Thanks for all positive feedback gents!
The open ES on the high price items doesn't really bother me. I don't believe an open ES necessarily means that they'll produce thousands of these over the years. At $2000 per statue, the market limits itself and my guess is that for a popular character such as Wolvie, the number produced will be around 500 max. The Wolf Predator LSF is another good example of limited numbers even for an open ES.
One positive thing I notice with an open ES piece is that it seems to make the flippers nervous about ordering and the true fans of the piece end up with the statues in their hands.