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Sure, but I remember when both gas and milk were under $1/gallon, and when you could buy a decent new car for under $7000. I mean, times change, right?

Redbeard wrote:Sure, but I remember when both gas and milk were under $1/gallon, and when you could buy a decent new car for under $7000. I mean, times change, right?

Yeah they sure do. I remember in high school once gas was 70 cents a gallon! A pack of smokes was $1.20. The saddest part is, that our wages and salaries have not adjusted with inflation. So while the price goes up, our wages don't. Though I cannot complain at the moment, I make a decent wage for what I do, but I had to go through 4 job changes to get where I am.

I think GW markets to middle class kids living at home that have no expenses and probably do odd jobs here and there to make money. Just like the Music industry does with teeny bopper pop stars. They basically take the wallet of every 14 year old.

I really hope some competition comes out. GW will never go down in price as consumer goods never do really go down in price. However, it may cause GW to have sales, or bulk deals, or something of the like to boost their sales against competition.

Actually, I am really looking at starting an Infinity army one of these days. The models are cool, the system looks solid, and the price is decent.

Crom wrote:

Redbeard wrote:Sure, but I remember when both gas and milk were under $1/gallon, and when you could buy a decent new car for under $7000. I mean, times change, right?

Yeah they sure do. I remember in high school once gas was 70 cents a gallon! A pack of smokes was $1.20. The saddest part is, that our wages and salaries have not adjusted with inflation. So while the price goes up, our wages don't. Though I cannot complain at the moment, I make a decent wage for what I do, but I had to go through 4 job changes to get where I am.

I think GW markets to middle class kids living at home that have no expenses and probably do odd jobs here and there to make money. Just like the Music industry does with teeny bopper pop stars. They basically take the wallet of every 14 year old.

I really hope some competition comes out. GW will never go down in price as consumer goods never do really go down in price. However, it may cause GW to have sales, or bulk deals, or something of the like to boost their sales against competition.

Actually, I am really looking at starting an Infinity army one of these days. The models are cool, the system looks solid, and the price is decent.

wages in the U.S. have skyrocketed... for the top 10% but yea the bottom 90% have due to inflation lost wages, AUS does it better imo too... go figure, they tax the rich and don't do cororate loopholes ... this = sucess

G00fySmiley wrote:wages in the U.S. have skyrocketed... for the top 10% but yea the bottom 90% have due to inflation lost wages

Yeah, that's the real question about US politics. In most recent elections, victory has been decided by popular votes within a couple of percents. You have to figure that means that ~40% of the population are voting for politicians favouring policies that work against their best interests. Are those 40% hoping to someday make it to the top 10%?


O.T. Completely inexpensive hobby - posting on internet forums!

The average household in the USA makes 44k a year. That is household, everyone who earns that lives in the house. I really wish we would work on better living wages because by the time you young ones want to retire you are gonna need a crap ton of money.

Speaking of retirement...it would be cool to maybe run some gaming leagues once I retire. If I am still into war gaming then.

AU gets boned on prices for pretty much everything. I wouldn't doubt them having to pay 100+ AUDfor a deck. heck in the US last deck i bought was $70 for the deck alone, how long has it been since you bought a board? i remember it was around 40-50 for a non blank around 2000 but now it ccosts abotu that for a blank here in FL

I just went to look up Santa Cruz boards, most are still around $50 (some more some less) even cheaper on other sites, what I find interesting is they are remaking all the classic boards from when I started, I used to have a Rob Roskupp and a Street Creep.

I just bought a great computer from a deal site for $285, plays all the latest games, Samsung R580. I5 dual core processor. I somehow ended up with 2 and sold the other on ebay for $380. It may not be an alien ware rig, but it works for me.

G00fySmiley wrote:

wages in the U.S. have skyrocketed... for the top 10% but yea the bottom 90% have due to inflation lost wages, AUS does it better imo too... go figure, they tax the rich and don't do cororate loopholes ... this = sucess

4 years ago I made $13.50/hr plus overtime almost every day. Averaged around $34,000 per year. I worked in an air conditioned room, sitting i a chair most of the time.

