SpanishStallion wrote:
Royal Chess Mall sets look very much like cartoons, they all have this toy-like and funny childish aspect to them. In fact, RCM has reduced chess to a cartoon.
Now THAT'S a troll post.
Royal Chess Mall
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My favorite for the period was Zorro,Circus Boy,Fury,Rin Tin Tin,Lassie,Roy Rogers and......where my screen name came from "Andy's Gang"(where the host would say..."plunk your magictwanger froggy" and this little frog puppet would pop out to greet the kids.....Loved The original Twilight Zone too.
Great times....Innocent times! I never knew of prejudice or hatred for anyone,since my parents where quality people.
Now,my kids are the same way.....My daughter is a teacher and my son is working 14 hours a day,while in charge of the ICU at a hospital in his area....He's an infectious disease specialist.
Apologies for mentioning this before,but I am really a proud parent......Old or not.-
magic and Haverum congrats on raising some great kids and kudos to them as well!
I also enjoyed watching Sky King.
Eyechess wrote:
MGT88 wrote:
Eyechess wrote:
I was trying to be nice, guys!
Yes, this is the guy that demanded evidence from recognized experts on Chess sets. Of course there are no certified experts and he doesn’t even begin to recognize people that are experts because he claims they are trying to steer business one way. Of course he only cries this when those expert at this say what he doesn’t want to hear, the sets in question that cost more, ARE of a better quality.
But hey, the rummy one insults the same way with the same claims.
I would also point out that the higher-end sets can take anywhere from 25-30 hours of labor; for a 500 EUR set, that's like 15 EUR an hour; once you factor in materials/overhead/etc., the profit seems quite marginal. For the manufacturers who claim to produce equal quality for say 100 EUR, it would work out to something like $3 EUR an hour if 25-30 hours of labor are put in; once costs are factored in, the profit must be almost non-existent for the business; one can only imagine what the laborers are earning. This is one of my big issues with proponents of the lower-end sets who criticize the higher-end manufacturers on cost; the lower-end manufacturers must be paying poverty wages to their workers to achieve such low prices, so it is extremely disingenuous to claim a higher-end manufacturer is "ripping people off" for charging prices commensurate with living wages. I don't think anyone is getting rich off of chess set manufacture.
When Gregor and his family were making one of my Dubrovnik II sets, I asked him how much labor time went into each set. His answer was 26 hours per set.
And when you consider each piece being made one by one, that number is reasonable.
There are sets priced a lot higher than Noj sets. Most all of those have a retailer as a middle man. Noj is a direct to the consumer place like RCM and a few others in India. I use Noj as an example because we have seen pictures and videos of where and how they make the sets.
We also know that Noj does not only have Chess sets as their business. They make most of their income on fountain pens. Gregor has told me, a number of times, that he and his brother make Chess sets because their retired father really wants them to.
But we still can compare the manufacturer in Slovenia with the direct India companies. Wood Is wood, and they all need to get it for their production. So those costs should be similar. And so should the other material costs.
The labor cost and time then are what must be different. If less time is spent on making a set, then the cost is lower. And also if the wages are lower, so be it.
Less time in carving and finish work has to leave out some steps to create a better quality.
And if we compare similar designs, like the Dubrovnik, we can compare costs or prices for different manufacturers.
Noj Dubrovnik sets are a bit less than $600.
Chess Bazaar Dubrovnik sets are a tad over $170.
Royla Chess Mall Dubrovnik set is at about $93.
And the retailer, House Of Staunton, has their latest Dubrovnik set at well under $200, when the usual discounts are taken. Of course the House of Staunton must buy wholesale and then retail the set. And those sets are also made in India, with that country’s material and labor costs.
At the round numbers of $600 price and 26 hours labor, that’s $23 an hour before material costs are deducted. Gregor and his brother are not making a lot of money.
Chess Bazaar prices have gone up quite a bit and their price Is about the same as the middleman retailer, House of Staunton. Plus that HoS set rocks.
RCM is the cheapest by a long shot. This means they are either paying less for wood and other materials and/or are paying less for labor and most apparently taking less labor time for set production.
These are the facts.
Excellent post.
