones seem to be improved versions of the 80s.

by the way. I talked to several Chinese people and was told that average to high qualified worker or engineer at good factory earns $7-13 per hour. Why you are talking about peasant girls and $1/day ???
What they are really doing bad is marketing. I guess everybody see that looking at chineese online shops. They even have not enough English speaking personnel for support departments. But those Chinese girls who can speak English well easily find great job there.
Kostya

Maybe for degreed engineers working in Shanghai, but not peasants building ARFs in a remote city.

remote peasants... Why you think they exist? As far as I know, major model factories situated in big cities. You could use google earth to see it knowing factory address (I did).
what I really wonder (and failed to receive understandable answer) is why they omit plain wood kit production. We know that in past Japan was known to have alot of cottage factories produced alot of nice kits which are still popular. Why chinese don't try it?? Chineese guys I talked to simply do not understand what is unassembled kit.. I'm pretty sure that they could make good money from it even selling directly from China because shipping size/weight is much less than for ARF.
about RTF and kits competiton. I think that things are easily understandable if you imagine how much interesting things young guys have nowdays comparing to say 20 or even 40 years ago. Computers and video games attract them, while kits are 1)have poor selection 2)inadequately expensive. Am I right that in 1950 young person was able to save 15 cents from school breakfast and take a Comet kit? (Of course not Cleveland. Is it possible today to find comarable wood kit + tools and accesorries needed to build for same "one school breakfast" money?

Thank you,
Kostya
P.S. How you'd comment this http://www.philipnoel.co.uk/product%20list.htm

If you're trying to argue that peasant workers aren't hired to work in all the new factories I'm really not sure what to say other than you should look into it a bit. I've been to China on several occasions and the vast majority of products made for export are made in factories in towns outside big cities like Shanghai. The main difference between China and other countries that have gone through industrialization is the near bottomless well of peasant workers to hire in the factories. Is every worker a former peasant? No, but labor rates are held rock bottom by the fact that there are a hundred in line for every job.

Somethin' Extra kit at Tower now $109.99! I remember when it was $72.99.

That's the best post i've read so far roary m,thank you.We all fly different aeroplanes..too

Many of our kits are made up in the Orient also just like the ARF's. The old Robinhood kits sold by World Engines, Indy R/C, and then Horizon were actually manufactured in Korea and that was back in the 80's - 90's.

This one is my 80 (scratch built from scaled down Robinhood 99 kit plans) presented here to show the plane I'm talking about.

So were the World radios. I just bought a used Expert from a fellow on the 'Bay. It is in good condition. Only paid $20 for it. Wish I could find six meter TX module for it, or RF Deck. I forget which it uses.


Ed Cregger