Economic downturn slowing your hobby buying

[heilcnc]

is the economic downturn slowing your hobby buying

[skippy]

I can't answer you question heilcnc but I'd be curious to hear how things are going in the US for average guys like most of us here. It's hard to get a true picture of things over there because (1) I've stopped listening to the news lately (totally depressing) and (2) even when I do hear something it is hard to get a realistic picture from news sources.

I've heard that Spain and Ireland are the two countries suffering the most here in the EU (Europe). Then again both countries have had 20 years of "goldrush" mentality and now they (we) have to pay the price for such a mentality.

[thkoutsidthebox]

I'm not sure how you define 'goldrush' mentality, or what you mean by that, but yeah, things in Ireland are pretty bad. It doesn't help that we have foreigners getting Ryanair flights into the country to collect their welfare checks, then flying home to Eastern Europe the same day! The only mentality here for the past twenty years which is coming home to roost is that of the politicians primarily, the regulators, the bankers and the developers. I don't blame the banks, or the developers, its human nature to get away with whatever you can to make money. The regulators and politicians however were supposed to be answerable to the people, and they failed in their duties with reckless abandon, and are a disgrace. Now we're all paying for it. And yes, it is affecting my hobby buying!

[skippy]

By "Goldrush" mentality I mean where lots of people believe it is their right to become millionaires from one day to the next. Fortunes built on air or in this case sand. Developers for example have made zillions here BUT when you have 5 years of having more building going on in a country of 42 million than the combined total of France, Germany and UK (200 million people) then at one point it is destined to go "BANG" which it has. Five years ago there was almost 3 million empty dwellings here in Spain and I can't tell you how many more millions of dwellings have been built since then. Forget about renting out, just buy knowing that next year it will be worth 20% more. THEN one day reality hits which it now has done. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Ireland has suffered from this same malaise. Economies built on air. (I don't know first hand, it is only what I have heard)

[thkoutsidthebox]

Yup, sounds about right.....unfortunately. Although, built on air is a bit harsh! We do have a highly educated and skilled population, decent infrastructure, good grant schemes for international companies, public healthcare, decent public education, free university level education. So not built on air, just too dependant on property.

[Wayne-o]

Nope,

I still have the Duck. Just gotta wait for the weather ta warm up and the sand to clear off a ltttle.

[MrWild]

it depends where the hobby dollar is spent. Tooling, raw stock, and even such things as Kurt vises are fairly cheap with industrial auctions. That is to say, shops that have gone out of business due to reaching too far on credit then having the market fall apart. Most of the shops that' have bid for machinery in the past, aren't bidding a peep. One current auction has a 1991 Mazak with just a $350 bid on it. Kurt vises going at $25, and endmills, drills, taps, reamers piled in boxes going for $10. While not a happy time for many, if you are in the market, it is a pretty good time. Where else can you get a Delta benchtop drill press with tapping head for $10?

addendum

In retrospect this seems a little harsh, but check out the deals at this one auction. Mazak turning center for $360? Geared head lathe for under $200? Steel for less than scrap?

http://www.greatlakesauction.net/ind...d=4246&cid=413

[twistedfuse]

Hey Guys,

The downturn has definitely stopped alot of my spending. Not sure what other Aussies think (although i doubt it would be much different) but it is extremely hard to have to order everything overseas with the current exchange rate and then on top of that, my biggest issue is that since its dropped shipping costs have skyrocketed. I was going to buy some more rails but it now costs 3x more than what i paid a month before the downturn.

Luckily you guys in america and china have alot of suppliers within the country, and dont have this issue.

Daniel

[Geof]

I do CNC for a living and my hobby is travel; I am one of the few that benefit from this downturn because there are great deals available for cruises these days.

[port_huon]

I agree with twistedfuse, the exchange rate for the $A is the main factor at the moment.
You can order something today and even though it might only be a day or so until your bank processes the transaction, it could be 1% - 2% higher than expected.

I want to get some ballscrews with a view to converting my X2 mill but prices are over double what I paid for similar sizes from the same supplier about 6 months ago.

[Mike Nash]

Actually, I'm mostly posting just to get rid of the annoying prompt "it appears that you have not posted on our forums in several weeks"

But the economic downturn doesn't prevent my buying as much as the fact that I bought like crazy before all the prices skyrocketed. That and having to clean the garage for a month so I could repair my wife's van out of the weather.

Enco's prices got really crazy. For example, I bought two 201-2536 XY tables before the prices started jumping. Just some samples from old sales flyers:

 Flyer Date    Reg Price   Sale Price     Savings   Savings%
 09/2008       $137.28      $121.95      $ 15.33     11%
 11/2008       $137.28      $125.95      $ 11.33      8%
 01/2009       $263.95      $145.00      $118.95     45% 
  

Now anyone can see that I should have waited. I would have saved $237.90 instead of $30.66. Why, I could have bought a third table if I had waited until January and still been money ahead!

And if the CEOs that are "laying off" workers would simply triple the wages of those they are "laying off" they would save enough to give themselves and their shareholders some big payoffs.

Numbers are fun!

[skullworks]

Well I have stopped for the moment, being presently unemployed...

But I did blow nearly $2000 of my severence on items for converting 3 machines...

I'm now out of the country working a contract consulting gig for a few weeks... get paid upon completion...

And yes when I get back I plan to spend more... while I can.

I get enough side jobs that having CNC at home will pay for its self in short order. Likewise I am in a better position to low ball certain limited prototype jobs than a normal shop could.

My prior customers know my work and trust me, I refuse to let my name be associated with crap. I've had other venders damage or ruin work in progress ( anodize, heat treat, plating etc ) and redone the parts because they failed my expectations. (even when the parts were still within spec)