As prices go up do you start to change?

I received my DX13 last week. Fantastic figure I really love it but with a "*" beside it. I will be very honest a part of me is turned off that it cost me $300 and as a result has questioned my love of HT a little bit. I feel the "scales weight" is at a complete balance right now. Once side loving the figure and the other side feeling the price has become out of hand. Up to this point price did not matter with my HT purchase but after this purchase I am starting to think "Is this too much"? I am fearing that the high prices may start to eat up my desire to own future figures as a result stop collecting and begin to sell off my collection. The new SS Darth Vader will be released soon but I am not too thrilled about paying $250. I think the scale is starting to tip.

I have been waiting for Batman Returns for almost two years. Two years ago I felt like I could afford all three. Today I am not sure. Tomorrow I might not care.

I don't get what the appeal is of the hobby if you're that ambivalent about it. The prices are high but pretty reasonable for the detail and likenesses that SSC and HT are delivering (look at custom prices if you want to see how expensive these would be in very small runs).

I'd also ask, like Fiend did in the DX-13 thread, why being priced out/dropping the hobby would mean having to sell off your collection? Why couldn't you keep what you have and just enjoy it?

Lastly, I have to admit I wonder why so many people in this hobby don't seem to see a day when they're done, or at the point where they're only buying a couple pieces a year. Right now there is a lot coming out in core licences like Terminator, Star Wars, Marvel, but once one has those primary licences sewn up, what is there left to get? Personally I'll never feel nostalgia for a new or upcoming movie/franchise, so my collecting days are numbered, for the most part. Two or three years from now, I'll only be picking-up the odd Star Wars or Marvel piece and maybe Blade Runner, if it ever gets made. Makes me feel better knowing that I won't be buying at the rate I am now forever.

it begins...
and no, you're not alone. more and more people are starting to feel this way, become increasingly selective, or drop out all together.

I have seriously found the opposite.
The last two HT figures I hit, Mime Joker and Evil Supes came in at 2000rmb for the pair. I was paying around 1300rmb at the beginning for Indy ( my first HT). So from my perspective the HT costs are better than ever.

Got them secondhand I'm gonaa guess?

No, not at all. I bought them in store.
Coulson is even cheaper than that, and Supes 1 cheaper again. He's been around the 800rmb Mark for a year or so.

I'm getting pickier. I'm letting more things go unbought. As the prices go up for figures I am buying a few more statues and fewer figures. Of course, I only buy what I can display, so I will only buy a few statues ever. I expect that by the time 2015 comes around I will be buying very little.

I will still enjoy what I have and selectively add to it. I also have never understood that ceasing to buy means you have to sell. I plan on holding onto everything.

Change? No. Focus? Yes.

I am finding myself getting less picky actually, and maybe a bit more indulgent, example..
I don't like the IM movies except the first, but couldn't resist the Tony Stark lab tech set up. It's amazing.

DVD1 said:

No, not at all. I bought them in store.
Coulson is even cheaper than that, and Supes 1 cheaper again. He's been around the 800rmb Mark for a year or so.

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Impressive. no suprise on superman. He was produced in HUGE numbers, and took a while to sell out.

Coulson is kida boring, only REALLY appeals to fans ( like me)


Enjoy those prices. i'd be buying more if i could find them at that cost.

Invictus Sol said:

Lastly, I have to admit I wonder why so many people in this hobby don't seem to see a day when they're done, or at the point where they're only buying a couple pieces a year. Right now there is a lot coming out in core licences like Terminator, Star Wars, Marvel, but once one has those primary licences sewn up, what is there left to get? Personally I'll never feel nostalgia for a new or upcoming movie/franchise, so my collecting days are numbered, for the most part. Two or three years from now, I'll only be picking-up the odd Star Wars or Marvel piece and maybe Blade Runner, if it ever gets made. Makes me feel better knowing that I won't be buying at the rate I am now forever.

