Star Wars TLC figures are now $7.46 at Wal-mart

[FLORIDA COLLECTOR X]

I am so done collecting Star Wars figures now that it will cost $8.00 after taxes. As far as I am concerned Hasbro & Wlamart together, or whoever decided that a 3 &3/4 inch figure is actually worth $7.46 just put the final nail in my coffin so to speak. This is a joke....These figures have one accessory and thats it. It is just not worth the price. I dont care what anyone says, this is a rip off. You know Target and everyone else will follow suit with even higher prices. Expect to pay $15.00 for a comic pack people because its coming. I have been saying that Star Wars collecting will die completely in 2009 and this is step one towards this end and its only Janurary 22nd. I have 25 thousand piece Star Wars collection that dates back to 1978 when the first figures were released and its going on ebay one piece at a time now....Im out of here!!

[Obsession is Nute]

I will stay pay it. I am a junkie with a problem and Hasbro is my dealer. What is worse, they seem to know it!

I still think our hobby/passion is much more affordable than collecting: shoes, clothes, antiques, art, cars, ect.

[Beast]

Welcome to our crappy economy.

Material prices are rising. Production prices are rising. Labor prices are rising. Which is why companies are considering looking for someplace cheaper than China. Also remember that toy prices across the board pretty much went up by a dollar over problems with lead paint last year. Now with the new safeguards in place, toys require heavy testing which has large costs.

[Beast]

I have 25 thousand piece Star Wars collection that dates back to 1978 when the first figures were released and its going on ebay one piece at a time now....Im out of here!!

Apperantly you had no real emotional investment in your collection.

If as soon as you didn't feel like buying anything new, you go the extreme route of wanting to get rid of everything you spent nearly 30 years collecting. It seems more like you just are using this price increase as an excuse to jump off and liquidate a collection that you really no longer care for. Am I close?

[bigbarada]

As far as hobbies go, Star Wars toy collecting is still comparatively cheap. I've tried taking up hobbies that are more "socially acceptable" for someone my age and they're insanely expensive. I tried learning about fixing up old cars, collecting guns, and digital photography; but with all of those you have to be prepared to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a regular basis. So, by comparison, $8 for an action figure just doesn't seem that big of a deal.

I happily paid $10 apiece for the VOTC figures and would do it again if Hasbro brought the line back in 2009 or 2010. But then again, I rarely plan to buy more than 10 or 12 figures per year.

I also agree with Beast, if something this trivial would get you to sell off your entire collection, then you obviously didn't really care about it to begin with.

[pbarnard]

Welcome to our crappy economy.

Material prices are rising. Production prices are rising. Labor prices are rising. Which is why companies are considering looking for someplace cheaper than China. Also remember that toy prices across the board pretty much went up by a dollar over problems with lead paint last year. Now with the new safeguards in place, toys require heavy testing which has large costs.

I don't think it's the economy as much as it was WHEN Hasbro bought their raw materials. By locking them up last summer/fall when things were sky rocketing, that leads to price increases. Of course, since we'll probably all pay it , that means when the price goes down for these materials they may drop the prices if things are moving slow. However, the retailers set the prices, all Hasbro can do is RECOMEND them.

[AmanaMatt]

Walmart alone is responsible for this price hike. I am a typical single dude that buys just the bare essentials - the kind whose friends give me heck about it, but even among my limited shopping list, Walmart has increased the prices on EVERY item....

I even have employees there tell me that Walmart strongarms the companies that make these products to lower their prices (to walmart), then turn around and hike up retail rates to increase their margins.

Walmart is an awful company...my days of buying from them are numbered. SW figs are not worth $8 after tax each...

[Old Fossil]

Anyone surprised by this must have been living in a bubble for the past year.

[Obsession is Nute]

As someone said in another forum "It is all about price and demmand"

People pay thousands for diamonds. Not because they are objectively worth that much, but because people are willing to pay for that. If people collectively refused to pay the price, then it would fall until either people started buying, or until it was not longer profitable for the comapny to produce the product.

I think much the same will happen with the Star Wars line. As long as we maintain a strong demmand for the collection, regardless of price, Hasbro will continue to do what they do.

If they have a bad year, following a price increase, they will have to revise their business model. Maybe that means no more BAD, maybe no more "Yarna" types of figures, maybe a few employees laid off. Who knows.

Ultimately, inflation alone is going to force higher prices on these things, it is inevitable.

[El Chuxter]

The WM's near me ended the special on Transformers Universe (and Animated) Deluxes at $7.77. One had increased them by a dollar over their original prices, to $10.99.

Target is, right now, cheaper than Wal-Mart on most toys. Odd, isn't it?