Eagle vs Fellbeast Diorama

[LOTRFan]

Considering the MSRP I find the ES to be a bit high, 1000 would have been ideal; but it would deter my order.

 

[inuka]

Besides price, the size of the item is also a constraint. IMHO, 750 would be a good ES for this item.

 

[woodsy]

Considering the MSRP I find the ES to be a bit high, 1000 would have been ideal; but it would deter my order.

I realize the LOTR popularity isn't even close to what it was 3 or 4 years ago but when I consider the last 4 SS/W $300 statues [GWOS ,sauron, gothmog and the mumak] and their ES'S of between 3000 and 9500 I consider this one to be a bargain, as it is at the very least as good as, or better than any one of these. Funny how SS is producing 1850 Aragorn PF's at $300 but the ES doesn't seem to be an issue with that one

 

[Agent23]

Funny how SS is producing 1850 Aragorn PF's at $300 but the ES doesn't seem to be an issue with that one

I think its because most people consider the P.F. line a different animal. The dioramas are considered by many (if not most) as another "poly line" where as the P.F. are considered something else (Mixed Media).

I see what your saying. But, I think that might be why...

 

[zoid2323]

Besides price, the size of the item is also a constraint. IMHO, 750 would be a good ES for this item.

What do you mean by constraint?

 

[Agent23]

Meaning its so big and awkward and will be difficult to display.

 

[woodsy]

I think its because most people consider the P.F. line a different animal. The dioramas are considered by many (if not most) as another "poly line" where as the P.F. are considered something else (Mixed Media).

I see what your saying. But, I think that might be why...

It is very true that the Aragorn PF and the Fell Beast dio. are from completely different lines and so comparison's may be unfair, which is why I also mentioned the last 4 $300 polystone statues produced by SS/W and their ES's. Yes, it is a different time now and alot of people have moved onto the next hot trend, but to see those ES's and compare them to the ES of this dio. really puts everything into perspective.

As I've said frequently in the past, I can't stand SS's 'TBD' editon sizes and the only way we are ever going to see an end to these seemingly high edition numbers is for us as consumer's to simply refuse ordering these item's until after SS has set the ES.

 

[WrathofSauron]

As I've said frequently in the past, I can't stand SS's 'TBD' editon sizes and the only way we are ever going to see an end to these seemingly high edition numbers is for us as consumer's to simply refuse ordering these item's until after SS has set the ES.

Yes I agree Woodsy BUT I don't want to be the guinea pig that refuses to buy until the ES is set and then find the thing is sold out!!
You are right though they should just set a number and be done with it and let the market do its thing, then again they are in the business of making money too so can't ever really see that happening, they don't care about us THAT MUCH!!

 

[carbo-fation]

This is one statue that I will have regardless of the ES. If it turns out to be a grail then that is an added bonus to me.

 

[RoboDad]

This is one statue that I will have regardless of the ES. If it turns out to be a grail then that is an added bonus to me.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I enjoy discussing the relative merits of "good" versus "bad" edition sizes, and in normal cases the ES of a piece does affect how much of a priority I give to it, but in this case, it is a piece I've been waiting for for so long that I just don't care about the ES.

Even as high as the ES is, the quality and detail of this piece are so high that I am fairly confident that the piece will hold its value. I don't anticipate any "buyer's remorse" later due to bargain basement prices showing up on eBay. Besides, as intricate and fragile as the piece will undoubtedly be, I wouldn't want to chance getting a broken one from a third party, with no chance of getting a replacement.

 

[The Josh]

The only time I really consider an ES a bad ES is if its so many the item no longer becomes a collectible, but with a few more could be just a normal mass market item. Some of the GG busts are that way with the 10-20k ES or some of the later SSW pieces that are at the 7500+ ES.

The ES makes little diffence in the overall picture to me really. Now, if there are two items I want the "same" and one has an ES of 500 and one 2500 I'm gonna make sure I get my order for the 500 one first. Since there is a greater chance I could miss it.

If I buy this item with its "high" 1,250 ES and after it comes out you can get it for $100 less its ok. Sure, would I love to have it only go up? Yeah, I would. I'd love all my items to do what the Original Balrog has done, but the fact is MOST items don't. I'm not concerned with grails (I'm not Indy mind you) but I am concerned with having a collection of items I enjoy owning. So if that means some have an ES of 500 and are worth thousands and items with 2500 and only worth $50 that's ok. NOBODY who looks at my collection really has a clue as to whats worth what or the ES on the items.

Its about the items not the ES of them.

 

[zoid2323]

Its about the items not the ES of them.

 

[RoboDad]

The ES makes little diffence in the overall picture to me really. Now, if there are two items I want the "same" and one has an ES of 500 and one 2500 I'm gonna make sure I get my order for the 500 one first. Since there is a greater chance I could miss it.

And that's exactly what I was saying.

If I buy this item with its "high" 1,250 ES and after it comes out you can get it for $100 less its ok.

That might be OK for you, but it has never been (and never will be) OK for me. I don't get some kind of bizarre thrill from putting $20 bills in the fireplace to watch them burn. Evey dollar I spend matters to me, and if I find that I could have saved a third of the cost of a collectible by waiting, it really bothers me.

NOBODY who looks at my collection really has a clue as to whats worth what or the ES on the items.

NOBODY has a clue? What about YOU (since I assume that you do look at your own collection )?

