Pricing Gripe.....

[Bacta Beast]

I realize that this subject has already been discussed (in the forums and in Hasbro's Q&A) and I'm sure I'll draw some criticism, but having just purchased some of the excellent new 25th anniversary G.I.JOE figures I find myself once again screaming in head the question; "Why do STAR WARS figures have to cost so much"?!!!!
I realize the licensing aspect is going to add cost, but after looking at all the detail, accessories and articulation in the JOE line, I refuse to accept the argument that increased articulation has to mean higher price tag (granted a little)!
I especially have a problem with the LEGENDS being so high whem they're all repacks (with slite paint changes here and there).
Stores in my area are charging $4.99 for JOEs (vintage packaging, extra articulation, cool accessories, great new sculpts and a stand) and $6.99 for LEGENDs. Consider the ROTS super articulated Clonetrooper. Here is a re-used sculpt, less articulation then a JOE, less paint application then when he was originally released, and at least a dollar more. It just seems to me that they could get away with LEGENDs at 4.99 and TAC at $5.99.
And, I hate the angled elbow cuts! I would personally prefer a straight arm, with no articulation over that.
Okay, attack.....

[TheDarthVader]

I feel you bro. They try to explain why it is costing the consumer so much, but, in the end, it does not make sense to most consumers. I believe sw figures are overpriced too. I mean you can get a premium 12" figure from sideshow for around $50, and those are heads and feet above a hasbro sw figure. In other words, you can get 7 hasbro sw figures or a premium sideshow 12" figure. I would go with the ss figure if you asked me. I have decided to downsize my hasbro sw figure buying. From now on, I only buy jabba palace figures, mcquarrie figures, cantina figures, and droids. That is all I am going to buy in the 30th line because I have had enough of hasbro's scalping. I firmy believe they are screwin' us.

So, all in all, I agree with you.

[figrin bran]

There's one Target near me that is selling the Joe singles for $7.99 while TAC is $6.99 at that store and Saga Legends $7.64.

[Kidhuman]

According to Hasbro, they set an MSRP which hasnt changed in years. Stores make up their own price points on them. I figure an MSRP has to be around 5 bucks considering the ROTS figures were less than that at WM(4.88). Since then the prices have rose every year.

The legends line is my biggest gripe considering they are all repacks and molds are made for them already. They should be at least $.50 cheaper than the regular line. I wish they wouyld do away with the Legends line altogether since it is usually repacks that I dont want. The clones are going to be repacked anyway, so the line is pretty much useless. They keep cranking out Vader, Lukes and HAns that we have tons of and they end up warming. I strill have 6 pegs full of lst years stuff around here and it is annoying since they wont clearance them out.

If you want to be more technical, battlepacks cost 20 bucks with 5 figures(4 bucks a pop) and we are on the verge of paying double that for a single carded figure.

[darko666]

Stores in my area are charging $4.99 for JOEs (vintage packaging, extra articulation, cool accessories, great new sculpts and a stand)

what the hell, the stores around me are charging $6.99 for JOE figures. i haven't seen a figure go for $4.99 since i was a kid. i remember when JOEs only costs $2 or $3. those were good times.

[JediTricks]

The Target in North Hollywood is charging $5.99 for the Joe singles, so I'm surprised to hear $4.99 anywhere.

Honestly, it is about licensing, and about how much market share the line already commands. Star Wars is sitting higher, more people are going to buy it, so they're going to milk it for every last penny; Joe is on a downturn and needs to attract a new market, overcharging will only drive them away.

That said, I think SW is at least a buck too pricey right now, and it leads to less casual purchasing from every type of collector I've seen (except scalpers) - that's bad for the line.

[Kithaba]

You guys seriously have nothing to moan about. If you were Australian, you'd have to pay about US$12.50 for each TAC figure if you were dumb enough to buy them from an equivalent shop to WalMart or Target. I had a look in my local store the other day and couldn't believe my eyes at the prices they charge here. They're charging about AU$15 a piece. It's disgusting.

[TheRealDubya]

I think it's whatever the market will support. If the Bro suddenly saw a huge slide in Star Wars sales and heard price gripes from retailers AND us, I'll bet they would do something to help get the prices down (less packaging, less big accessories...something that packaging-wise looked more like the Joe's 25th.) I think the overall $7 per fig cost is meant to offset the cost of the larger figures (think Hermie Odle, Yoda with Kybuck, McQuarrie Chewie and Pre-Cyborg Greivous) and large accessories (moisture evaporator, bar sections, Umpass Stay's drum, the LIN droid), so that those figures, which might ordinarily retail at a "deluxe" price point (say $10) can fit into the mainline pricing schedule. And I would bet that, overall, outside of adult collectors, the Saga Legends are the economic engine of the line -- roughly the equivalent of the vintage line always having a Han, Vader and Tatooine Luke on the shelves. So while the pegs get frustrating for us frequent store visitors (three to five trips a week) they are mana for moms shopping for birthdays or the forthcoming holiday season. If I have to cut costs elsewhere in my luxury budget to make room for the product I want, I do it. If they hit $9 or $10 a pop, I would drop the line immediately. I'll buy close to 80 figures this year, which is about $600 for the year, or $50 a month. Not so bad. For completists or those who buy two of each, it's a brutal amount of money.

[Devo]

You guys seriously have nothing to moan about. If you were Australian, you'd have to pay about US$12.50 for each TAC figure if you were dumb enough to buy them from an equivalent shop to WalMart or Target. I had a look in my local store the other day and couldn't believe my eyes at the prices they charge here. They're charging about AU$15 a piece. It's disgusting.

Same price in Ireland. US$12 at retail for the figures that actually make it to the regular toy store shelves (the typical pegwarmers). Dearer than that in specialist comic book/sci-fi stores and online stores like R2dtoys for all figures on initial release and then those figures that are harder to find in stores.

[Kithaba]

Same price in Ireland. US$12 at retail for the figures that actually make it to the regular toy store shelves (the typical pegwarmers). Dearer than that in specialist comic book/sci-fi stores and online stores like R2dtoys for all figures on initial release and then those figures that are harder to find in stores.

Yeah. It's us international buyers that bear the brunt of the cost. I could understand why they would be a bit more expensive but not over twice the price of US-bought figs. And then you hear the Yanks moaning about their piddling little 6 bucks or whatever! They don't know they're born