I would like to begin this post by stating that by no means is this meant as a reply in defence of our pricing or quality of product. Rather more it is merely a statement of the facts.
To state that figures such as those made by Hot Toys, Enterbay Sideshow or ourselves are action figures could not be further from the truth. Action figures, whilst achieving an amazing level of detail these days, are largely targeted at children. They are by definition a play thing, not a display item intended for serious collectors.
With the ever increasing cost of labour and materials, manufacturing costs are growing higher year on year. Nothing would make us as a company more proud, than to be able to be in a position to manufacture our product domestically in the UK. The reality is this will never happen, unless we either dramatically downgrade the quality of our products, or are able to source a work force who are willing to work for 80 pence per hour.
On top of the cost to develop such a high-end figure with a detailed portrait, hand-tailored clothing, accessories, display and packaging, there is the licensor royalty to take into consideration, shipping, importation tax and duty. Finally on top of these costs there is the retailer margin.
It may come as a surprise to many here that in fact the retailer will make more money from the sale of a single figure than the manufacturer themselves, unless the product is being sold direct to the customer. Ironic given that the manufacturer bears all the risk and cost of bringing any product to market, but this is the game we are all playing.
The level of workmanship required to manufacture such high-end figures does not come cheap. Every line of stitching on a piece of clothing is an operation that has a cost attached to it. The more detailed, the greater the cost. These figures feature tailored costumes, not standardised clothing made to fit all.
The majority of operations required to realise these products are hand done, not churned out by a machine. You only have to look at some of the beautifully hand-made customs produced by the talented artists on this board. Elvis’ recent Factory Worker custom figure was offered as an extremely limited run for $800 a piece! Why so much? Because each piece is hand-made by one guy. Now times that by 2000 pieces and the only way to produce in such high numbers is to go abroad where labour is much, much cheaper. The work is largely the same, OK maybe with a few automated processes, but on the whole it is the same job being done.
You want cheaper, you have to despec, i.e. reduce quality, whether it be paint ops, or costuming or by reducing components. These are the facts plain and simple.
There is a myth perpetuated throughout many a forum that all we, or any other manufacturer need do is "reduce cost and you will sell more, it is obvious." Wrong period. The difference in unit cost between 1000 and 2000 is very minimal, nowhere near what you would expect. Bottom line whether you make 1000 or 10,000 they are still hand-made and there are only so many hours in a day and so many workers to do the job.
This is a great hobby that we not only love, but now happily find ourselves working on. We are fans ourselves and we love that there are so many manufacturers now striving to reach new levels of excellence in producing high-end figures.
To use an analogy what would you rather be driving a Ford or an Audi? Now there is nothing wrong with either, but I bet you that majority would say the latter no matter what the cost.
To each their own and so it should be.
, I put in bold what I think we will get from it.