 

[jbinny]

That might be OK for you, but it has never been (and never will be) OK for me. I don't get some kind of bizarre thrill from putting $20 bills in the fireplace to watch them burn. Evey dollar I spend matters to me, and if I find that I could have saved a third of the cost of a collectible by waiting, it really bothers me

sometimes you have to take the risk of spending a little more now in order to get what you really want, and i think that's the point josh is making. hell, i hate paying too much just as much as the next guy, but i'm willing to pay 300.00 for a 'must have' piece now and have it drop a bit rather than risk having to hunt for one six months down after it has tripled in value

 

[The Josh]

That might be OK for you, but it has never been (and never will be) OK for me. I don't get some kind of bizarre thrill from putting $20 bills in the fireplace to watch them burn. Evey dollar I spend matters to me, and if I find that I could have saved a third of the cost of a collectible by waiting, it really bothers me.

I think by not using the rest of that post you kind of changed the way the sentence comes off. If you're going to multi quote me then please put what I say into context of which I typed it.

I'm not into the waiting game and seeing what it can be gotten for later. If I buy it now and it drops does it suck? Sure it does. However, when I go to buy it I'm thinking about the fact I want the item. I'm not really thinking about it might drop 2 later because I don't want to miss out. So in the end whatever it does it does. I'm not looking to toss money away but I'm ok with it doing whatever it does.

Honestly, cars drop the second you leave the lot. So IMO its not any different than that.

NOBODY has a clue? What about YOU (since I assume that you do look at your own collection )?

Yeah, I kind of figured everyone could infer I meant everyone but me.

 

[The Josh]

sometimes you have to take the risk of spending a little more now in order to get what you really want, and i think that's the point josh is making. hell, i hate paying too much just as much as the next guy, but i'm willing to pay 300.00 for a 'must have' piece now and have it drop a bit rather than risk having to hunt for one six months down after it has tripled in value

Bingo! Thanks JBin

 

[woodsy]

Yes I agree Woodsy BUT I don't want to be the guinea pig that refuses to buy until the ES is set and then find the thing is sold out!!
You are right though they should just set a number and be done with it and let the market do its thing, then again they are in the business of making money too so can't ever really see that happening, they don't care about us THAT MUCH!!

You're right Wrath so it really can be a lose, lose proposition. When everyone pre-orders a particular item it often results in an over-inflated ES, and when you don't there's always the chance that SS will announce the ES at the same time they announce it's sold out, as they did with the excl. Gandalf and WK LSB's, and the Saruman vs Gandalf dio.

 

[woodsy]

sometimes you have to take the risk of spending a little more now in order to get what you really want, and i think that's the point josh is making. hell, i hate paying too much just as much as the next guy, but i'm willing to pay 300.00 for a 'must have' piece now and have it drop a bit rather than risk having to hunt for one six months down after it has tripled in value

This is not a situation the LOTR franchise has found itself in for several years now. Pretty well every LOTR item has been available at well below the list price after it's release, although this one certainly might be the exception. Pretty well the only reason I will keep my order with SS on this one is because of the potential breakage problem this dio. might have.

 

[theguru1]

At the end of the day, what it really comes down to is Risk Management.

Just like investing, everyone has their own level of risk that they can live with. In the case of statues, your common factors are:

ES - hard to judge, given its usually unknow till listed as 'sold out'
Price - can one get it cheaper now, will it be cheaper on ebay in 6 months time (the final ES can have a large impact on this)
Breakage - could getting a mint version be a problem, how important is a return/replacement policy to you (worth paying more?)
Desire - how much do you want it?

Once someone takes all those into account, each person will then decide how best to purchase said statue, depending on which of those factors are the most important and carry the greatest risk.

So, for me:
Desire: I so want this one, hence missing out is a very high risk factor
Breakage: a 22" attached wing span, yup super breakage possible, very high risk factor
ES: not too big a deal, since I really want it
Price: its usually not super cheap down here anyway, so given the alotment to Australia, I did the best pre-order deal I could. It may show up cheaper on ebay, but then it may not and I can't inspect first and easily ask for a replacement. Plus postage isn't going to cheap for something this huge and the final ES isn't large enough that I think may will show up down here anyway, so may never make it to ebay.

 

[Red]

At the end of the day, what it really comes down to is Risk Management.

Just like investing, everyone has their own level of risk that they can live with. In the case of statues, your common factors are:

ES - hard to judge, given its usually unknow till listed as 'sold out'
Price - can one get it cheaper now, will it be cheaper on ebay in 6 months time (the final ES can have a large impact on this)
Breakage - could getting a mint version be a problem, how important is a return/replacement policy to you (worth paying more?)
Desire - how much do you want it?

Once someone takes all those into account, each person will then decide how best to purchase said statue, depending on which of those factors are the most important and carry the greatest risk.

So, for me:
Desire: I so want this one, hence missing out is a very high risk factor
Breakage: a 22" attached wing span, yup super breakage possible, very high risk factor
ES: not too big a deal, since I really want it
Price: its usually not super cheap down here anyway, so given the alotment to Australia, I did the best pre-order deal I could. It may show up cheaper on ebay, but then it may not and I can't inspect first and easily ask for a replacement. Plus postage isn't going to cheap for something this huge and the final ES isn't large enough that I think may will show up down here anyway, so may never make it to ebay.

Agreed many factors come into it and each individual is going to look at it differently.
Yes i have recently discovered the enormous shipping prices we have to pay living Down Under.Considering that it is usually still a fair bit cheaper than buying here what can us collectors do.Nice piece for sure and no need for minor disagreements lads we'll leave that to the SW crew.