Mental Floss: How Much Are These Showcases Worth Today?

[Clay Zambo]

Just ran into a Mental Floss article on Showcase inflation.  Getting past the part where "Showcase Showdown" is used mistakenly for "Showcase," this is an interesting survey of Price is Right progress from the Cullen era to Carey.

It's worth the price of admission for BooBoo, from the second Barker episode.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/60295/how-much-are-these-11-price-right-showcases-worth-today

[That Don Guy]

Of course, it depends on the items.  There was a Christmas Eve showcase in the early 1980s that had a full-size airplane (i.e. the kind that requires a license to fly) for about $30,000.  While inflation might have driven the price up to near $100,000 today, if you were to try to buy that plane today, it would cost you about $300,000.  Almost all of that price increase was due to the skyrocketing cost in liability insurance for the plane manufacturer since then.

[Fedya]

The technology, especially electronics, also hasn't gone up nearly as fast as inflation.  How much would a 55-inch TV cost today?

I also seem to recall seeing one of the 70s Let's Make a Deal episodes on GSN where Monty gave away a Record-a-Call answering machine for the princely sum of $295.

[BrandonFG]

Interesting that most of the Showcase values, when adjusted for inflation, actually line up pretty well with what a Showcase goes for in 2014.

Going with Ted's example, I remember seeing $700 VCRs on Press Your Luck, along with a $1,000 DVD player in the first season of Bergeron's Squares, so I guess not everything goes up drastically.

[jage]

There's a big difference between "adjusted for inflation" and "would cost you X today" that this article doesn't really tackle. I realize the piece is just going for some simple fun which is fine, but it would be perhaps more interesting to price similar items today to see how much they would really cost. As was said earlier, many of the prizes given away actually cost less now than in 1972.

[BrandonFG]

Since we don't usually know the price of each individual item, for them to do that, you'd prolly have to use the pricing games. For example, that $2,700 Vega from the first episode would be about $14K now. I imagine your entry level Chevy compact goes for about that much?

[Fedya]

Cars back then didn't have mandatory airbags or a lot of other standard features that were options back then.  In theory, that should cause the sticker price of cars to go up faster than the rate of inflation.

(Meanwhile, I seem to recall everybody going for the air conditioning first in It's Optional.)

[TLEberle]

I imagine your entry level Chevy compact goes for about that much?

Chevy Sonic LS sedan for $14,200 on KBB, so you're in the ballpark.

[irwinsjournal.com]

A data point not from TPIR... one of the prize tiers on Celebrity Bowling was an Amana Radarange or a full size refrigerator.   Microwave ovens and refrigerators are not exactly at the same price point these days.