Powerloader Price Revealed!

[customizerwannabe]

250.00?? They can shove it. Maybe if it included a queen alien.

 

[gabberjawa]

What's a powerloader?

 

[pjam]

I want to make something very clear. I don't believe Sideshow had ANYTHING to do with this price point. I believe they had this set up to go for Pre-Order the last day of Toyfair and no wholesale price was given to them by HT... which explains why they had to explain on their website the last few hours of toyfair that it wasn't offered because they were waiting for info from HT.

Here's what I think happened and first of all Hot Toys knew exactly what it would cost them to produce these before Toyfair... Hot Toys had reps at Toyfair guaging collectors reactions and informally gathered info on what Collectors were "willing to pay" for this from those checking it out on the convention floor. When they learned they could get a higher price they decided to re-evaluate the number they had in mind.... then told the distributors we'll get back to you within a week or two"... went back, got approval and released the new wholesale price point in the last day or so...

 

[gdb]

Now in the SAME Sideshow Radio broadcast they had a little snip ad for the Powerloader (they played the sound of the footsteps and Ripley screaming her famous line at the Queen) and during that ad the narrator said that the price was still being determined.

But Brant had said during an interview in the same radio broadcast that it was $250.He described the pieces,talking about the pipes,the working light,etc. and then said...and his words then were: "You can get that all for about $250."

Listen to it yourselves to hear it.

Did he mean WITH Ripley? Like "all" includes a $90 Ripley? Like I think of Jabba as being around $400 because you need his throne and critters.

Here's what I think happened and first of all Hot Toys knew exactly what it would cost them to produce these before Toyfair... Hot Toys had reps at Toyfair guaging collectors reactions and informally gathered info on what Collectors were "willing to pay" for this from those checking it out on the convention floor. When they learned they could get a higher price they decided to re-evaluate the number they had in mind.... then told the distributors we'll get back to you within a week or two"... went back, got approval and released the new wholesale price point in the last day or so...

Sounds plausible.

 

[pjam]

Ripley is NOT included with the PL, it says so on the Preview page "Figure not included"

 

[Bardoon]

Did he mean WITH Ripley? Like "all" includes a $90 Ripley? Like I think of Jabba as being around $400 because you need his throne and critters.

It could be possible... we already know that it doesn't come with Ripley and you have to buy her separately.

So with a little math and if he did mean to include Ripley in that price, then the 'Loader itself could be around $160...which sounds a bit more reasonable.

But we'll see right?

 

[gdb]

Ripley is NOT included with the PL, it says so on the Preview page "Figure not included"

No, I know. I just mean in context of Brant's quote he COULD have been saying, you get everything for about $250. Not saying that's what he meant at all. I'm just speculating.

 

[pjam]

"you get all this" as in features of the PL, except it doesn't include cage lights to light up Ripley's face for night poses... think they could have thrown that in with the reset gouge price...

 

[twistedfreak]

Well I will chime in on this. HT resetting the price isn't cool at all. $250 bucks for a hunk of plastic with some tubes? Give me a break! For that price it would need to include Ripley, real metal, working lights, and an Alien or two; or better yet, a Queen. As pjam has stated, it probably only costs like 80-100 to make this thing. Hot Toys is dropping the ball on this one I think. Well, I guess that's another 250 bucks going towards something else.

 

[KamenGuyver]

ED209 was $195, and I really don't see PL with light-up feature will be cheaper than that. Accept it or not, I think $250 is most likely real.

 

[Darklord Dave]

To reiterate bluesparrow's well written post - neither HT or SSC RESET the price. The price hadn't been announced and a retailer jumped the gun as has happened many times before.

Whether it's worth $250 or not will be up to each individual. To some a Medicom Boba Fett is worth $150 or a Toys McCoy Indiana Jones is worth $980.

 

[pjam]

No-one said SSC reset the price. HT clearly re-evaluated their thinking on wholesale pricing as they did not offer it at Toyfair as "planned" and decided to take more time before announcing the wholesale price... which was clearly more than they had in mind, I doubt they took more time to lower it.

