Wow, the view must be pretty sweet from up there on your high horse.
First off, let's drop the "apples-to-oranges", shall we?
Just because someone does something comparable for a lower price point, it doesn't establish an "industry standard" everyone must follow; especially when there's plenty of factors that determine an item's pricing, not the least of which - in this case - would be PCS paying considerably less for the 'Mortal Kombat' license than Sideshow paid for the DC Universe.
From a licensing and marketing standpoint, it's not even a case of "differing area codes". We're talking worlds apart here.
By your logic, Porsche needs to stop being an uppity pricemongerer because Toyota can make a Prius with four tires, a frame and an engine as well and just look what they charge for it!
Now then, in terms of being the "type of customer SS is fishing for", I'm going to gloss over the 'sucker' inference you're getting at with that condescending little tone of yours and say, damn right, I am the type of customer SS wants.
Y'know why that is?
I'm the "type" of customer who buys from Sideshow because - and pay close attention here because this is the important part - I LIKE WHAT I SEE.
- Got the life-size Batman bust. Why? 'Cause it's friggin' Batman. No acrylic eyes and I could not care less.
- Got the Superman life-size bust. Why? 'Cause it's friggin' Superman. No acrylic eyes and I could not care less.
- Pre-ordered the Green Lantern bust when it went live. Why? 'Cause it's friggin' Green Lantern. No acrylic eyes and I could not care less.
Seeing a pattern? I know it's kinda subtle and I'm trying hard not to be deliberately vague here.
Now the Joker's coming in at $20 higher than Bats and Supes were, was supposed to have acrylic eyes and now doesn't. So what? As I said earlier, I tried to find a %#$@ to give over it and just couldn't.
Why?
'Cause it's the friggin' Joker.
By all means, feel free to proceed full steam ahead with your moral fury and righteous indignation but to pitch quite the hissy-fit over such a trivial part of the whole (aka 'cutting off the 'eyes' to spite the face') seems utterly absurd to me; especially in light of what'd happen if whatever was holding those eyes in place failed and you, quite literally, had to 'bust' (Hyuk!) this thing open just to retrieve and repair.
Oh, and please let's not break out the "for the money we pay, I expect..." trope. My money's just as green as everyone else's and it's not about 'settling'. It's about appreciating art as a whole and not nitpicking the tinier, irrelevant things to the point of making tiny veins throb on the side of your head.
I will thank you, however. For every one of you guys who goes ballistic over something like this ("That's it, I'm cancelling!!"), the ES goes down and, as a collector, it just turns into pure win for me should I need to pursue the secondary market. (With only 250 made, it's absolutely insane what I could get for my DF life-size Alex Ross Iron Man bust. Koo-koopants prices.)
So, I'll get the Joker when he's released and display him proudly next to Batman and I can guarantee you that anyone who comes over and sees them will never say "Y'know what would make that Joker look better? Acrylic eyes, dude".
(No, for me, the conversation always starts "You paid how much?!")
It's up to u to buy or not bro.
The only thing we hate with sideshow is inconsistencies day to day. And sooner or later they gonna make us feel that it is right to spend 600 for a piece of plastic bust with no face on it.. and if they want to call that bust a human or monkey and they make us believe that..then u r on the highway to hell..