Now I make $10/hr...with no air condition and on my feet most of the time.

My wifes pay has dropped as well. Our house lost around 65% of its value.

Sadly there are many in the same situation. Some are even worse.

I buy local nto online, las tbaor i bought in Tallahassee FL was $67 before tax, $67 included griptape. I prett ymuch only skate blind decks though which are a bti mroe i just find they can put up with a bit of a beating before breaking due to the fiber the mix in called texalium , plus they are the only company i know who use an 8 ply deck (most use 5-7) but yes a plain blank wood deck or blank is likely cheaper, i just don't but em, I snap plain wood decks fairly quickly.

ahh you meant laptop ... to me a "computer" defaults in my mind to desktop not laptop (though yes they are computers i just don't like not being able to upgrade so avoid em but know about em and thier hardware since i do fix am as a job). and r58 samsung i don't know options but the specs i see on thier site say i3 ( Intel Core i3-330M ) and an nvidia chipset (Nvidia GeForce 310M ) so not a real graphics card, and shared video memory, comes with 2 gigs, not bad for the price and you'll be able to game at the resolution (1366x768 ) but its not going to be in top settings, and if you hooked it up to a 1080p monitor it wouldn't do so well. still looking at the harware that was a pretty good buy for that price, nice find.

and yea mad4minis i was 5 years ago up in the 50k a year mark, now me and my wife with me working 3 jobs (1 full time 2 part time) might be lucky to combined make 55 . but we're making due

This thread =

G00fySmiley wrote:I buy local nto online, las tbaor i bought in Tallahassee FL was $67 before tax, $67 included griptape. I prett ymuch only skate blind decks though which are a bti mroe i just find they can put up with a bit of a beating before breaking due to the fiber the mix in called texalium , plus they are the only company i know who use an 8 ply deck (most use 5-7) but yes a plain blank wood deck or blank is likely cheaper, i just don't but em, I snap plain wood decks fairly quickly.

ahh you meant laptop ... to me a "computer" defaults in my mind to desktop not laptop (though yes they are computers i just don't like not being able to upgrade so avoid em but know about em and thier hardware since i do fix am as a job). and r58 samsung i don't know options but the specs i see on thier site say i3 ( Intel Core i3-330M ) and an nvidia chipset (Nvidia GeForce 310M ) so not a real graphics card, and shared video memory, comes with 2 gigs, not bad for the price and you'll be able to game at the resolution (1366x768 ) but its not going to be in top settings, and if you hooked it up to a 1080p monitor it wouldn't do so well. still looking at the harware that was a pretty good buy for that price, nice find.

and yea mad4minis i was 5 years ago up in the 50k a year mark, now me and my wife with me working 3 jobs (1 full time 2 part time) might be lucky to combined make 55 . but we're making due

I got the upgraded model, with the I5 and the graphics card. I can do all my web design work on this, so I consider that good enough.

Man I can't believe the number of people on here who list actual firearms as their other main hobby.

Fortunately I don't see too many nerds at my FLGS packing heat!

Kilkrazy wrote:I think of my wife as a hobby. She's still cheaper than J-Class yacht racing.

Murrdox wrote:Man I can't believe the number of people on here who list actual firearms as their other main hobby.

Fortunately I don't see too many nerds at my FLGS packing heat!

Go the range, rent a gun, fire some rounds and see if the gun bug doesn't bite you as well. I also like the fact that I got my .357 (loaded with .38sp +P hollows) handy in case anyone breaks in. I have been broken into before while home and you have no clue what that person has or intends to do. Also, shooting guns is great fun and awesome practice for when the zombies come! I have shot up some of these before and they are fun.

http://omegatargets.com/

kronk wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:I think of my wife as a hobby. She's still cheaper than J-Class yacht racing.

O...M...G... that is awesome!

Shooting is a hobby i would like to try but alas our government doesn't trust us.

i used to do archery and getting good bows cost me a fortune , that and the only decent place where i could shoot at the time was a treck away meant the costs really used to add up after a while.

Crom wrote:The average household in the USA makes 44k a year.

