My photographs are worth much more than the saving the money.
In my profession wages have gone up at least 10X compared to 1975, so $8 then is $80 now. Right in line with the selling price.
Lets take another example, a mid sized family car such as a Ford Granada was $3700 in 1975. A middle of the range Ford Taurus lists now for ~$37,000, also 10X the 1975 price. I don't know where you get the 4x multiplier, everything I looked at was roughly 10X more expensive now.
The Texas Hunt brothers tried to corner the silver market back when, and paper prices have been ridiculous ever since.
And did you have to walk 10 miles uphill in both directions to go buy it?
I'm afraid a simple 4x multiplier since 1975 doesn't make sense.
For some commodities that were and are sold and used in high volumes (milk and gasoline?) maybe, but film??? And particularly bulk film????
My photographs are worth much more than the saving the money.
My photographs are worth much more than the saving the money.
David:Trendland: Thank you for remembering what others choose to ignore. - David Lyga
I lived in NYC from 1971 to 1983. In the mid-70s minimum wage was about $2.50 per hour. Today, 42 years later the minimum wage (nationally) is $7.25. True many municipalities offer a somewhat higher wage, but 4 X $2.50 is about the highest norm out there.
Not all of us live in depressed areas. When I am the min wage has gone up 7X since 1975, and it's going up again this year. However, I somehow doubt that those making min wage are buying bulk rolls of film now, so I don't think that it's an accurate barometer of costs. Photography has always been an expensive hobby and not for those just scraping by.
Yeah, but I've been doing it for 50 yrs. Now I'm finding myself priced out of it in my old age.
Yeah, but I've been doing it for 50 yrs. Now I'm finding myself priced out of it in my old age.
PAPER prices.Because of film prices????
David:
No ignoring here. I understand well how important it was and is to many, many people that they be able to save money by using bulk film. And when volumes were high, bulk films could be made available at attractive prices.
I do however understand why bulk prices and individual roll prices haven't increased the same way.
The costs of distributing what is now a niche product are, relatively speaking, a far greater portion of the shelf price than they once were.
There are still some economies of sale in the system for individual rolls.
The number of bulk rolls sold, and the number of places left that sell them, are now so insignificantly tiny that there are no economies of sale left.
In the old days, it didn't cost a Kodak (as an example) dealer in Arkansas (as an example) anything more than the product wholesale cost to add (as an example) 5 rolls of bulk film to their weekly order.
Now it costs them a significant amount to add the minimum order quantity of 40 (or whatever the number is) bulk rolls to their half-yearly order, with the full realization that there was a real chance that those 40 rolls wouldn't all sell in that half year.
The film photographic supply market in New York is still somewhat active, on greatly reduced volumes. But elsewhere, almost no one is selling the stuff.
Just before Christmas I was in a photographic store that is local to me. They were trying to clear out two bulk rolls of expired Tri-X. Great (??) discount - 50% off - from their "regular" price of $300.00 CDN per roll. I expect that their "regular" price was that high because it was based on their cost if they were to order from their suppliers a single bulk roll to fill a single order from one of the store's customers. I do know that the various competing distributors that sell Kodak film to Canadian retailers either have very high minimum order requirements, or very high prices, or a combination of both. Many retailers aren't stocking bulk rolls - they don't order from the distributors except to fill a customer's order. I expect the distributors don't keep stock either - they too only order when they receive an order.
PAPER prices.
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