[pistolwretch]

" I was googleing one night and was shocked at 2018 and 2019 full house custom prices, they are up 50% from these levels ."

Well.......ya.
Have you priced a can of Campbells Soup recently? Or a jar of peanut butter? Etc.......
One man shops feel the effects of inflation just like anybody else.
Large companies/corporations can amortize due to diversity and volume.

One or two guys working out of a 400-1200 sq ft shop don't have that ability.

And those small shops are paying the same price as anyone for parts/materials.
Brownell's gives gunsmiths about a 4% discount......LOL!....with no break on shipping.

 

[simonp]

" I was googleing one night and was shocked at 2018 and 2019 full house custom prices, they are up 50% from these levels ."

Well.......ya.
Have you priced a can of Campbells Soup recently? Or a jar of peanut butter? Etc.......
One man shops feel the effects of inflation just like anybody else.
Large companies/corporations can amortize due to diversity and volume.

One or two guys working out of a 400-1200 sq ft shop don't have that ability.

And those small shops are paying the same price as anyone for parts/materials.
Brownell's gives gunsmiths about a 4% discount......LOL!....with no break on shipping.

Yep

I read an article back in November or December that said if you wanted to be making the same money as last year then your employer would need to give you a 17% raise.............dont know if anyone got one I know I sure didnt............

 

[Snatch13]

Yep

I read an article back in November or December that said if you wanted to be making the same money as last year then your employer would need to give you a 17% raise.............dont know if anyone got one I know I sure didnt............

There was another article recently put out by a manufacturing association that paid a research firm to figure out why people weren't working. You had to earn 80k a year working in most of the country (before taxes) to have the same standard of living as a family of four that were unemployed and eligible for up to 66k a year ( why work when you can get the same after tax amount for free?) My point is, employers had to up thier wages to attract more talent, and cover the increases from thier suppliers who were facing the same thing. In the end, we the consumer suffer.

 

[Snatch13]

" I was googleing one night and was shocked at 2018 and 2019 full house custom prices, they are up 50% from these levels ."

Well.......ya.
Have you priced a can of Campbells Soup recently? Or a jar of peanut butter? Etc.......
One man shops feel the effects of inflation just like anybody else.
Large companies/corporations can amortize due to diversity and volume.

One or two guys working out of a 400-1200 sq ft shop don't have that ability.

And those small shops are paying the same price as anyone for parts/materials.
Brownell's gives gunsmiths about a 4% discount......LOL!....with no break on shipping.

This is similar to why I got out of playing music professionally. The venue owner only thinks they need to cover the time of your performance. They don't want to account for the practice time, the travel time, gas, setup, tear down, equipment upkeep, etc. It wasn't unusual to have 10 hours wrapped up into a 3 hour show.

 

[Falkor_shooter]

There was another article recently put out by a manufacturing association that paid a research firm to figure out why people weren't working. You had to earn 80k a year working in most of the country (before taxes) to have the same standard of living as a family of four that were unemployed and eligible for up to 66k a year ( why work when you can get the same after tax amount for free?) My point is, employers had to up thier wages to attract more talent, and cover the increases from thier suppliers who were facing the same thing. In the end, we the consumer suffer.

Could you link the article? Where can you make 66k a year from the government?

 

[simonp]

Could you link the article? Where can you make 66k a year from the government?

Heck out here starting LEO salary is 100K with a 10K signing bonus

 

[simonp]

PS that 100K out here is essentially poverty level

 

[Snatch13]

Could you link the article? Where can you make 66k a year from the government?

Give me a moment, I think it was put out by NAMM, or OMA. 66k was the average. It varies by state. Obviously the cost of living is different across the country

 

[Falkor_shooter]

Heck out here starting LEO salary is 100K with a 10K signing bonus

No, I meant not working.

 

[Hodds]

Could you link the article? Where can you make 66k a year from the government?

Just have a few kids and the govt will give rental assistance, heat, electric, food ect. Even an Obama phone.
The amount depends on where you live.

