I can agree with that. Sideshow's pushing their prices up all the time as well and their quality isn't quite on par with what Hot Toys is doing. The whole 1/6 licensed figure world seems to be going a bit crazy as of late and it's very rare that I find a pre-order that I feel is truly worth the asking price. A few exceptions would be R2-D2, Snake Plissken, and the new Elder Predator from Predator 2. Their prices seem about right. That Yoda comes with a lot more stuff than Rocket, but you are right, he'll be a superior figure. For me, personally, I know if I have that raccoon in my hand and I'm honest with myself, I won't feel like I got my $160 worth. If he was even $80 to $100, it might be different.
I know what you mean. I don't want to rain on anybody's parade, but for me personally, it's getting a bit out of hand and I feel like I'd be allowing myself to be ripped off if I pay the full asking price for these figures. I always look for coupons or deals these days. The last couple figures I've bought through board members for super discounted prices after they bought something and changed their minds about it.
The bottom line is that if people keep paying their asking prices, they'll keep going up. I'm just curious if they're ever going to hit a point where enough people say they've had enough and they're not going to pay that much for a 1/6 figure anymore. I mean, if standard 1/6 figures are $300? If they reach $400? Will there really be enough people buying them at that price to keep it going? It's kind of fascinating, actually.