'Splain somthin' to me.....

[SEL]

Why is a Baby Bertha kit, with a B60 tube, 4 fins and a PNC60-L (or M or whatever they call it these days) $7.49, while an Alpha kit with a BT50, 3 fins and a PNC-50k $11.79? How does Estes come up with such whacked pricing? Inquiring minds want to know!

Sean

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Why is a Baby Bertha kit, with a B60 tube, 4 fins and a PNC60-L (or M or whatever they call it these days) $7.49, while an Alpha kit with a BT50, 3 fins and a PNC-50k $11.79? How does Estes come up with such whacked pricing? Inquiring minds want to know!

Sean

Maybe because the Baby Bertha is aimed more at the Wal-Mart type of crowd and the Alpha is more of a classic recognized by people like us.
Couldn't tell you the last time I bought an Alpha, but I've bought a ton of Baby Bertha's. What's that make me? ;)

[SEL]

Maybe because the Baby Bertha is aimed more at the Wal-Mart type of crowd and the Alpha is more of a classic recognized by people like us.
Couldn't tell you the last time I bought an Alpha, but I've bought a ton of Baby Bertha's. What's that make me? ;)

Umm, a Big Baby? :D

[Chas Russell]

I know the secret!!! Lean closer to the screen and I will whisper it in your ear. Closer. Closer!



Greed!


Seriously, the Alpha Trey was introduced many moons ago. So every time that Estes raised their prices by "X" amount, the Alpha III price went up. The Baby Bertha is a more recent addition and will incured price increases based on how long it remains in the production line. Manufactures are not going to reduce prices on a kit when they make 10K at a time, because material and labor prices increase regardless of what our incomes do. Hence, if a kit remains in production from year "x" and there are "y" price increases, well heck, do the math!

Chas

[Doug Sams]

Why is a Baby Bertha kit, with a B60 tube, 4 fins and a PNC60-L (or M or whatever they call it these days) $7.49, while an Alpha kit with a BT50, 3 fins and a PNC-50k $11.79? How does Estes come up with such whacked pricing? Inquiring minds want to know! I think Bill and Chas are on the right track. In my business, we call it "meet comp" pricing for meeting the competition. In this case, estes has had to price the Baby Bertha to meet market expectations. My guess, besides needing to meet the WalMart Launchables price metric of ~$8, is that the Quest Full Moon, at ~$7.50 at Hobby Lobby, is also a factor.

Furthermore, the Baby Bertha can be positioned as a lower cost alternative to the Big Betty without having to bomb the price of the regular Big bertha. That may explain why the higher priced Big Bertha isn't seen at Hobby Lobby or WalMart. And it lets dedicated hobby shops carry the Big Bertha at a more comfortable margin without getting squeezed by the discount stores.

Doug
Just throwing out some more ideas...

[rraeford]

I'm more mystified by the price differences between kits by QModelling and Pimp Daddy.

How is it that the MRS Vega kit cost $10 LESS than the MRS Hawkeye. The Vega has at least 2 times the parts count.

AT PDR, the new Cherokee D is $21.95 but the SS Cassiopeia and Atlantis are only $19.95 each?

Odd.

Romie

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

I'm more mystified by the price differences between kits by QModelling and Pimp Daddy.

How is it that the MRS Vega kit cost $10 LESS than the MRS Hawkeye. The Vega has at least 2 times the parts count.

AT PDR, the new Cherokee D is $21.95 but the SS Cassiopeia and Atlantis are only $19.95 each?

Odd.

Romie

A little. The only QModeling kit I've built has been the Rogue. Great kit. Incredibly well planned out and engineered. If I could afford to build more of them I would.
As far as the PDR kits, the only complaint that I've had has been the lack of updated materials. I'd like to see them include Kevlar as a part of the kits. They seem to be introducing improvements in a steady manner, so I'm hoping to see this one soon.

[ghrocketman]

Gotta agree with Bill on the Kevlar issue with the PDR kits.
They have upgraded all of their decals to Alps-printed water-slide, which is a vast imrovement over the original decals they used to supply with their kits.
The only real complaint that I have at all regarding PDR kits is in relation to recovery systems.....I have permanently shied away from mylar chutes and no-kevlar recovery systems.
I modified all my PDR kits with kevlar recovery straps attached to the thrust-ring as well as use nothing but Thrustline nylon chutes for recovery (excepting streamer-equipped rockets)