 

[ferrarif1fan]

Ages ago, a financial planner told me that typically, as people's incomes go up, they somehow find a way to spend the extra. A lot of people go thru life, making more money each year, but never getting ahead simply because they just buy more and/or higher priced stuff. I think I see that a lot on this forum. I've seen guys who list their stable of guns in their signatures, and it's one custom name after another. You start assigning a dollar value to each firearm, and you realize they've got $50-100K tied up in guns. WTH???

This is where luxury goods come into play. Most folks with "excess" cash have an itch to find something "better" to spend the money on. This explains why there are watches, handbags, etc. that easily run $10K+. But one downside to most luxury goods is that for simply what they are (a watch, a car, a handbag, etc.), they are very expensive. Yes, a Rolex may be constructed of higher quality materials, but how does that make it tell better time? So anytime money starts getting tighter, luxury items start getting viewed a lot more for what they are and what they do vs. their status as a luxury good. And if you've been the one to pay the inflated price, the odds are you're going to take a good hit if you have to liquidate. On the other hand, if you're a patient person, downturns like this become an excellent time to pick up quality items with no manufacturer's wait time at much more affordable prices.

 

[Snatch13]

Here's a start, more to come. I try to base my comments on fact, and typically state when it's my opinion.

 

[Falkor_shooter]

Here's a start, more to come. I try to base my comments on fact, and typically state when it's my opinion.
View attachment 1183765

That is crazy!

 

[Merton]

I do look at my full customs that I have scheduled as what they are, something of luxury that I want enough to pay for. I do not look at them as investments, but I understand that they are and can be just that. I'm OK with knowing that even if the true top smiths all opened their books to me I wouldn't be able to write the checks. Well, I could write them, it would be the cashing part that would be the problem.

I like looking at and admiring the used customs that come up for sale or those that people just show off and I would love to own a Garthwaite, Rogers and if I ever am fortunate to own one, it will be on the secondary market. The few customs that I have built for me and my family are special enough to wait and pay for and aren't investments in anything other than a whole lot of shooting.

 

[Falkor_shooter]

Here's a start, more to come. I try to base my comments on fact, and typically state when it's my opinion.
View attachment 1183765

In Iowa making 73k would be more then the median household income.

 

[pistolwretch]

78k for a nice pick-up with a very abbreviated re-sale value vs a one of a kind custom built 1911 that will actually appreciate?

 

[Snatch13]

Here's a link to the entire paper if you need more facts, sources, and "light" reading

https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Paying-Americans-Not-to-Work.pdf

 

[Merton]

Here's a start, more to come. I try to base my comments on fact, and typically state when it's my opinion.
View attachment 1183765

Can people just continually collect unemployment since COVID? Don't unemployment benefits run out? I'm honestly asking, because based on this chart, it seems as though unemployment would be higher. I'm not saying that the benefit isn't inflated, apparently it is. People haven't really been on unemployment for three full years, have they?

 

[Snatch13]

Can people just continually collect unemployment since COVID? Don't unemployment benefits run out? I'm honestly asking, because based on this chart, it seems as though unemployment would be higher. I'm not saying that the benefit isn't inflated, apparently it is. People haven't really been on unemployment for three full years, have they?

I'm not sure. There was definitely extension after extension after extension. We still have people apply that clearly don't want the job or have any intention of interviewing just so they can claim they meet the "application " requirement in Ohio. Not sure about other states

My employer has given 3 raises in the last 18 months, and I certainly don't want to sound like I'm ungrateful or complaining, but eventhough my gross has increased significantly, my standard of living hasn't changed. I have a little more disposable income than I used to, but I definitely notice the money went further in 2017 than 2022.

 

[MGBD]

Can people just continually collect unemployment since COVID? Don't unemployment benefits run out? I'm honestly asking, because based on this chart, it seems as though unemployment would be higher. I'm not saying that the benefit isn't inflated, apparently it is. People haven't really been on unemployment for three full years, have they?

NO. The resale market may not have hit rock bottom yet, but this thread sure did.

Guys, shoot and enjoy your guns - sell them when you're bored and maybe you make a couple bucks, maybe you don't. You can't take any of it with you when you die.