It appears inflation just begun...what impact will this have on paintball?

[RogueFactor]

As costs rise, inflation's next front is retailers (http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/as-costs-rise-inflations-next-front-is/102414)

If retailers havent passed on the cost increases yet, and manufacturers havent completely either how will this effect the paintball industry?

Prices manufacturers paid for crude materials rose 70 percent for the three months ended in June, but companies weren't able to pass all those increases along. Prices for the intermediate goods made from those materials rose much less, about 27 percent. The prices for finished products made from those goods rose 14 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index.

The increases keep coming.

Dow Chemical Co., the second largest chemical company in the world after Germany's BASF, is raising some prices by as much as 25 percent this month, following June price increases that were as high as 20 percent on all products.

Kimberly-Clark Corp., which makes Kleenex, Huggies diapers and Viva paper towels, said Thursday that energy and commodity cost increases this year would total as much as $900 million, double its prediction at the beginning of the year.

[FiXeL]

Paint prices went up a while ago right? Guess it will go up again. Not that i am bothered by that much, but everything else is going up too, except the amount on my montly paycheck. That, and the 4% inflation rate of the euro is really bothering me. :mad:

[RogueFactor]

From what Ive read Jorrit, the Euro may get weaker...making imports more expensive for you all.

[Gee Tee]

I think the biggest effect will be the drain on disposable income. This has already started to effect the leisure industry in the UK, and it's only a matter of time before paintball feels it too.

Food, gas & electricity prices have all shot up by 20-30% in the UK during the 1st six months of 2008. Deisel is now £1.30 a litre with petrol not far behind at £1.18 Litre ( $11.30 & $10.30 a gallon US), leaving even less money for expensive hobbies like paintball, or travelling long distances to games.

I get fed up of watching the news - it's all doom & gloom these days :mad:

[Mann]

anyone else notice the drop in gas prices since china cut down on cars (in prep for the Olympics to get rid of all of their smog). Less demand more supply = lower prices. Gas is 365 here now, and is dropping every day.

I buy most of my pb gear now used. Paint at the local brick&mortar is still 40 a case. My Scuba tanks are still 3.00 to fill. If the inflation is affecting paintball I dont see it.

[RogueFactor]

anyone else notice the drop in gas prices since china cut down on cars
I noticed it because of "Oil has fallen from a record peak of $147.27 on July 11, pressured by signs that high prices and an economic slowdown are curbing demand especially in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/25891303


I buy most of my pb gear now used. Paint at the local brick&mortar is still 40 a case. My Scuba tanks are still 3.00 to fill. If the inflation is affecting paintball I dont see it.
Did you overlook the first post where it said that retailers havent passed on the costs yet? Thats likely why you havent seen it.

Let me know if you havent seen the inflation at your grocery store though.:nana:

[Mann]

Let me know if you havent seen the inflation at your grocery store though.:nana:

lol. I only half way read the first post. :footinmouth:

Honestly I dont know if groceries have got higher or not. I know beer, coke, poweraid are all about the same for the past few years. I buy all my meat from a small grocery store in the country (they have the best fillets ever). I buy ~15 once a month when they go on sale. Their sale prices are always the same iirc 8.00lb (& worth every penny). Its always ~80 bucks for ~15 of them.

I thought milk was high when I got it about a month ago. 5.00 gal here. According to my wife milk hasnt been 2-3.00gal for years. (thats what I thought it was)

I have never actually compared grocery receipts as they usually make it to the trash can before I get out of the store. I think the whole inflation thing is a little blown out of proportion tho.

[RogueFactor]

Honestly I dont know if groceries have got higher or not. I know beer, coke, poweraid are all about the same for the past few years. I buy all my meat from a small grocery store in the country (they have the best fillets ever). I buy ~15 once a month when they go on sale. Their sale prices are always the same iirc 8.00lb (& worth every penny). Its always ~80 bucks for ~15 of them.

I thought milk was high when I got it about a month ago. 5.00 gal here. According to my wife milk hasnt been 2-3.00gal for years. (thats what I thought it was)

I have never actually compared grocery receipts as they usually make it to the trash can before I get out of the store. I think the whole inflation thing is a little blown out of proportion tho.

Wow, $5/gal milk!!! Are you buying Organic? Milk around here is ~$3/gallon. A few years back, I was getting it for $1.90.

I was also wondering...youre not saying $3.65/gallon gas is cheap? While I like gas to go down, until its sub-$3.00, I am not rejoicing.

I hope inflations is blown out of proportion,for the sake of your local farmers...
http://www.cnbc.com/id/25886795/for/cnbc/

Here is another about Minimum Wage going up...http://www.cnbc.com/id/25826846/

[Gee Tee]

Milk in supermarkets here costs £1.80 (about $4) for 4 pints - or $8 a gal

[RogueFactor]

Milk in supermarkets here costs £1.80 (about $4) for 4 pints - or $8 a gal

And for good reason! I didnt find that UK'ers drink much milk!