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You make a good point in this last paragraph. It seems some people are happy to buy several pieces a month. I find it exhausting, and stale. I'm pretty happy that I'm down to buying just a fee pieces a year. One every few months, maybe even less. After I buy 66 Batman and Robin my focus will be strictly Star Wars I think.



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I've been collecting for 5 to 6 years. Many things from Mezco, Neca and Sideshow pieces have always been in my collection. I recently made a Collection Thread to show off what I got which I sold a lot of pieces at one point so I use to have more but does it change for me that the prices went up? I can say the prices suck. Back in the day pricing was affordable and I could easily get the cash. Now not so much. For me money is tight that's for sure and I'll be going to College next Fall. I'll be taking a break well not really I'll still be collecting but won't be seeing my stuff I get in or my Collection much. Prices do suck but in reality I love to collect. I normally don't have tons of pieces I get a month. Every once a while I get something since this hobby is expensive but my Collection is growing and I'm happy to say it's growing back to what it use to be. I'll never stop Collecting. It will be apart of my life till the day I die. I don't want to sell anymore of my pieces. So yes the prices suck but for me I don't have a million orders to fulfil. When I did have a million orders it was stressful but I maintain my orders with only a few and I can always get the others later down the road. I'm also very picky so that helps a lot too. Just my two cents on this subject. For me personally it hasn't changed a fact just makes me struggle to get more money to fund my next piece. For now I stick with 1/6 scale since I can afford more in that scale. I love 1/4 but only get a Premium Format once in a while. So you shouldn't feel the need to sell your whole collection if done. That's crazy all the money you spent and the time you put into making your collection grow. Would be a waste of time. Keep your stuff and only get a couple things every once in a while. Again just my two cents and oh. Love the DX13. I think it was worth the money for the fact you basically get 3 things in the package. It's a deal for sure and I love mine so don't go back and forward on this. Just stare at how awesome it is and love it.

Prices don't bother me never have. They always been expensive and I always expect them to go up especially when they keep getting better. And compared to custom pieces, HTs are cheaper, better likenesses and quality.

Sometimes I see people buy things they don't really care about and just want whatever is new. Then they sell them off after a week or two. People who do this seem to never be satisfied. Not saying its wrong to collect that way but I think they would be more happy if they focused on characters and movies they absolutely love and want to keep and not waste time and money on stuff you don't really care about. Just my observation over the years I've been on here

Sure, it's related to marginal utility/marginal cost. At a certain point the enjoyment you gain from a figure isn't worth what you pay for it. Imagine the best figure in your cabinet. The one you love the most. Now imagine that costing $5,000, on an unchanged salary. Most people would not be interested at that point. The figure is just as enjoyable as it is now, but the cost of that enjoyment is more than the enjoyment received.

It doesn't help that these toys are in a bit of a bubble right now, and the prices have shown steady (and in some cases ridiculous) increases, because then scalpers distort the market by purchasing more items than they need, which is distorting the demand side of the equation.

Don't buy figures that cost too much. Problem solved.

devilof76 said:

Don't buy figures that cost too much. Problem solved.

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sooo. you're saying no one should buy 3A or Hot toys, or most of the new sideshow stuff?

I keep reading the question, and the Hulk and the Lizard come to mind. If everything is going up, one way or another, we're simply going to be buying less.

I didn't buy one single figure this year due to the high costs. Prices pretty much killed it for me.

Only difference is those 'maybe' figures become passes.

Y4NK33 PL4N3T said:

Change? No. Focus? Yes.

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This.

EVILFACE said:

Only difference is those 'maybe' figures become passes.

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And this.

As far as focus goes, I try to go by getting as few figures as I need from a certain line. Whatever the minimum amount is to properly represent the film or franchise (or to make a cool standalone display since I'd like to start treating my collectibles the way someone would treat paintings or pottery -- as home decorations), that's how many I buy. It used to be that I'd get absolutely every figure from a line I cared about so I could have everything standing side by side on a shelf, but that's no longer the case. Much too expensive and it doesn't even look good to me.