Do you care if 1/6th figures have small production runs?

I was thinking about this in the Hasbro AT-AT thread.

That thing is monsterously big and is relatively the price of 1 or 2 12" figures.

A big reason why 12" figures are so much more expensive that other collectibles is that they are not produced in large quantities, so the expense of designing the figure and all of that has to be applied to much fewer units.

I know SSC figures have improved over the past few years, but I think a big part of the increase in price is the fact that SSC no longer produces the figures in nearly thw quantity they used to.

I don't really know why. Did demand drop off for one reason or another? Or did SSC cut the supply in anticipation of lower demand over prices.

Anyway, my hypothetical question is:

If SSC cut prices, but increased supply, would you be ok with that?

I understand many people will have a problem with the likely hood of this happening, but its just hypothetical. Is having the figure more limited important (for collectibility reasons or future sale reasons)? Or is having the figure cost less more important?

Are there other factors? Does producing something in higher quantity pose a measurable quality problem?

I wouldn't mind that the edition sizes would go up. I rather see 6000 good figures then 1500 bad figures that will lose their value. It may be because they were the first figures, but the older figures are still for the same price or a little lesser sold on the internet.

Anyone who enters into 1/6 collecting as an investment is kidding themselves. If you want exclusivity, you should probably collect premium format.

Anzik said:

Anyone who enters into 1/6 collecting as an investment is kidding themselves. If you want exclusivity, you should probably collect premium format.

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don't care about edition size. i just want Quality figures at an affordable price (yes 60-200$ is an affordable range)

Great "hypothetical" Prog. The topic does come up time to time and hopefully this doesn't spiral out of control given the passion of most collectors, good or bad. I voted make more of them and make them cheaper. I don't give a crap if there's 6000 unsold, gift card-waiting figures out there or if there's 100. I want what's appropriate for my collecting habit and I would prefer if I could afford it. Most of my figures are 1 of 1 anyways as I tweak them according to how I want, upgraded boots, repainting hair etc...Heck, if they were cheaper, I'd buy more just for parts. Because of the current secondary market on some of them, I'm able to do that now. I know a lot of people think that by having 1 of 10 of something, they are super special, but last time I checked, there were millions of fans and shutting out 99% of them because of price doesn't seem like a particularly smart business model. Of course all this rant is contingent on the fact the quality is at least as good as it is now ( not quite talking going back to Hasbro days), and the company obviously needs to make money to stay in business.

When it comes to 1/6th (PF's are a different subject) I don't care what the edition size is and I don't care if they have to increase the price $25-50 on average. Just give us consistent quality, solid paint apps, and don't overpromise and then screw fans on lines by putting them "on hold".

Sideshow has been moving out of the 1/6th area because Hot Toys has taken a ton of market share. IF Sideshow wants to stay competitive, they are going to have to focus on a few lines and gain a following within those lines; they are doing this with GI Joe and have a big following even though the price has increased. To keep this line competitive, SS MUST improve their paint apps.

A perfect example that I can think of is the LotR line. I think Sideshow should finish the Fellowship, but make the edition size low and quality high, then crank up the price to cover it. The hardcore LotR fans who have been begging for a finished Fellowship will most likely pick them up no matter what and Sideshow will regain some of its reputation with the 1/6th fans.

Unfortunately, 1/6th fans are painfully picky and want quality, accuracy, low edition size, AND low cost...and that is lose/lose for any company.

I'd of course like them to cost less and would have no problem with higer ES, or even no set ES if I was able to get the figures (of the same quality) for less

Sadly I just don't think the interest is there for as many units of a 1/6 figure. If Hasbro gave up on the $20-$30 1/6 figures (that were largely awful) I can't imagine anyone else really making a serious go of it. Even at lower prices I don't think we'd see 10,000+ of many figures sell out like they did 10 years ago.

galactiboy said:

Sadly I just don't think the interest is there for as many units of a 1/6 figure. If Hasbro gave up on the $20-$30 1/6 figures (that were largely awful) I can't imagine anyone else really making a serious go of it. Even at lower prices I don't think we'd see 10,000+ of many figures sell out like they did 10 years ago.

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Exactly. The market for 1/6 scale figures is actually not that huge -- not compared to any sort of mass-market toy. I don't think they can actually up the edition sizes enough to significantly reduce the price, because they'll hit a ceiling beyond which supply outstrips demand. Sideshow has already done this a number of times with their figures, where they sit on the gift card list forever.

As for why Sideshow's prices have increased since, say, the Jedi Luke days, I think you're confusing cause and effect here. The prices haven't gone up because they are making less. They've gone up (at least partially) because Sideshow figured out that they have a smaller, core audience who is willing to pay a lot more for higher quality figures. They're catering more to the hardcore collector now than they used to -- the person willing to spend hundreds of dollars on figures and their accessories. There just aren't as many people willing to spend $90+ on a figure.