Funny story...I traveled Europe about a decade ago. Just before my departure flight out of England back to the US, I decided to stop in the airport and have myself a Burger King breakfast with MILK. No sooner do I get back to my seat to eat this wonderful fast-food, to open and gulp down some ice cold milk...only to find out its CURDLED!!!!

So I took it back to the front. They gave me another, and IT TOO WAS CURDLED.

Well, I wasnt giving up. I asked for the Manager, he went to the back frig and pulled out a plastic-wrapped base of milk. I couldnt wait. I got back to my seat, opened it up...AND IT TOO WAS CURDLED.

I gave up, and asked for a soda instead. As you already know, I wasnt surprised after having traveled through Europe for ~3 months that you only get 1-3 ice cubes in your soda.

The moral to the story...milk is $8/gallon in the UK because much of it goes spoiled!!!

:nana::nana::nana:

[FiXeL]

Hahaha!

It's not the reason why milk is so expensive, it's because it's european milk. Everything is expensive over here, did'nt you notice? If not, go to europe now and you will go complaining like my aunt did.

Gas is €1,50 per liter over here, multipy that by 1,5 and 3,78 to get a gallon... er... thats $ 8,50 for a gallon of regular unleaded! Tabacco is insanly priced, not sure what a pack of marlboro goes for, but my guess its about €4,50 (multiply with 1,5 for $) A case of beer? between 10-12 euros for the good stuff. A whole bread? €1,60. Regular items are charged with 20% tax, fuel, alcohol and tabacco have taxes on them that exceed 50%.

Let's say you want to go a night out on the town... 2 euros for a beer, more for distilled stuff.

Want to buy a house here huh? Well you won't find any good houses under €150.000,00 Everything cheaper than that is either a fix-her-up severely, smaller than a carbord box, or stands somewhere in the ghetto.

Let's say you want to buy a car here. Well first you are screwed buying one because 25% of the sale price is TAX. Then there's more tax if it has high CO² emissions. Then, you get screwed filling her up, ($8,50 per gallon) and if you want to drive here, you get screwed again because you have to pay tax for owning a verhicle. The heavier and poluting it is, the more you pay.

And wait, it gets even better... Driving to fast? *flash* ticket, using no carkit while calling on your mobile? - Ticket. Driving to fast on a monitored piece of road? - Ticket.

What i think of the dutch goverment? They are thiefs, take all but give nothing back. :mad:

Ow, and paintball gear is priced the same here, but instead of dollars its euros. I pay €50 for a decent case of paint. :wall:

[RogueFactor]

It's not the reason why milk is so expensive, it's because it's european milk. Everything is expensive over here, did'nt you notice? If not, go to europe now and you will go complaining like my aunt did.

In 1997-1998, prices were reasonable. My plane flight to London was only $350 round trip. Our dollar was much stronger back then. The first summer, the only place that was really expensive was Norway/Sweden. My second summer, the EU had started using the Euro and the exchange rate was approx 1 Euro=1 Dollar.

My third summer, I went to Australia for a month on Qantas. $700 round trip. The exchange rate was $1.00 US = $1.50 Aus. Its now 1 to 1.

I do realize its much more expensive now. Everything is.:coffee:


Let's say you want to buy a car here. Well first you are screwed buying one because 25% of the sale price is TAX. Then there's more tax if it has high CO² emissions. Then, you get screwed filling her up, ($8,50 per gallon) and if you want to drive here, you get screwed again because you have to pay tax for owning a verhicle. The heavier and poluting it is, the more you pay.
Ive heard its very expensive. The girl I went to see in Wales said it cost $2-3,000 just to take the classes to get a drivers license. Thats just crazy.

[Dirge]

Hahaha!

It's not the reason why milk is so expensive, it's because it's european milk. Everything is expensive over here, did'nt you notice? If not, go to europe now and you will go complaining like my aunt did.

Gas is €1,50 per liter over here, multipy that by 1,5 and 3,78 to get a gallon... er... thats $ 8,50 for a gallon of regular unleaded! Tabacco is insanly priced, not sure what a pack of marlboro goes for, but my guess its about €4,50 (multiply with 1,5 for $) A case of beer? between 10-12 euros for the good stuff. A whole bread? €1,60. Regular items are charged with 20% tax, fuel, alcohol and tabacco have taxes on them that exceed 50%.

Let's say you want to go a night out on the town... 2 euros for a beer, more for distilled stuff.

Want to buy a house here huh? Well you won't find any good houses under €150.000,00 Everything cheaper than that is either a fix-her-up severely, smaller than a carbord box, or stands somewhere in the ghetto.

Let's say you want to buy a car here. Well first you are screwed buying one because 25% of the sale price is TAX. Then there's more tax if it has high CO² emissions. Then, you get screwed filling her up, ($8,50 per gallon) and if you want to drive here, you get screwed again because you have to pay tax for owning a verhicle. The heavier and poluting it is, the more you pay.

