That's similar to me. I can't deny I still love their stuff, but my preorders for Q4 and later have already dropped considerably. I've passed on figures that 2 years ago I would have been all over. There are a handful of factors. I think for one, HT is getting a little too "big for their britches" as the old phrase goes- they're getting too much into repaints, recastings, anything to grow the company. Too much focus on some figures, and the weird urge to re-do them ad infinitum. At some point, that starts to conflict with the wishes of collectors, who appreciate the exclusivity/ limited nature of items. HT does not need to go mass market. I also think price points are a big issue. I had no problem ordering when the average figure price was closer to $150 than $200. Now the average price is threatening to creep past $200. When I start to think of what that amount could buy in more "real world" merchandise- new furniture, clothes, food, car payment, etc, it just makes the figures, no matter how gorgeous seem a bit extravagant and wasteful. the economy has changed, it's just not as easy to be frivolous. We are also staring to see possible signs of some quality drops as items don't get enough attention or quality resources- Alice looks not nearly as good as her proto, and I'm fearful about Indiana Jones. I was buying probably a figure a month, but now I think it's going to be more like a figure per quarter for me. I had originally planned to get the 89 Batman and Joker, but with both together getting way too close to the $500 mark, I just can't justify pulling the trigger, especially with Batman having a rubber suit, which we know won't last forever. I cancelled the BB Batman because I couldn't see paying almost $250 for basically a head I wanted, and Indy and Jack Sparrow need to impress me big time for me to not cancel them. I still love HT product, but they are forcing me to be a lot more choosey.
Although I'm not completely over hot toys, their prices are starting to make me think twice. I'm actually thinking about going back to collecting the smaller scale figures like Play Arts Kai by Squaresoft. Their up-coming batman and street fighter figures look amazing. They're cheaper, and smaller - thus less space consumption in my ever crowded closets!
That's similar to me. I can't deny I still love their stuff, but my preorders for Q4 and later have already dropped considerably. I've passed on figures that 2 years ago I would have been all over. There are a handful of factors. I think for one, HT is getting a little too "big for their britches" as the old phrase goes- they're getting too much into repaints, recastings, anything to grow the company. Too much focus on some figures, and the weird urge to re-do them ad infinitum. At some point, that starts to conflict with the wishes of collectors, who appreciate the exclusivity/ limited nature of items. HT does not need to go mass market. I also think price points are a big issue. I had no problem ordering when the average figure price was closer to $150 than $200. Now the average price is threatening to creep past $200. When I start to think of what that amount could buy in more "real world" merchandise- new furniture, clothes, food, car payment, etc, it just makes the figures, no matter how gorgeous seem a bit extravagant and wasteful. the economy has changed, it's just not as easy to be frivolous. We are also staring to see possible signs of some quality drops as items don't get enough attention or quality resources- Alice looks not nearly as good as her proto, and I'm fearful about Indiana Jones. I was buying probably a figure a month, but now I think it's going to be more like a figure per quarter for me. I had originally planned to get the 89 Batman and Joker, but with both together getting way too close to the $500 mark, I just can't justify pulling the trigger, especially with Batman having a rubber suit, which we know won't last forever. I cancelled the BB Batman because I couldn't see paying almost $250 for basically a head I wanted, and Indy and Jack Sparrow need to impress me big time for me to not cancel them. I still love HT product, but they are forcing me to be a lot more choosey.
i'm about to receive my mark 5 but i do not feel as enthusiastic as i used to when i just started collecting the iron man series a couple of years back...been thinking if i should stop altogether lately since i do not even have the space to display them...
But we have a New Goblin, never forget that.
I completely agree with your post.