But it is worth what the market will bear as you say... but from the reaction here, it seems they kind of overshot it.

$400 for Ripley and the PL shipped is going to turn off a lot of collectors IMO if that is the case.

Oh and did I mention it doesn't have cage lights?

 

[Wor-Gar]

Has it been stated anywhere how much articulation this PL has?

I see mention by several people that it doesn't have enough articulation... but does anyone really know just how much it has?

Obviously at this new price-point, how much poseability this thing has becomes a major issue. If the claws work, the elbows work, the "knees" and feet articulate, etc, then it becomes more appealing. If this only has "shoulder" joints -- and is little more than a "statue" to put Ripley in -- then this has become an even easier PASS for me.

 

[pjam]

It probably has limited articulation in the right places, remember the Queen is most likely an SDCC announcement... so I would assume claws, arms, upper lateral articulation and of course the legs have to move...

All I know is this, if Brant meant you get all this for 250 (meaning Ripley for 90 and the PL for 160) I will be a lot happier, especially if they add cage lights... let's face it Ripley fought the Queen at night and those cage lights are an important feature as they lit up her face during that unforgettable battle.

 

[Bonehead15]

If ED209 was $190 I don't see how this piece could be that much more.

The powerloader looks great but I don't know if it's worth $250.

BTW, I contacted BBTS and they said that was the initial price point they were told but they didn't say who told them. BBTS said they would be correcting their website with the new price as soon as SS or Hot Toys gets back to them. They are still not certain still what the price will be. All current preorders placed with the old price, will be adjusted to the new price. BBTS has no cancelation charge so if you don't still want your preorder you can always just go into your account and cancel the item just like on SS's website.

 

[pjam]

If ED209 was $190 I don't see how this piece could be that much more.

The powerloader looks great but I don't know if it's worth $250.

BTW, I contacted BBTS and they said that was the initial price point they were told but they didn't say who told them.

So if they had it priced at what 130, right?... there is still hope it is $160 then.... fingers crossed.

 

[King Darkness]

So if they had it prices at what 130, right? there is still hope it is $160 then....

No I dont believe that there is

 

[usmcchet9296]

WARNING:

BBTS will not honor that price IMO, they offered it before the manufacturer established the wholesale price and were the only ones to do so. They will probably reset the retail price and allow customers to reserve their orders...

This is WAY too much for this piece IMO, it doesn't cost THAT much to make, maybe $90-100 per piece. The price was to be set at Toyfair and Sideshow was expecting to offer it for P.O the final day then HT seemingly pulled it to re-evaluate what they could get for it rather than what their initial price was set at... the BBTS retail price was probably based off that intial wholesale price...

This is pretty pathetic marketing IMO, setting a price, pulling it off the market and resetting the price at nearly double.... sorry, but I smell something ugly going on here.

Really
Apparently you make plasic molds for a living
from what I know it costs a hundred thousand dollars more or less to make detailed molds and that cost is then turned over to the buyer
Now I dont want to have to pay 250 for the PL but if thats the price then thats the price
ED 209 is smaller by about 5 inches compared to the PL and has less parts and comparative detail and it cost 2 bills
50 dollars more for this figure aint that much in the grand scheme of things considering its a collectable and not a toy

 

[pjam]

Most everything is done by computer models, once a mold design is set in file software, a machine cuts the pieces pretty quickly and economically...

Hundred thousand dollars to cast plastic molds? Maybe so... let's see... let's say they are making 1000 pieces at 25% less than retail or 187.50 per unit, that would equal a total cost of 187,500 for all 1000 pieces including all development and design costs, parts, labor to assemble, paint, packaging, box art design and box materials, advertising, promotion, etc... 187.50 wholesale price seems high to me for a mass produced open framed kit with limited articulation.

Let's face it, it is a beautifully designed "vehicle" being mass produced in China. I have seen many highly detailed sixth scale remote controlled vehicles with far more working parts which retail for less than 150...

 

[customizerwannabe]

considering its a collectable and not a toy

Says who?