[Joe Moore]

Final Fantasy XV - Lunafreya Nox Fleuret Play Arts Kai Figure

[RamenRider]

112 bucks for a figure which apparently has no legs and comes with only one accessory and 4 extra hands.

What the fuck. How can they still pull shit like this?

[Louise Belcher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RamenRider

112 bucks for a figure which apparently has no legs and comes with only one accessory and 4 extra hands.

What the fuck. How can they still pull shit like this?

The right question will be what the hell is going on with those people who keep buying those overpriced action figures and jusitfy it. Lately, all the import figures started to have ridiculous pricing, take Figma for exmple; from 22$ to 55$+ for 1/12 scale figure with few accessories, that's a rise of about 250% within 9 years! What joke.

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louise Belcher

The right question will be what the hell is going on with those people who keep buying those overpriced action figures and jusitfy it. Lately, all the import figures started to have ridiculous pricing, take Figma for exmple; from 22$ to 55$+ for 1/12 scale figure with few accessories, that's a rise of about 250% within 9 years! What joke.

That's the beauty of collecting. No one has to justify to anyone why they buy what they buy. If they can afford it and want to buy it, then they will and it's no one else's concern why they do.

And prices aren't just up for toy imports. Prices are up for all imports. Inflation, licensing prices, shipping costs, manufacturing costs, material costs (especially plastics), and employee/freelance costs are all on the rise. Prices don't say the same when all of those factors are combining to make things more expensive.

[RamenRider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louise Belcher

Lately, all the import figures started to have ridiculous pricing, take Figma for exmple; from 22$ to 55$+ for 1/12 scale figure with few accessories, that's a rise of about 250% within 9 years! What joke.

It depends, Figuarts are also more expensive now but they made a huge leap in quality, articulation and sculpt over the last 5-6 years. I think those are worth their money, at least the retail ones. Can't say anything about figma since I don't buy them, but Play Arts Kai seem like the biggest joke price-wise I can think of these days.

And while figma made a rise of 250% in 9 years (I trust your math here), I remember seeing Metal Gear figures from Square Enix for around 60 bucks 3-4 years ago. That seems even crazier IMO.

Also there's of course the big thing about inflation but I see that and more is covered by Joe already.

[Louise Belcher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

That's the beauty of collecting. No one has to justify to anyone why they buy what they buy. If they can afford it and want to buy it, then they will and it's no one else's concern why they do.

And prices aren't just up for toy imports. Prices are up for all imports. Inflation, licensing prices, shipping costs, manufacturing costs, material costs (especially plastics), and employee/freelance costs are all on the rise. Prices don't say the same when all of those factors are combining to make things more expensive.

Oh, please, I don't see any other plastic product prices rising up. Of course, people buying have to do with the rise of prices; when company see people willing to pay more money, they make the prices higher.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RamenRider

It depends, Figuarts are also more expensive now but they made a huge leap in quality, articulation and sculpt over the last 5-6 years. I think those are worth their money, at least the retail ones. Can't say anything about figma since I don't buy them, but Play Arts Kai seem like the biggest joke price-wise I can think of these days.

And while figma made a rise of 250% in 9 years (I trust your math here), I remember seeing Metal Gear figures from Square Enix for around 60 bucks 3-4 years ago. That seems even crazier IMO.

Also there's of course the big thing about inflation but I see that and more is covered by Joe already.

Again, no other plastic product seeing such a rise in prices and people willing to pay higher prices so toy companies make the prices higher. I'm not sure how much improvement S.H. Figuarts gone through, but it's noticeable. Figma on the other hand just change the wrist joint from hinge swivel to ball joint and that's it.

[Exodus]

If you think these are expensive, check out other dolls alone that cost more and are more for display pieces vs these figures. Like Joe said it is due to whatever people want to collect. I've actually started to get into the Marvel Play Arts Kai figures and they're not too bad, I do love their box art as well. Although this one does seemed priced a bit high, then again it's a FF figure so who knows.

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louise Belcher

Oh, please, I don't see any other plastic product prices rising up. Of course, people buying have to do with the rise of prices; when company see people willing to pay more money, they make the prices higher.

