@JPS posted:During the Train World Interview with Mike Wolf he mentioned that their average customer spent $5500 per year on train stuff/the hobby. He did not say what year only something like 'when we last surveyed it' so not sure how recent that figure is.
That seems like a lot both because five thousand is still real money and many, like me, would not have enough room to add that much stuff a year to what is likely a full layout and train room.
Wondering what people here really spend per year on average.
I have an acquaintance who is selling the bulk of his collection as he is moving and doesn't feel like moving it nor paying for storage to house it. He's a runner so he does use most of what he owns but there are items which have never been removed from the shipping carton. He provided me a list of his inventory - it totaled 1.2 million dollars. Seeing as how he and his wife are both retired, he can obviously afford it. I have another friend in the hobby who easily has $150k of engines on the shelves on the walls of his train room. So yes, the average of $5.5k per year is not surprising to me at all.
I am well south of that average but more power to those who's pockets are deeper than mine as I would spend more if I was in a position to do so.
-Greg
