Curious question on pricing

[BMW]

Garey wrote:
------------------------------------------
Looks pretty impressive, but is a little misleading.   Electronic
equipment, in particular seems to only go down in price, regardless of
inflation!   A "pocket" transistor radio in 1969 cost $40-50.  Today
they're given away as promotional items, and cost $3-5 in quantity.
TV sets cost $200-300 for a 19" black & white set, today you can buy a
35" color set for $500 or less.  I won't even think about computer
prices, except to say that an IBM 3.5 MHz PC with 640k of RAM and a 10
MB hard  drive cost almost $5,000.

An equivalent transceiver to the SB-101, like say a tiny TS-50S, sells
for about $700 or less, not $2000.
-------------------------------------------

Yes, what you are really comparing is top-of-the-line equipment in 1965 to
top-of-the-line equipment today, not the cost of replicating an SB-301
today. (Who would buy one?) The price of 1965 equipment adjusted for
inflation shows what it ought to cost for a radio with among the best
features of the day. In the case of the SB series, that represented among
the best you could buy without moving up to a Collins S-Line, which was
about twice as much. Today, the modern equivalent to the S-Line is the new
$10-13K ICOM and Yaesu rigs. A Heathkit equivalent to those ought to sell
for $5-6K.

Brian, W0DZ

-----------------------------------------------------------
Products bought, sold or traded here is the responsibility of the
parties involved.  This list and the City of Tempe are not responsible
for losses or misrepresentations of any kind.  Buyer beware!

-----------------------------------------------------------
This list is a public service of the City of Tempe, Arizona
-----------------------------------------------------------

Subscription control - http://www.tempe.gov/lists/control.asp?list=HEATH
To post - HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
Archives - http://listserv.tempe.gov/archives/HEATH.html