Maybe we can have a nice discussion about prices???

[The Josh]

Ok. Just to put my oar in here.

It's apparent that the price of the SSC figures has gone up and whilst we can all say 'yeah but it's a generic GI Joe figure' the fact remains that we don't know what production costs SSC were swallowing to start with on this line in order to keep the price down.

The medicom/SSC argument is for another place but the bottom line is that even with the IMO small increase in price, these products are still 50% cheaper than a medicom.

SSC are a business, businesses have to make profit, the license WILL be an expensive one for them because they will not only have the 'rent' to Hasbro but also the Lucasfilm dinero to find.

I'm paying about £35.00 per figure via Forbidden Planet and, quite honestly, given the overall quality fo the figures in this line I am more than happy to pay this.

It all comes back though to what you can afford to pay and I understand the slight frustration with the percieved increase but realistically we're talking an extra $10.00 (£5.00) per month. Look at it this way, instead of getting the extra big burger and fries, just get a medium sized one and put the money saved to your SW figs.

If the pieces are too expensive for you at $60.00 may I respectfully suggest that you stop collecting this line now.

I'd love to collect the PF's. I have Luke and Han but then I realised that I couldn't afford to get this line so guess what? I stopped. Yes I'd LOVE to have them and they are amzing figures but they are too expensive and I simply can't afford them.

BUT...I will get a Luke Bespin PF (If ever announced) even though it is expensive because it's the piece that defines the character for me and the trilogy in general.

My point? If they are too expensive then pick and choose.

But if there is a price increase then unless you know what SSC are paying per barrel for oil etc. then really you can't scream and rail and them for increasing the price by $10.00. and at the end of the day - if they have done it to make a little more profit then good luck to them. They deserve it.

Very good points. There are simply too many factros involved to just say SS is raising prices to raise prices. The first point made though is a really good one IMO that we have no idea how much money SS was losing at the start of the line to keep the prices around $50. If they are now trying to make some of it back. Then cool. I don't blame them nor should anyone. I'm not trying to be a dick here but Abstrac is right if $60 is too much for ya then maybe you need to be more choosy.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

Wow! I just can't belive that people are actually happy to pay more to SSC, without any apparent reason. Or, did SSC officially announce why they are increasing their prices and I missed it? I don't see a significant increase in quality as far as the figures are concerned either. So why pay more? Market economy of course! I think we are made to pay more, because SSC is the only business producing high quality 12" Star Wars figures in a reasonable price range, and they know it. So they can 'afford' to ask us for some extra cash; it's always fun to have extra money, right? To me, it's not so much a matter of what one can afford, but how much he is willing to pay for a 12-inch figure. Right now, I think SSC is pushing it.
No, you can't really blame SSC for increasing their prices (especially when people virtually 'beg' them to!!!), but you don't have to like it. And I don't like it. I don't think it's very customer friendly. I mean, we are already hooked, and now they want more? I still hope SSC comes to their senses, and the next SW figure will be fairly below the $60 mark. Futile hope?

 

[Darth Loki]

I was just thinking about this, but maybe SS thought the starting price of $50 was good for them, but then, as all companies do, had production delays and issues which made them realize that $50 per wasn't reasonable from their stand point. I know my company runs into this from time to time, and trust me, we aren't willing to sell product at a loss either.

Let's be honest, most of the cost of these has to go to the development and design of these figures. If it takes from 6-8 months to get a character approved and then to a prototype, there are a lot of expenses in there that we never think about. We seem to think someone sits down for 5 minutes to sculpt the proto, some one cuts up fabric for 10 minutes for the outfit and BAM, we have a prototype. There's a lot more than just the cost of the material that must be encorporated into out cost.

 

[mfoga]

Very good points. There are simply too many factros involved to just say SS is raising prices to raise prices. The first point made though is a really good one IMO that we have no idea how much money SS was losing at the start of the line to keep the prices around $50. If they are now trying to make some of it back. Then cool. I don't blame them nor should anyone. I'm not trying to be a dick here but Abstrac is right if $60 is too much for ya then maybe you need to be more choosy.