I got into Sideshow with Jedi Luke...found him online and it was a nice $50 price tag. Before that I had only known of Medicom and their $120 figures. Mind you I learned of both of their existences within a few days. I opted for the Sideshow because of the pricetag and I thought the figure was good quality. I dont think business wise they should cut prices drastically..but maybe scale back $15-20 and increase the product number a bit. They would maybe get those collectors who hold off on certain figures because they arent at the top of their lists and if they were cheaper they may pull the trigger on them.

Sideshow had a nice niche market as an affordable high end figure company, and while I think they should make as much profit as they can, it saddens me that the price point is going past what I'm willing to spend except for the rare item.

Apone said:

...I opted for the Sideshow because of the pricetag and I thought the figure was good quality. I dont think business wise they should cut prices drastically..but maybe scale back $15-20 and increase the product number a bit. They would maybe get those collectors who hold off on certain figures because they arent at the top of their lists and if they were cheaper they may pull the trigger on them.

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Sideshow is damned if the do, damned if they don't with 1/6th.

I am not trying to knock your point of view, but that is the key problem with 1/6th...people _____ and moan about "cheap bodies, no accessories, poor paint, etc" and make multiple threads comparings Sideshow to Hot Toys. So, Sideshow tries to increase the above and then people _____ and moan about increasing prices, huge ES, and still make threads comparing Sideshow to Hot Toys.

The 1/6th market has changed dramatically over the last few years. Sideshow has no interest in making the $30-60 1/6th that got them into the business; they like manufacturing premium items. There are more companies making these types of collectibles, so productions costs are rising; this is going to effect everyone regardless of ES.

Hot Toys continues to increase the bar on 1/6th quality, but their prices have steadily increased also. With Hot Toys now making Star Wars, we may see Sideshow let Hot Toys have the 1/6th market completely since they still make $$$ off distribution and partnership.

Toys are to have fun with. How much can one make from investing in toys? Want to make money invest in something else.

Apone said:

I got into Sideshow with Jedi Luke...found him online and it was a nice $50 price tag. Before that I had only known of Medicom and their $120 figures. Mind you I learned of both of their existences within a few days. I opted for the Sideshow because of the pricetag and I thought the figure was good quality. I dont think business wise they should cut prices drastically..but maybe scale back $15-20 and increase the product number a bit. They would maybe get those collectors who hold off on certain figures because they arent at the top of their lists and if they were cheaper they may pull the trigger on them.

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I think they tried this early-on, but figures were rotting in their warehouse. A lot of stuff on their site never seems to sell out.

So I think the quantities are getting gutted and the prices are being raised to compensate.

1/6 is just a niche hobby. Not many people care for it, so the ones who do have to pay to play.

RJMacReady16 said:

I think they tried this early-on, but figures were rotting in their warehouse. A lot of stuff on their site never seems to sell out.

So I think the quantities are getting gutted and the prices are being raised to compensate.

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That was my thoughts too. And you see how cheap and plentiful the early SW figures are in the secondary market that had a large edition size.

I could not care less if the maintain their cost on the secondary market. I am not in this to turn a profit. Give me more figures at lower prices.

Darth Cruel said:

I could not care less if the maintain their cost on the secondary market. I am not in this to turn a profit. Give me more figures at lower prices.

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The perfect response to this is:

RJMacReady16 said:

...they tried this early-on, but figures were rotting in their warehouse. A lot of stuff on their site never seems to sell out.

So I think the quantities are getting gutted and the prices are being raised to compensate...so the ones who do have to pay to play.

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Sideshow will increase the ES and once more demand shows up, but it is silly for people to want for higher quality, lower prices, and larger edition sizes when the increased amount just rots in their warehouse and eventually end up on the gift card list.

Lower prices aren't really an option. Manufacturing costs from China have been increasing year over year for the last 4 or 5 years. If anything, they need to make smaller runs, so if you ever need to dump figures, you're not getting half of your money back.

SwedishHeat said:

Lower prices aren't really an option. Manufacturing costs from China have been increasing year over year for the last 4 or 5 years. If anything, they need to make smaller runs, so if you ever need to dump figures, you're not getting half of your money back.

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I can care less about "dumping figures". I'm stingy on the front end, but once I own something, I own it for life.

as people have posted i aint this hobby to make money but if the edition sizes fall and prices rise- surely its a spiral?
people buy less cause theyre expensive so they sell less so they raise the prices?

i would pay a little more but hot toys prices demand that extra quality im afraid