When will the 1:6 bubble pop?

Or will it?

ilovefreestufftoo said:

Or will it?

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What is this "pop" you speak of?

When collectors run out of money and credit.

The Hobby has had a solid presence for much longer than the last year or so that it has grown exponentially. I think the real question is how much longer will people pay over $150 a figure and how high can the prices get before we can no longer justify the purchase.

EVILFACE said:

When collectors run out of money and credit.

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+1

The answer is pretty simple it the answers above mixed with the reality that the bubble will pop when the market prices itself out of the collector's wallets. Hot Toys figures in that scale are moving steadly towards $200 with Medicom and Sideshow following respectively. Its only a matter of time before some collectors say "For a few bucks more I could get one PF" or some say "I'm going to pick and choose because I can't afford it." Collectors running out of cash happens every year especially when you factor credit, its when the companies just flatly leave the majority of collectors behind that you will see the bottom just drop out. The secondary market itself isn't even supporting the MSRP on a lot of the figures, even the popular ones anymore. That already is telling.

Filthyrich said:

The Hobby has had a solid presence for much longer than the last year or so that it has grown exponentially. I think the real question is how much longer will people pay over $150 a figure and how high can the prices get before we can no longer justify the purchase.

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I really think the hobby has grown too. But $150 dollars is pushing the limit. Anything more than that it really depends on what franchise it is and how big of a fan you are to justify the purchase.

When Armageddon comes next year.

I've been hearing for the last year that the hobby is slowing and contracting...that companies like Sideshow are cutting back on their 1/6th offerings in favor of more profitable statues and dios. 1/6th figures are virtually non-existant on Toy shelves at the store. Granted, the last year or so has seen a huge leap in the realization of the 1/6th figure -- meaning just how real one can look -- but maybe the market as a whole is tightening up.

I really have no idea.

All I can say is that I have a fixed number of movie characters that I wish to collect...and I am fast approaching completion. I'm quite certain a lot of 1/6th collectors feel the same way.

I'll say this. It used to be that I stayed away from customs because the prices were so high even though the work was fantastic because of all of the TLC put into it. Now with the prices of figures rising, customs are starting to look more and more appealing to get something perfect instead of something that is expensive but then needs to be fixed.

The Mike said:

I'll say this. It used to be that I stayed away from customs because the prices were so high even though the work was fantastic because of all of the TLC put into it. Now with the prices of figures rising, customs are starting to look more and more appealing to get something perfect instead of something that is expensive but then needs to be fixed.

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I'm learning that now. I'm putting together a custom Michael Weston from Burn Notice (using Z's sculpt). I'm leaning that its a lot of money and work to put one together. But in the end he's going to end up costing me just as much to purchase a Hot Toys figure.

I agree with the posted replies and sentiments.

In a recent conversation I had with a prolific and respected customizer "in the business" . . . HOT TOYS was discussed/mentioned frequently as the company that will cause collectors like us to eventually reach a point where it'll be too damn expensive to continue. Granted, the products pumped out by HOT TOYS is well worth the $ for the most part, but how much is enough?

Personally speaking . . . can we get HOT TOYS design/quality for around $50.00 to $125.00 or can we settle for something comparable without too much sacrifice in design and quality so we can still "collect" within a reasonable budget/spending pattern for our 1:6 fix/need?

Kind of like saying . . . I own every single 1:6 DML German/Nazi figure since they released the very first one and I'll continue to buy DML/Nazi figures as long they keep producing them. *

* = No disrespect to DML 1:6 German/Nazi figure collectors/enthusiasts.

There are always going to be profitable 1/6 figures at any price point. Neither SSC or HT can go back and try and produce a $50 licensed figure - collectors wouldn't accept the decrease in quality. And there will never be a dearth of properties that could conceivably be profitable. Inglourious Basterds is a good example of something we never thought we'd see. Prison Break anyone? Must be profitable enough that Enterbay wants to get in the game as well.

u collectors in the usa and europe may not realize this, but u actually have it pretty good. complaining about a collectible that sets u back $150 to $200 sounds relatively petty to those of us who live in still-developing countries like malaysia.

i have to pay 4 times the amount in my equivalent currency for the same thing. imagine paying 600 us dollars for a regular edition hot toys t-600. then consider the fact that average salaries in developing nations are roughly 1/3 of what people get paid in developed nations (us, uk)... and u have a hobby that is sustainable only by fairly rich folk here. or at least those with a lot of disposable income.

now i'm not rich by any standard definition. but i do earn a pretty comfortable salary, which is considerably higher than average. and i STILL find this a very very expensive hobby to maintain. as it is, i have already chalked up a collection worth over 5 figures, in less than a year. that's unthinkable for most people my age. (not to mention i've gotten scathing lectures from my parents for "wasting" so much money.) as such, i have to be very discerning/careful as to what i choose to buy and what i have to forego. and i bet, much more careful than most of u guys and gals.


sorry if this comes across as a little off-topic but i thought i'd put the issue of pricing into a broader perspective for some of u.

The bubble pops next Friday.

I've decided to only buy figures of character I really, really like. The only line I'm fully committed to "collect them all" at this point is Iron Man. But a single representative from franchise I like most is more of the reality for me. The HT original movie Predator is a good example.

The Mike said:

The answer is pretty simple it the answers above mixed with the reality that the bubble will pop when the market prices itself out of the collector's wallets. Hot Toys figures in that scale are moving steadly towards $200 with Medicom and Sideshow following respectively. Its only a matter of time before some collectors say "For a few bucks more I could get one PF" or some say "I'm going to pick and choose because I can't afford it." Collectors running out of cash happens every year especially when you factor credit, its when the companies just flatly leave the majority of collectors behind that you will see the bottom just drop out. The secondary market itself isn't even supporting the MSRP on a lot of the figures, even the popular ones anymore. That already is telling.

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You mean Medicom is moving towards $200 a fig and HT and SS are following.

Medicom are the ones that are insane enough to try and sell us a Kaneda figure at a mere 12", so not even 1/6th scale, for $200 and asking another $400 for his bike!

I expect the mass market action figure market is going to collapse before the high end market does. 4" figures are pushing $9 apiece and are getting out of the psychological range of "impulse purchase to shut little Jimmy up".

As long as they'll be collectors.

I think the trend has been progressing for awhile from a lot of companies producing a lot of figures for a reasonable price to few making less but charging much more. Remember when you could buy 1/6 figures at places like Tower Records or Spencers? And even then those figures usually ended up clearanced before too long. I have one store in my town that still carries high-end 1/6 figures and those things just sit there. I never buy them since I can get them on-line for the same price (and get reward points) and I can't imagine there are many other collectors (besides Coco) in my area.

The market has become more specialized towards the "high-end" and seems like this trend will continue until it becomes too exclusive. I know I've been re-thinking some of my 1/6 purchases lately... still have a lot on pre-order, but with even an "affordable" option being around $80-$100 I realized it was time to get a bit more picky.

I kind of selfishly hope it does pop, because the clearance deals will be nuts.