And wait, it gets even better... Driving to fast? *flash* ticket, using no carkit while calling on your mobile? - Ticket. Driving to fast on a monitored piece of road? - Ticket.

What i think of the dutch goverment? They are thiefs, take all but give nothing back. :mad:

Ow, and paintball gear is priced the same here, but instead of dollars its euros. I pay €50 for a decent case of paint. :wall:

This explains a few things. I work for a Dutch company called Kema. Whenever the home office boys stop in for a visit, they always go on a shopping spree. Mostly clothes and electronics. This explains a lot!

[Mann]

Wow, $5/gal milk!!! Are you buying Organic? Milk around here is ~$3/gallon. A few years back, I was getting it for $1.90.


2% Mayfield Milk. I doubt it is organic as it is sold in gas stations/walmart. I know last time I purchased just a gallon I handed the lady a 5, and she handed me back only coins. I know it is a "name brand" milk, but I have drank it for the last 15 years. no reason to stop now.

[RogueFactor]

Here is another story on inflation...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26008350

[sepplainer]

I just got back from A two week vacation in Europe and even with the weak dollar I was not put off buy prices. I paid about 2.5 euro for a beer and most meals were not really that expensive for the quality and amount of the food. I was in France, Belgum, Germany and Holland and hotels and food were not that expensive. Gas was expensive but we rented a Van for the whole time and even the rental cost of a van for 6 people that we drove from Nomandy to Amsterdam was not a back breaker. In fact at most places we over budgeted our costs and were pleasantly suprised.

Fixel if you ever need a renter let me know. I fell in love with Amsterdam. That is the prettiest city I have ever seen. You have a word (I can't think of it and I sure could not spell it) to discribe a pleasant, nice feeling and your city exudes it.

Fixel I thought you lived in Amsterdam but you may not.

[Mann]

Fixel I thought you lived in Amsterdam but you may not.

I thought he lived in the Netherlands (although I am not sure that Amsterdam is not in the Netherlands) Geography was never my strong suit.

[FiXeL]

I wished i lived in or near amsterdam... They got a nice paintball field over there! :D Too bad it's a 2hr drive from where i live, and you have to be a member to pay resonable prices for paint these days.

I´ve been to amsterdam a few times, and it´s an ok place with lots of things to do. When i started playing, we went to that paintballfield a few times per year. But since recently they have a new rule that you have to be a member to buy paint for the usual price. (€45-50 per case) But for the 1 or 2 times per year it's doesn't pay to have a 120 euro per year membership. And like hell i'm going to pay 100 euro for a case of paint.

That's really too bad, because i know alot of regulars there. :(

But atleast i'll remember them... When i start up their old 4500psi compressor! :rofl2:

[sepplainer]

I did not see the feild but I did see two in France and two in Belgium. Belgium has a field right in the north shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge which I almost talked the group into playing. However when you have 11 days of vacation to visit 4 countries its tuff to get people to spend a day playing a game they play at home.

[Max Powers]

I am an insurance adjuster and travel extensively. Mostly now it is around the U.S., but three years ago I would regularly go to the U.k., Canada, and Spain. That has all stopped now. I also do not plan on seeing a performance bonus at the end of the year either even though my work load has almost doubled.

Even with our territories limited to the continental U.S., my T&E for the last year has TRIPLED!!! Many of the amenities that were once commonplace for business trips have all but ceased or have been reduced to the barest minimum. Even with most of the perks gone, the expenses still are way up.

Not that I play that much anymore but I do plan on treating myself to a brand new gun at some time soon. That means that when I make a choice, it has to be a good one.

[LathumPB]

Milk is $5.28/gallon here and gas is $3.59...oh well...I pretty much have no social life anyways. I have a five year old car that I drive to and from work everyday (heck, Rogue probably remembers when I got it). Inflation sucks right now and the dollar sucks worse...

--LPB

[Cell]

To be honest, gas is the least of my worries. I'm sick of hearing 30mpg on new vehicle's being considered great gas mileage and economic. Hell, i had a 1970 P.O.S. that got 40mpg and its a regular size sedan. This marketing is BS.

I work part time in a Hardware store and we just repriced everything. Anything with plastic packaging went up a minimum of 50 cents, even if the product itself was under this. If the plastic is gloss tack on an additional 10 cents. Its adding up where we miss it. Lets not even talk about the cost of any metallic materials.

And, yes, it most definitely effects the amount of paintball play I see. I simply cant find the time between trying to make money (work) and finally finish up school, much less have the ability to afford it.

Sorry, A little rant. I miss paintball.

[RogueFactor]

Myself, I will likely play less this year than last.

[LathumPB]

Myself, I will likely play less this year than last.

Heck...I'd be glad if I played this year at all...

--LPB