See how many fine people populate this forum! Kinda' makes arguing over expensive vs reasonably priced chess sets pretty moot!
Yeah....I forgot Sky King.......I can't believe the "old-ish crowd" for got THE GOLD STANDARD....
Howdy Doody!
Apr 9, 2020
0
#328
Sorry, but the 2 best were The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible, Peter Graves, enough said.
Ha...Ha....Don't get me started.-
Apr 9, 2020
0
#330
Oh yeah, My Favorite Martian was the best. Of course just a tad later there was,...the original,...Adam West,...yes,...Batman.
@Eyechess
$23 an hour? in Slovenia.
In India on average these labourers should be paid $10 - $20 a day ( around 8 to 10 hours ). That brings it around $2 an hour. That doesn't means they are underpaid. That means the cost of living too is equally low.
Apr 9, 2020
0
#332
Mohan_Kumar_Chess wrote:
@Eyechess
$23 an hour? in Slovenia.
In India on average these labourers should be paid $10 - $20 a day ( around 8 to 10 hours ). That brings it around $2 an hour. That doesn't means they are underpaid. That means the cost of living too is equally low.
Yeah, yeah, but the real question is which do you like better, My Favorite Martian or Mr. Ed?
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Mohan_Kumar_Chess wrote:
@Eyechess
$23 an hour? in Slovenia.
In India on average these labourers should be paid $10 - $20 a day ( around 8 to 10 hours ). That brings it around $2 an hour. That doesn't means they are underpaid. That means the cost of living too is equally low.
$23 an hour is before material cost and overhead, which is probably 50% or more of the final sale price, so probably more like $10-12 an hour; that's minimum wage here in Canada.
Apr 9, 2020
0
#336
MGT88 wrote:
Mohan_Kumar_Chess wrote:
@Eyechess
$23 an hour? in Slovenia.
In India on average these labourers should be paid $10 - $20 a day ( around 8 to 10 hours ). That brings it around $2 an hour. That doesn't means they are underpaid. That means the cost of living too is equally low.
$23 an hour is before material cost and overhead, which is probably 50% or more of the final sale price, so probably more like $10-12 an hour; that's minimum wage here in Canada.
Yeah, the Mohan needs to realize that $10 - $20 a day is third world kind of income. Not that I am saying India is third world, Mohan, just the pay...
Apr 9, 2020
0
#337
Haverumwilltravel wrote:
One Step Beyond.
“There is nothing wrong with your television set.” And of course in black and white.
Eyechess wrote:
MGT88 wrote:
Mohan_Kumar_Chess wrote:
@Eyechess
$23 an hour? in Slovenia.
In India on average these labourers should be paid $10 - $20 a day ( around 8 to 10 hours ). That brings it around $2 an hour. That doesn't means they are underpaid. That means the cost of living too is equally low.
$23 an hour is before material cost and overhead, which is probably 50% or more of the final sale price, so probably more like $10-12 an hour; that's minimum wage here in Canada.
Yeah, the Mohan needs to realize that $10 - $20 a day is third world kind of income. Not that I am saying India is third world, Mohan, just the pay...
Also, $10-12 is the net profit; if the turner doesn't own the business, he can expect his actual pay to be even lower, probably something like $6-8 an hour...suddenly the "high-priced boutique" sets don't seem so "over-priced" do they?
Aside from my desire to see "rcmacmillan" run for President after his latest incredibly accurate post.
Though we are going off topic here....Under the circumstances we are all living through these days, it is really,"really nice" to have such pleasant banter over fun past experiences.
My vote....and I dare anyone beat this......."I dream Of Genie"......Had the hots for Barbara Eden big time!
I'm a little young for Sky King although I remember bits of it. I guess I started around the Lone Ranger days, moved into Bonanza and Gunsmoke, and especially The Wild, Wild West. My absolute favorite that I never saw enough of was, and still is, The Thunderbirds. What a great show for a gadget loving geek. I'm more partial to brunettes like Wonder Woman but Genie...my goodness.
Not in my eighties but well on my way to becoming a world class curmudgeon. You folks must be pretty aged yourselves for correctly placing me from Andy Griffith and Sgt. Carter. Younger people always go to Full Metal Jacket.