Yeah bottom line is 1/8 electric or nitro will cost you a startup of $1500 or more to race competitively. Most parents ain't buying there ungrateful kids something that expensive. Heck most adults aren't gonna buy themselves that. When you look at what you get for the price it really does suck. I enjoy racing and have probably spent $3000+ in only a year on racing and i've been somewhat conservative yet i want to be competitive. It kills me every time I have to make an order. I'm not sure i believe the manufactures are making money hand over fist. It's such a specialized hobby that I don't think they get the volume. I could be wrong tho. I know my LHS's aren't making any money to really speak of. Probably just enough to stay open and barely make the business worth it. I've tried to get friends into the hobby to no avail. It takes a special kind of person to race RC cars.