INFLATING PRICES

I could cost $100 less. If  I was launched a year ago.

One thing that annoys me as much as scares me is how quick the prices of figures are increasing. Even figures with huge editions of 2500 units are hitting the $500 benchmark. I know collectible figures are a growing expanding market but this inflation of the prices will scare away lots of potential costumers both veterans (in a lesser degree) as newcomers (much strongly). I’m somewhere in between these two extremes and I confess that I had to decrease the number of statues I buy per year from three to two. This year I’ll order only one because I can’t afford to lose the statue (is the new Deadpool PF from Sideshow) and because I’m saving to reform my bedroom so I can expose my humble collection. Even if I wasn’t save money I wouldn't be able to buy three, four figures per year anymore for the single reason they became too expensive to me. I’m not a rich guy and collecting these figures never was a cheap hobby but now it’s becoming ridiculously expensive. Take the new Master of Universe Sideshow line per example: He-Man came out for $400. Skeletor and Evil-lyn a couple of months later came out for $450 and $440 respectively. It’s a huge inflation. Or the Dark Phoenix with an edition of 2500 pieces for $ 500. I believe that if it were just one year ago the same Dark Phoenix would cost no higher than $400.00. It’s becoming unbearable to me. I had to give up of Ralph McQuarrie’s Boba Fett, lose 42 bucks NRD in order to guarantee my Dark Phoenix. If things goes this way, by the end of the year a PF figure will cost 700-800 dollars and I won’t be able to buy anymore statues. I’m on my toes about the Deadpool statue, I hope it comes in the line between 450-500 bucks, otherwise I’ll simply cannot afford it what would be very frustrating since I love the character and I think the statue is turning out very well. Maybe I’m being delusional here and the prices are not growing but I’m pretty sure they are when inflation in US is almost zero. I would like to know your opinions. The only way to stop this is when the sales start to decrease abruptly due to the high costs of the pieces. Then they will rethink their marketing strategy or lose all the medium to low budget costumers like me. The worst part is as this is a piece of “art” there’s no way to regulate the prices, only the powers of demand and offering. It’s a pity to alienate this great part of the public that save every penny to buy a new shinny figure of their beloved character but that’s exactly what’s happening and will happen even faster, the faster they raise the prices.

Addendum July 7 2016:

Why is the figure of the left 450 cheaper than the one on the right? Two words: studios' extortion.

The most crying example for the argument of this post came out this week: the Voltron Statue from Sideshow Collectibles. About the same size and as nearly detailed as the Galactus Legendary Scale statue from the very Sideshow Collectibles, it will be launched by astounding $ 1,250.00 whereas Galactus, a couple of years ago, was priced $ 799.99. Given the size and detail, the two should be priced around the same plateau (even though I think Galactus is a much cooler and detailed piece) but look what happened in a couple of years: two products of the same league, so to say, have over 50% raise in the price while US inflation doesn’t get nowhere near as that or the country would be in total jeopardy. This is the studio stretching the line to see until we’re going to pay for one figure from them. It’s outrageous and I hope the line snaps soon. Even though I believe it unfortunately won’t. There’s too many rich people that really dig this hobby.  And then again the low budget collector won’t be able to get a Voltron he/she always dreamt about home. Shame on you Sideshow and on all the other studios doing the same price practice.