I'm sure the folks at SSC are well aware of the amount of cash collectors have to spend. SW line shot up, the other lines dried up. In a sense they took from one hand and put it in the other, although SW attracted a lot more new collectors. I seriously doubt they will drop LOTR anytime soon, especially with the prospect of two new films to capitalize on. They understand, though, that a very expensive figure means less cash to spend on other figures. The problem with retail sales is that despite our best efforts, its all guess work. In order to set a price, you need to assume an edition size, dived your costs and desire profit into that amount and that should give you the price point. The problem is that the assumption of the edition size is flawed because it is subject to so many other factors. For instance you can take an average of the Aragorn, Legolas and Boromir, the Hobbits, and assume people want a Gandalf, but then factor in that people want Indy and Hot Toys Pirates, and Medi Clones all competing for the collectors bucks.
So SSC needs to make a decision about whether they believe the drop in sales is because of flippers dropping out and the natural decline in interest as the 'new' wears off or because of the steady increase in pricing with every couple figures have caused an exodus, or all of the above.
SSC had a niche market for those who wanted better quality but didn't want to pay Medicom and Hot Toys prices. They can't take Medi and HT customers while these two are at the top of their game, and at the same time alienate their base of the cheaper collector (like me) that won't pay those prices.
I'm not a huge fan of the $90 price tag and have said as much but I don't want the line to go away just because I don't care for the price tag.
