Oh the $$$$....

[Vetmx]

This is an interesting topic with a lot of good input. One statement stuck out and I completely agree with it. We are not getting our money’s worth. No matter the caliber. Yes, it’s pretty bad in this hobby. $2k guns with issues or even $500 dollar guns with issues. But guys just won’t stop buying them. They haven’t even lifted their foot off the gas a little. But on the flip side are we getting our moneys worth with our $45k car or $80k truck? No. I believe the true problem is we don’t stop buying over priced stuff. We or they just figure out new ways for us to afford it.

If all high end airguns had to be purchased with cash, would they still be in business? If all cars and trucks were limited to 60 month financing at 6-8%, the lots would be packed solid with inventory. Then we would get to see just how cheap they could actually sell them. The real problem is the credit card or financing. It’s the crutch that’s allowing things to get out of hand. Some people will truly burry themselves keeping up with the Jones or living beyond their means.

 

[Dairyboy]

I haven't bought any high end guns new in 2 and a half years. Great deals to be had on used airguns from great guys on here. My Taipan Vets are one of the best value in airguns I got. All in with both my Long and Short I'm at $850 a piece which had accessories. Now there are quite a few with crazy prices but as can be seen they don't sell. I feel like used prices have come down on some guns. In the classifieds it seems like a buyers market more than a sellers. Ones that seem to sell are discounted quite a bit, feel like more so than used to be. Maybe I'm wrong. But yeah I can't see myself buying a new gun anymore at the prices that they are. I'll take someone's loss and buy it used if I'm really interested lol. But again I don't see myself spending anymore than 1k anymore on guns. Too many nice used ones I can find there that can do what I need them to do.

 

[Duckfish]

What I've always wondered is how some of the dirt cheap Chinese products manufacturers managed to stay profitable. Remember the $20 B3's and Fast Deers? There were thousands of similarly priced products out there 25 years ago and even with a low exchange rate and subsidized shipping there was no way they should have been profitable.

What you haven’t seen the tear stains on the stocks and barrels from the under paid little children ?

 

[Caliber 22]

The real problem is the credit card or financing. It’s the crutch that’s allowing things to get out of hand. Some people will truly burry themselves keeping up with the Jones or living beyond their means.

That is one thing I don't do, is having any debt. If I can't buy it cash, I don't buy it at all. I have 3 properties I receive rent income from and busy building more, no mortgage on any from day 1. Why would I have debt to buy a pcp. I can buy a new high end pcp cash if I want to, but that it is not how I go about my finances. I don't even buy new vehicles, I actually want to sell a few I don't use. That is why I shoot with a budget pcp I bought used. I spent some time and effort to get it to shoot the way I want it to, that is part of the hobby for me.

The same with my other hobbies, I don't waste money on things just to be level with mr. Jones.

 

[Cody01]

As a small dealer prices are always a challenge. I sell airguns, compressors, and pellets mainly so I can get local people into the hobby because I feel it is something people need to see and try in person before they realize what they want. Unfortunately by the time product lands in my hands I don't have much room for profit. Guys will come look at my poop in person and then 3 weeks scouring the internet for any better deal. They will call me and say hey some place has a discount code and is X amount less. I am not screwing people. Small bisinesses make the least profit.

 

[Caliber 22]

What you haven’t seen the tear stains on the stocks and barrels from the under paid little children ?

What little children?

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

The Children are too busy mining Lithium for "Green Batteries".

 

[Caliber 22]

The Children are too busy mining Lithium for "Green Batteries".

I see that propaganda in the media. I experienced similar things first hand and that is all just that, propaganda lies. I can expand in great detail on that but it is against the rules of this forum.

 

[Sawney Bean]

I am not an economist nor am I in a position to speculate on the business practices of airgun manufacturers. What I can say is that when I am ready to put down my cash for an airgun, I go with the best I can afford. I do not have a vast collection and I don't need one, but I value what I have more than what I do not have.
Sure, I'd love me a really expensive, top shelf airgun. Just like I'd love to have a sweet a$$ Lamborghini Countach. But that's a dream for a day far in the future and it certainly does not fall in the "need to have" category. For now, I stick with what I have, take care of them and enjoy what I've managed to accumulate. Putting these things first goes a long way toward not being drawn in by marketing hype that wants me to believe that the things I already own are inferior in any way to the latest newest shiniest thing that comes to market. If I can't afford it, I don't need it. No matter what the marketing department wants me to believe.

Watch a few review videos on the Lamborghini Countach sometime. It's one of the best looking cars ever made and perhaps the worst car ever in terms of ergonomics. The windows don't roll down all the way and you have to open the door and hang out sideways to drive in reverse.

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

I see that propaganda in the media. I experienced similar things first hand and that is all just that, propaganda lies. I can expand in great detail on that but it is against the rules of this forum.

