The Drizzle
Super Freak
Re: Is anyone else just kind of "over" Hot Toys?
I posted this in the Iron Man MK1 reissue thread, but now that I found this thread, it seems at least as appropriate to post here:
This situation disappoints me. Please hear me out and bear with my long post here... I have collected things for a long time, (I'm 44) most of which I eventually sell because my interests change a bit every few years. HT continually going back to the well on already released figures hurts. I am not an investor. I'm also not a scalper or a "flipper". When I buy, I fully intend to keep a figure. I open them and display them. I am fairly low income. I feel like I am lucky to have any job in this economy, and thankfully I like my current job, it took me 2 years to get it. I had already cut my purchasing down a bit, (maybe 30%) because the per figure price seems to have gone up a good deal. Hot Toys' prices seem to have even influenced other companies. Sideshow would not be charging as much for their figures were it not for HT conditioning us to accept higher prices on figures. This Iron Man release is the straw that breaks my particular camel's back. The prices have gone insane- were the prices more reasonable, I would not have passed on Jake Sully, Iron Monger, the Gantry, the Hall of Armor, Sam Flynn, Ghost Rider, 1989 Batman and Joker. However, I just can't justify it any more. As beautiful as these figures are, they are not worth $200+ every time, and that is where it is heading. It seems to be creeping to 250+. I'm going to just have to enjoy what I have and buy no more than 2 to 4 figures a year, tops.
As I said, I'm not an investor, scalper, flipper, etc. I'm a collector, and a trained appreciator of art. Hot Toys recent increase in re-releases makes them less like artists, and more like a standard retailer. Like a high-rent Hasbro. When I shell out $160-$200 for a figure, I expect it to remain limited in it's nature so it holds it's value. It's my one justification for buying such expensive items. I know that if I hit hard times, they have held their value, or occasionally increased in value, so if I am in financial trouble I can get my cost back out of them to cover a bill or pay for an emergency. There is no justifying such high prices for a product that is mass-produced. I'm sure this is wonderful for newer collectors that missed older releases, but stick around, eventually this will happen to you too, and I bet you won't be as ecstatic, especially since your new Iron Man will have cost even more. I have collected a lot of things in the past (god, the money I spent during the Clinton years alone!) and I have seen so many other companies in multiple genres get greedy, screw the collectors, and it always ends the same. It may take a while for them to lose steam, but they will. mark my words, we have just hit the "Shark Jump" moment in Hot Toys lifespan.
And honestly, as much as improvements are nice, I get *so* tired of seeing a figure I have already bought released again with improvements, or more accessories, etc. It just makes me mad. I already bought that, thanks HT for making me feel like what I have is inferior. I absolutely refuse to buy the new one though... I did that once, and I felt like a massive sucker. As long as HT sells figures as "limited edition" and "collectibles", re-issues are really wrong.
I posted this in the Iron Man MK1 reissue thread, but now that I found this thread, it seems at least as appropriate to post here:
This situation disappoints me. Please hear me out and bear with my long post here... I have collected things for a long time, (I'm 44) most of which I eventually sell because my interests change a bit every few years. HT continually going back to the well on already released figures hurts. I am not an investor. I'm also not a scalper or a "flipper". When I buy, I fully intend to keep a figure. I open them and display them. I am fairly low income. I feel like I am lucky to have any job in this economy, and thankfully I like my current job, it took me 2 years to get it. I had already cut my purchasing down a bit, (maybe 30%) because the per figure price seems to have gone up a good deal. Hot Toys' prices seem to have even influenced other companies. Sideshow would not be charging as much for their figures were it not for HT conditioning us to accept higher prices on figures. This Iron Man release is the straw that breaks my particular camel's back. The prices have gone insane- were the prices more reasonable, I would not have passed on Jake Sully, Iron Monger, the Gantry, the Hall of Armor, Sam Flynn, Ghost Rider, 1989 Batman and Joker. However, I just can't justify it any more. As beautiful as these figures are, they are not worth $200+ every time, and that is where it is heading. It seems to be creeping to 250+. I'm going to just have to enjoy what I have and buy no more than 2 to 4 figures a year, tops.
As I said, I'm not an investor, scalper, flipper, etc. I'm a collector, and a trained appreciator of art. Hot Toys recent increase in re-releases makes them less like artists, and more like a standard retailer. Like a high-rent Hasbro. When I shell out $160-$200 for a figure, I expect it to remain limited in it's nature so it holds it's value. It's my one justification for buying such expensive items. I know that if I hit hard times, they have held their value, or occasionally increased in value, so if I am in financial trouble I can get my cost back out of them to cover a bill or pay for an emergency. There is no justifying such high prices for a product that is mass-produced. I'm sure this is wonderful for newer collectors that missed older releases, but stick around, eventually this will happen to you too, and I bet you won't be as ecstatic, especially since your new Iron Man will have cost even more. I have collected a lot of things in the past (god, the money I spent during the Clinton years alone!) and I have seen so many other companies in multiple genres get greedy, screw the collectors, and it always ends the same. It may take a while for them to lose steam, but they will. mark my words, we have just hit the "Shark Jump" moment in Hot Toys lifespan.
And honestly, as much as improvements are nice, I get *so* tired of seeing a figure I have already bought released again with improvements, or more accessories, etc. It just makes me mad. I already bought that, thanks HT for making me feel like what I have is inferior. I absolutely refuse to buy the new one though... I did that once, and I felt like a massive sucker. As long as HT sells figures as "limited edition" and "collectibles", re-issues are really wrong.
I feel the same way, which is why I sold off a lot of my HT and will get very few from now on, if any. I only collect statues now.