I'd kill for a job like that right now. The best I can do is about half that.

Mad4Minis wrote:Now I make $10/hr...with no air condition and on my feet most of the time.

I hear that. In heat like this it's especially rough.

And Jesus Christ that spoiler is ugly, it ruins the car in my opinion. Just looks obnoxious, even though it's probably so fast it actually needs that spoiler to stay on the road. But then again, most people would consider my opinion invalid since I think cars like the Camaro and Mustang look good.

Sidstyler wrote:

Crom wrote:The average household in the USA makes 44k a year.

I'd kill for a job like that right now. The best I can do is about half that.

So you've got an average job. You just need a wife making the same, and you'll be right on average. Most households are dual-income these days, by necessity, not choice.

lol, yeah, just go find a wife. I wish there was a phrase stronger than "Easier said than done" that I could use in response to that.

Didn't read the entire thread, but here's the breakout of my hobbies.

Gaming.
I don't buy much GW anymore, but I still spend around 30-60 bucks a month on miniature gaming as a whole. However the real figure is much lower because I buy and sell alot of stuff an usually manage to turn a fair profit. Figure 20 bucks a month of out of pocket.

Bass Playing
I've probably got about 4 grand in basses and 2 grand in amps, cabs and accessories. However this also is mitigated by the fact that I've acquired these mostly over 12 years (I've been playing for around 18) That only comes to about 40 bucks a month, further offset by buying and selling gear and the 3 years I was actually making reasonably good money gigging, figure about 20 bucks a month after renting practice space is taken into consideration.

LEGO
I build LEGO and am part of a LEGO train club that does public displays ( www.niltc.org) This is a hobby that I make no effort to recoup by selling anything. Figure an average of about 40 bucks a month. Some months I buy nothing and some months I go mad!

My point is that a hobby only costs as much as you're interested in spending on it. There are some absolutes, if you want a harley or a really high end Bass Guitar or to buy an entire new flavor of the month army right now. Even there however, almost everything can be purchased in smaller sections or on a payment plan. If you're disciplined search for deals and focus in on the hobby that you really like I think that most hobbies are financially vialbe to anyone from lower-middle class on up.

The stumbilng block is that once most of us get interested in a hobby discipline is the first thing to go.

Lastly, a note to Sidstyler,
It's not that hard to find a woman that is smarter and more successfull than you. The real trick is getting her to marry you. Worked for me though, so i can say -with well deserved self-deprication- that there's hope for most everyone!

Sidstyler wrote:

Crom wrote:The average household in the USA makes 44k a year.

I'd kill for a job like that right now. The best I can do is about half that.

Mad4Minis wrote:Now I make $10/hr...with no air condition and on my feet most of the time.

I hear that. In heat like this it's especially rough.

QFT, the heat in Saint Louis sucks ! thats why i go to school in Wisconsin

My wife's hobby is spending money for shoes and whatever. Oh man, this can become expensive.

dajobe wrote:

Sidstyler wrote:

Crom wrote:The average household in the USA makes 44k a year.

I'd kill for a job like that right now. The best I can do is about half that.

Mad4Minis wrote:Now I make $10/hr...with no air condition and on my feet most of the time.

I hear that. In heat like this it's especially rough.

QFT, the heat in Saint Louis sucks ! thats why i go to school in Wisconsin

Man, I'll take the heat 8 days a week over really, really, cold. I worked on a loading dock ($15/hr) when I got laid off from my job and the dead of winter in Ohio (particularly this past January) is so much worse than the heat, IMO. I'd rather be sweaty than numb for sure.

lol, NEVAR!!! I'd prefer 20 below 0 to 105, i can always put on more clothes, there is only so much that i can take off(legaly). Plus i really like snow sports.

dajobe wrote:lol, NEVAR!!! I'd prefer 20 below 0 to 105, i can always put on more clothes, there is only so much that i can take off(legaly). Plus i really like snow sports.

....and snow sports are expensive! Though just about every sport that isn't running will end up costing you quite a bit.

