Re: DC Collectibles doing Batman The Animated Series figures!!!!!
I won't argue they're expensive but on the same note I also realize cost of doing business doesn't go down either. It's not really fair to compare a figure's price from twelve years ago to now.
Thing is though, we don't really know what the "cost of doing business" actually is, especially when you take profit into account. Everything seems to have gotten worse overnight, not just these toys. Costs have been cut, yet the pricing gets higher and higher. Whatever the cost of material, transportation, fuel, licensing actually is, I can assure you that that Sauron was more intricate, detailed, harder to make/mass produce, etc. for $19 than that Catwoman is for $25. Year of manufacturing be damned.
People seem to mistake value for perceived quality. Sure, we all have different thresholds of what we consider "fair", but that's not what an MSRP is. The MSRP is set. So people can't really come in here and state that "that, new figure A is worth every penny for it's make, build and sculpt alone", when you have an example like that Sauron or many other figures from the last decade to compare alone. A lot of that money we're paying is not for the quality, make or the value of the product, but actually the price that the companies, distributors and licenses need to profit. For all we know, that Batman and Catwoman above should be $15 and still yield whatever DCD, DC (and whoever else involved) needs from a business standpoint. We'll never know it though considering these companies aren't disclosing any business practices with us, and rightfully so.
I don't think it's completely unjustified criticizing a 6" figure that's priced at $25. Or a 1/6 figure priced at $300+. Or a 1/4 figure being priced at $600. Or, something like Gentle Giant and their blown up "Kenner" Alien that's a whopping $500 for a hollow remake of a toy from the 1970s. This is a business before it's a hobby, that's why I'm surprised there's this backlash against people that ***** about the pricing. It's clear that perceptions are sort of skewed when dealing with hype and new factor, including my own. If it's something we dig, we'll always justify even the most insane MSRP. We shouldn't though. That's why so many companies are playing to people's hearts with these type of nostalgia, retro releases. After that dries up, I'm not sure how much further this toy/doll/action figure thing will go.