That is what I was thinking too. There is a good chance that the first figures in the line had a very low profit margin in order to determine how well they will sell. As a company you don't want to price yourself out right at the start. And with the previous 12" figures from Hasbro no matter how good or bad they were around $20 so raising the price 250% can be risky no matter how much better the product is. Another thing you have to look at the company itself, no one know how much money was spent to fix the issues they had with Pre-Orders and there servers. We could always go back to the old system. If you have a problem with the price increase take a long hard look at the rest of you life where there has been 10%-20% increases in cost lately. I know that my rent does that every year. Gas we all know what has happened there. Price increases are a fact of life no matter how much they suck. Now can we close the book on this since its the same group of people saying the same thing over and over and over. Not one new valid point has been raised since the last time this was discussed.

 

[occulum]

obviously Lucas has seen the success of the line and has demanded a bigger piece of pie. .. at the consumer's expense.

serisouly, that wouldnt surprise me. The guy milks fanboys like member of the House.

 

[Darth Loki]

obviously Lucas has seen the success of the line and has demanded a bigger piece of pie. .. at the consumer's expense.

serisouly, that wouldnt surprise me. The guy milks fanboys like member of the House.

I was wondering the same thing. I know that SS has to pay a liscensing fee, but does Lucas Arts get any portion of the sales as well?

 

[KitFisto]

I don't really have a problem with them raising prices a little for whatever reason because for me they are still wonderful collectibles that surpass anything else we have had in 12" lines. I always figured the prices would rise some from the $50 beginning. Some of the alien sculps are probably a lot of work ( Plo Koon ) and for some, the accessories add up. Have they had a price hike? It appears so, but it's an understandable one to me.

That said, I would not keep up with it if they continue to raise prices to the $75 or above level for the basic 12" figures. There is a limit to what I am willing to spend on a 12" piece of plastic. If prices continue to hike up I will go back to just PF's and a few select Jedi 12"

 

[mfoga]

obviously Lucas has seen the success of the line and has demanded a bigger piece of pie. .. at the consumer's expense.

serisouly, that wouldnt surprise me. The guy milks fanboys like member of the House.

That is very unlikely since there is going to be a contact in place. After a quick little search I found an article from 2003 about Hasbro extending their contract with Lucasfilms. It says the the entire license was going to cost a minimum of 505 MILLION dollars over the entire contact which looks to be 20 years now. Thats just over 25 million a year and after doing a quick lil look at Hasbro they have gross profits of about 1.8 million a year over the last 3 years. So it looks like they are not making much and I have a feeling that Sideshow is not either.

 

[EVILFACE]

I think we all just need to say that SS is gouging us. Because there some here that will never be convinced otherwise.

 

[The Josh]

Wow! I just can't belive that people are actually happy to pay more to SSC, without any apparent reason.

Well, I don't know about that. I never want to pay more but I'm understanding as to the reasons why I have to. Unless its gasoline those guys are making a killing. :emperor

So why pay more? Market economy of course! Right now, I think SSC is pushing it.

You got it right. Market Economy. SS gets hit by it as well and they have to pass it on just like the rest of us. I have a feeling they took a hit on the first few to get things going and now are having to make some of it up. It happens and is part of the market/world economy we live in. Take for example the my plane ticket cost to SDCC last July. I paid $250 bucks in February. Then just like 2 months later the ticket cost for the same flight went up to $400 bucks. Things go up. Midwest didn't say why things went up they just did. I'm sure gas prices where a major cause as well as other factors.

No, you can't really blame SSC for increasing their prices (especially when people virtually 'beg' them to!!!), but you don't have to like it. And I don't like it. I don't think it's very customer friendly. I mean, we are already hooked, and now they want more? I still hope SSC comes to their senses, and the next SW figure will be fairly below the $60 mark. Futile hope?

I doubt SS WANTS to raise the prices either but they have to I'm sure unless they want to loose their asses and go bye bye. Over time that is. The price of everything has gone up so what's the big deal. SS at least is getting better everyday witht their customer service/relationship. Which is more than any other company I deal with whose prices have gone up.

I was just thinking about this, but maybe SS thought the starting price of $50 was good for them, but then, as all companies do, had production delays and issues which made them realize that $50 per wasn't reasonable from their stand point. I know my company runs into this from time to time, and trust me, we aren't willing to sell product at a loss either.

I think that is a pretty good guess as well. It happens folks. Part of running a business no matter how customer friendly is to be successful. Price hikes are a part of that.

Let's be honest, most of the cost of these has to go to the development and design of these figures. If it takes from 6-8 months to get a character approved and then to a prototype, there are a lot of expenses in there that we never think about. We seem to think someone sits down for 5 minutes to sculpt the proto, some one cuts up fabric for 10 minutes for the outfit and BAM, we have a prototype. There's a lot more than just the cost of the material that must be encorporated into out cost.

