That price is a joke. With China going to hell in a hand basket, thought prices would go down.
Good looking statue though.
This is a good point. Chinese yuan is at an all time low but factories charge in US dollars while all of their costs are in chinese yuans... this means that factories are making more money than ever, not just due to rising labor costs (that are a factor), but also thanks to the super favorable currency exchange they're getting.
The fact is that this hobby grew exponentially bigger in just a pair of years and all companies end up using the same factories, so it all comes down to demand and offer: more companies in the field competing to use the same factories, more demand, hence the factories take advantage and give priority to companies paying more.
Bottom line, people
love to boast about free market and democracy, but when it happens with the market opening up to new players and this causes an increase in prices, they're incredibly quick to point fingers and start blaming.
This is without even taking into account the benefits that come from this situation, really, nobody likes to pay more but just to make a quick list:
-Prime1 is expensive for sure but NOBODY would put out such detailed 1:3 pieces for a lower price, nobody. Just compare their prices to Sideshow's bigger PFs of the recent past (like Godzilla, Dark Rider, Sentinel) to see how good of a prices those are
-XM retails at more or less 100$ above Sideshow PFs. People complain and brag but truth is that those people aren't even supposed to get XM pieces since they're not in the eligible areas, that's not even a legitimate complaint.
-PCS is grinding out awesome stuff at awesome price points, they upped their game while keeping costs more than reasonable. Shao Kahn is bigger and better than Darskeid - yet it comes at only 425$.
-if I look at the latest Sideshow POs, they're some of the best stuff they've EVER sculpted:
Dark Phoenix, Red Sonja and Cpt Marvel are heads and shoulders better than almost any other female piece Sideshow ever done, talking about stuff like Ms Marvel, Rogue, Psylocke, She Hulk, Vampirellas, the very first Red Sonja, all stuff I've owned or seen in person and that was barely worth the 300$ retail price of that time.
I'm baffled at people that would drop 1000$ on a Ms Marvel with no regrets but then chukle at the recent prices. With that amount of money they can buy Dark Phoenix+Cpt Marvel and have a pair of statues that are in a whole other league than Ms Marvel... and yet.
Surely, it's worth to mention there are inconsistencies of course. This Gamora doesn't exactly come out as a winner compared to the others mentioned, or Xiall who is blatantly overpriced with no excuses, or again Skeletor who's 50$ more expensive than He Man for no real reaso, plus other pieces don't look like they have the same value for money given what's being offered - i.e. I think the Jason PF, being a mostly clothed figure, shouldn't be priced as much as bigger and more complex pieces like Spidery PFs.
Overall this whole situation has its share of bad sides, but also many good ones.