Unlike Lamestream Media. Video doesn't Lie.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

The Children are too busy mining Lithium for "Green Batteries".

FYI lithium is mined by circulation. It is a soluble mineral found in sediments. They mine it like potash with a series of injection and extraction wells.

It's big business in the west these days. Lots of tradesmen and engineers make their living in this and other extraction industries. Hardworking guys that weld, drive trucks, wire circuits and shoot air rifles.

I worked on a lithium project not too many months ago. They were in the development phase. I didn't see any kids only tradesmen. I guess they hadn't brought the children in that would run the operation yet.

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

Yes... and our wages went up %25 like the Groceries did.

 

[Caliber 22]

Watch a few review videos on the Lamborghini Countach sometime. It's one of the best looking cars ever made and perhaps the worst car ever in terms of ergonomics. The windows don't roll down all the way and you have to open the door and hang out sideways to drive in reverse.

I had a ride as a passenger in an older Lambo a few years back and I can honestly say, it was the most uncomfortable short trip I ever had in a car.

 

[Duckfish]

What little children?

It’s a joke,

 

[Caliber 22]

Unlike Lamestream Media. Video doesn't Lie.

That propaganda I mentioned was video. It was back in the 70's and you can't believe how they manipulate everything to make it look real. Video can lie more than anything else.

 

[Vetmx]

That propaganda I mentioned was video. It was back in the 70's and you can't believe how they manipulate everything to make it look real. Video can lie more than anything else.

Yes, we get lied to with most of the airgun videos that guys watch daily. Things can definitely be manipulated. That’s why nowadays if I’m not standing there in person to witness something or see it on live video, I’m not all in on believing it’s the truth.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Yes... and our wages went up %25 like the Groceries did.

Wages have increased more than inflation on the average. The ones on the lower end of the scale have seen big wage increases.

This means more folks at the lower end of the economic spectrum can afford an air rifle. It has proven to be very profitable for the airgun industry. It's booming!

 

[Stubbers]

Airgun manufacturers must hate me..

I'm still supremely content with the Maruader I bought in 2016, and then highly customized, heck I just transitioned it to pilot valve in 2023, and then added a quarter turn adjuster for tp choke in 2024...and then thee second one I built from all the original ones spare parts. I have no itch to scratch this immediate moment, because nothing has come to market that will help me hit the bull better than I do now. I do have 1 spot I'd like to fill (15" barreled mini carbine with folding stock), however, patience is my virtue and the next gun I buy will have to tick a LOT of boxes, and if within 5 years if it doesn't come to market, I'll just build it off an existing platform, maybe...because again, I don't really need it, just kinda want it.

People often get bored with what they already have, which to me, pcp's are kind of boring after awhile, so they chase the next thrill via a new purchase, rinse and repeat, until they have a collection well beyond their means to shoot them all or maintain them all, because they usually end up back at square one, bored.. These consumers imho plague the industry, because it enables manufacturers to rapid release new products knowing these type of people will fold. This trend only really began shortly after I started in the hobby, prior to 2018, it was slim pickens, and only 1 fx impact version, now you have 4 new versions released since ~2018, and about 100 other options to consider. For the 500$ market at the time, my options were 3 or 4, now, you have 30 or 40, which is both good and bad.

The market is far too over-saturated, way to many rinse and repeats, way too many clones of clones of clones. We went from a shortage of options, to an abundance of options in under a decade, many of which end up discontinued and parts/support falls off in very short time. While I applaud some of the efforts, I can't help but shake my head at many as well, from existing manufacturers to new ones, both often using consumers as beta testers, because often they don't even know what consumers want, they just want them to spend. They know the market, its small, its niche, so new customer acquisition is far more difficult than repeat sales to the same customers, via a new bell or new whistle. It's an algorithm as old as the Model T.


-Matt

 

[rcarlisle]

Watch a few review videos on the Lamborghini Countach sometime. It's one of the best looking cars ever made and perhaps the worst car ever in terms of ergonomics. The windows don't roll down all the way and you have to open the door and hang out sideways to drive in reverse.

Kinda my point. And if I could afford one, I might not care too much about it. I mean, what's another $100K in modifications to make it work right and keep it running? Waaay too rich for my blood. I'll stick with my Honda Civic. It runs reliably, everything works and when it doesn't, I can fix most problems myself.

 

[Caliber 22]

Earlier this year I rebuild a 20 year old FX Typhoon for somebody. Straight forward, no bells and whistles. Unregulated and does not even have a reservoir gauge on it. It has a proper thick metal barrel and is shooting very precise. I think that is what FX was supposed to be, but now the new ones are so complicated and flimsy you almost need a university degree to work on it. Yes, I like advancement but without compromising on reliability and consistency. I see to many complaints about such an expensive pcp.