Exactly! There is so much that goes into these yet so many people just jump to conclusions. Accusing SS of raping them and other wonderful things like that. Which is abusrd at best.

That is what I was thinking too. There is a good chance that the first figures in the line had a very low profit margin in order to determine how well they will sell. As a company you don't want to price yourself out right at the start. And with the previous 12" figures from Hasbro no matter how good or bad they were around $20 so raising the price 250% can be risky no matter how much better the product is. Another thing you have to look at the company itself, no one know how much money was spent to fix the issues they had with Pre-Orders and there servers. We could always go back to the old system. If you have a problem with the price increase take a long hard look at the rest of your life where there has been 10%-20% increases in cost lately. I know that my rent does that every year. Gas we all know what has happened there. Price increases are a fact of life no matter how much they suck. Now can we close the book on this since its the same group of people saying the same thing over and over and over. Not one new valid point has been raised since the last time this was discussed.

I agree with you 110%.

 

[IrishJedi]

I was wondering the same thing. I know that SS has to pay a liscensing fee, but does Lucas Arts get any portion of the sales as well?

Lucasfilm gets an up-front licensing fee and a percentage of sales. But these agreements are different for all licencees and depend greatly on what the product is and its potential sales figures.

Let's just say that Sideshow is not paying nearly as much for the 12" license as, say, Hasbro does for the toy license. And for good reason.

I think we all just need to say that SS is gouging us. Because there some here that will never be convinced otherwise.

I think the reality is somewhere in between. I would stop well short of accusing SSC of "gouging". That's silly. But it's also very apparent that they saw an opportunity to raise the bottom-line price of these figures based on the overwhelming popularity of the line. I'm sorry, but that is the only rational way to explain a 10-20% price increase. Molded plastic pieces and more detailed sculpts alone would not demand such an increase. This is such basic economics, folks.

In the end, I think most of us can live with this $59.99 base line price (even if it did sorda come from out of nowhere). I just hope they have found their "sweet spot" now and we won't be seeing something like an Admiral Ackbar figure for $70 a year from now.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

The "little" things that go into the pouches, the food capsules, an extra hand, and two lightsabers dont even cost alot of money to make.

They are all made out of molded plastic, which probably costs a few pennies to make. So I dont see how you justify accessories to the overall price point of the figure?

Sure the accessories are nice to have, but they are not what is making or breaking the price of the figure.

Also, total edition sizes of SS SW figures so far have been around 9000 range. I consider that mass produced as well, so I dont factor in edition size to the price point at all either. the only difference between hasbro and SS in terms of production size is that Sideshow's is announced while Hasbros is not.

im not saying the accessories are whats driving up the price, but what does a Hasbro figure come with?? and considering 9,000 as a total edition size is limited compared to what Hasbro makes... lets say a milllion??? and what it really comes down to is the R&D to manufacture the prototype. IMO sideshow figures should be cheaper since they are recycling most of the stuff they are using. especially the Sith anakin!!! wow they painted his eyes and gave us a special stand and new box.

 

[The Josh]

According to someone at RS. You're a sheep if you aren't all up in arms over the price of these figures.

 

[KitFisto]

According to someone at RS. You're a sheep if you aren't all up in arms over the price of these figures.

Baahhaaaaaaa

 

[King Darkness]

According to someone at RS. You're a sheep if you aren't all up in arms over the price of these figures.

Than call me a......

 

[Amanaman]

Sidesheep?

 

[EVILFACE]

According to someone at RS. You're a sheep if you aren't all up in arms over the price of these figures.

They complain when their mommy makes their eggs to runny in the morning or doesn't cut their meat is small enough chunks, so who cares what they think.

 

[The Josh]

I'm not trying to start anything between us and them. Since I post there as well. However, I just thought it was funny and wanted to comment that we're sheep if you don't get all up in arms about it.

 

[Darth Loki]

I fully expect to see the prices go higher for armored characters (Fett, Stormies, Clones). But I hope it doesn't go too much higher for them. I have serious doubts that I'll keep the Endor Rebels which will make things easier moving forward as I'll no longer be a completist. I however, agree that I hope we've seen the peak of where normal characters prices will be with a few exceptions that I think we all expect to pay more for (suited Vader, Chewie, Grievous).

 

[The Josh]

Yeah, I'd like to see regular characters stay at $60. Armored ones and Chewie I expect will cost more and they should because of the development needed to get those right.