I think once a company proves it's ok to jack up prices, the market follows.
Remember when Sideshow was selling their Star Wars figures 50-60$ ? Then Takara, Hot Toys & Medicom all came out with their Nolan Batman at 140$+ a figure and suddenly Sideshow was selling their figures over 100$....with no quality increase.
Hot Toys has been trying to bump prices to 300$ for a few years now. But only when InArt came in at this price did HT manage to bump their prices as well. So we are suppose to accept that 300$ is the entry price for figures from now on.
Love what Joost did in terms of quality and variation, but I just can"t bring myself to pay 300$, plus shipping, plus exchange rate for a figure. This is not a judgment on quality, just a personal limit on what I think a plastic toy is worth. But it's nice that this higher quality option is offered to collectors looking for this level of details.
Eternal did a good job with the Penguin, I will give them a chance on Catwoman. at 153$ shipped, not a big risk.