The cheapest I can find for decent tenor saxophone reeds is $18 for 5 reeds on woodwindbrasswind.com. Saxophones themselves are very pricy, but I buy used. Sure they're scratched up, but they still play nice. One cost saving tip is that certain parts, like screws, will cost an arm and a leg at music stores, but if you take an example screw into a hardware store, you can buy 5 spares for $2.

Also, I just got back from my first taste of scuba. Dear God I want to keep doing this for the rest of my life. Of course, gear is expensive as hell, let alone getting there and renting tanks, guides, ect.


The best snow sports are sledding (cheap and easy) and snoeshowing (can be somewhat expensive, but little maintenance cost).

Fascinating thread. I will point to it in the future when someone tells me something like "GW is a total rip off/totally overpriced".

I do Larp for example. I do it on pretty high kit standard, having spent plenty of money all in all. About 400 Euros for shoes (3 pairs), about 400 Euros for armour (breast plate, arms, chainmailcollar and skullcap), wepaons about 300 (and I was able to get some bargains here, Larp-halberds are damn expensive, I got two + sideweapons), 350 Euro for the tent (a nice cone, will last me many years), about 250 euro for camp equipment (the small stuff like eating knife and spoon in matching leathercases, plates, etc.), plenty of money on cloth (never really counted that) Besides the euipment, the events run between 50 and 150 Euros. I can just affored two to three times a year but it adds up over the years (I larp since 2002).

Some weeks ago I talked to a friend I Larp with who played WH some years ago but quit for time reasons. When we talked about it, the GW is ridiculusly priced-argument came up. When I pointed out what he spends on Larp and how much quality time he gets from that he agreed that WH suddenly didn't look that bad. For me it is all about that. What amount of entertainement I get out of an investment. And WH is still superb in that in comparison to many other hobbies/activities no one complains about. And that is another point. Why shouldn't we compare the indulgement in WH/40k with other hobbies (with videogames the most obvious)? It is what we spend our time with and what we shell out money for after all.

Now it is true that other Wargames are cheaper/have a less erratic behaviour company wise. That is a very good thing as it gives us alternatives. I play a lot Flames of War for example. But I for example restarted playing 40k in 2008 (I didn't like the games system in 3rd/4th Ed.) after a long period of utter dissatisfaction with a lot of gamescompanies (Warzone/Target Games, Confrontation/Rackham, VOR/Fasa, Ronin/whatever their name was). And still, besides Battlefront and Privateer Press (whose games are not my cup of tea) no other company seems reliable enough to me to get my money after all the other failures. Although GW seems to be intent on adding itself to this list (still, less because of the price) and Spartan Games and Mantic seem to be gaining ground reliability wise.

All in all, I would find it hard to take someone serious who tells me that he/she enjoys one of the aforementioned hobbies and then tells me in the same instance that WH/40k are overpriced. I guess different perspectives on the relative value of a good are as always the explanation. That doesn't make it less tedious to deal with this level of subjectivity.

Holy Hannah I had no idea that LARPing was so expensive.

Clubbing/raving when "done right" gets expensive really, really quickly. That's not counting the time spent being useless from the comedown/hangover.

I used to play Magic the Gathering. They come out with new rules and new cards, dwarfing the previous sets. I spent a lot of money constantly keeping up and making new powerful decks to beat my friends, who were doing the same. Despite spending roughly a little over 1000 USD, it pales in comparison to how much I spent on Magic the Gathering. At least Warhammer has better resale price off Ebay.

SabrX wrote:I used to play Magic the Gathering. They come out with new rules and new cards, dwarfing the previous sets. I spent a lot of money constantly keeping up and making new powerful decks to beat my friends, who were doing the same. Despite spending roughly a little over 1000 USD, it pales in comparison to how much I spent on Magic the Gathering. At least Warhammer has better resale price off Ebay.

And not only that, but also take into consideration that the economics of TCGs are absolutely terrible.

"Oh, you invested $xxx into a playset of the current hotness just two weeks ago? Well guess what, it just dropped halfway in value because it got banned/no longer tops/is not currently being played/etc. Have fun with your cardboard!"