Again, no other plastic product seeing such a rise in prices and people willing to pay higher prices so toy companies make the prices higher. I'm not sure how much improvement S.H. Figuarts gone through, but it's noticeable. Figma on the other hand just change the wrist joint from hinge swivel to ball joint and that's it.

There are numerous articles available from the last 2 years stating the opposite. PVC, Polymer and Resin have all seen dramatic increases in price (PVC and Resin both used heavily in toy manufacturing). Prices for many of these plastics are traded in the open market, much like fuel pricing. As fuel prices rose a few years ago, the cost of production and shipping both went up. As profit margins thinned, those costs were passed on. Unfortunately, those raw materials costs are still rising, in some cases in larger chunks. Both PVC and Resin have seen noticeable price increases this year, with more expected.

You can hold on to the notion that every import company has raised prices on toys solely because people are buying them. Or you can actually look at the market factors that affect real pricing on goods. Material cost is only a part of the contributing factor.

[Louise Belcher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

There are numerous articles available from the last 2 years stating the opposite. PVC, Polymer and Resin have all seen dramatic increases in price (PVC and Resin both used heavily in toy manufacturing). Prices for many of these plastics are traded in the open market, much like fuel pricing. As fuel prices rose a few years ago, the cost of production and shipping both went up. As profit margins thinned, those costs were passed on. Unfortunately, those raw materials costs are still rising, in some cases in larger chunks. Both PVC and Resin have seen noticeable price increases this year, with more expected.

You can hold on to the notion that every import company has raised prices on toys solely because people are buying them. Or you can actually look at the market factors that affect real pricing on goods. Material cost is only a part of the contributing factor.

I never said it wasn't contributing factor at all to the situation, don't put words in my mouth. I said that no other plastic product seeing such rise in prices besides toys which you can't deny, furthermore saying that people buying overpriced products has minor impact on the rise of the prices is foolish.

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louise Belcher

I never said it wasn't contributing factor at all to the situation, don't put words in my mouth. I said that no other plastic product seeing such rise in prices besides toys which you can't deny, furthermore saying that people buying overpriced products has minor impact on the rise of the prices is foolish.

And yet, many industries have been bemoaning the rising cost of plastic for years, resulting in higher prices and lost jobs. Literally one second of searching resulted in this:

Quote:

While the good times are back for European petrochemical groups, plastic converters — companies that turn the material into products ranging from food packaging to pipes for the construction industry — have warned that many are struggling to survive in the face of rising prices.

Quote:

Instead, plastic prices have rocketed as the supply of the material has dwindled, following a series of so-called “forces majeures” which saw chemical companies shut down their plants.

I'm providing common sense explanations based on market factors and actual available info such as rising costs in different areas of the process. Areas such as raw materials, licensing, and inflation are all lead factors in the rising cost of goods, especially luxury and import items. People simply buying toys is not the lead factor in the rising cost of import toys.

Done with this convo. Just going in pointless circles.

[ddarko]

Don't mean to contradict anyone here, but just stating this because I think it might be of some value.

I started collecting the Play Arts Kai line back in 2010. I have about 10 figures. Admittedly, some of the older ones were not as big as the new ones. However, there were some that were actually as big as the ones we see now. For an example, the DC variant line, the Metal Gear line etc.

I own Metal Gear Rising Rayden which I got for around 4800 JPY. I have couple of DC variants (Batgirl, Supergirl) which I got for around 6000 JPY (this was when the price was starting to increase rapidly).

Today, a figure of the same size is around 11,000 JPY and sometimes as high as 15,000 JPY (this is after pre-order discounts). So roughly speaking, you are looking at more than double the cost of what it used to be. I have not seen a similar increase in other plastic imported items. So I agree with the person above that it is rediculous.

In the particular case of Play Arts Kai, the other issue is that there are more quality issues in their products too. If anyone has followed the in-depth reviews of new PAK releases on Youtube, you probably know that the line has been going downhill. If you don't believe me, take a look at the Arkham Knight Batgirl etc.

Within this context, take into account the fact that they are trying to sell this figure that has zero articulation from the waist down for a base price of around 13,000 JPY. That is indeed rediculous.

The main reason why these pieces are priced at this range is actually down to us collectors. If we are going to keep buying these pieces, then we speak with our wallets that this sort of abuse is acceptable. As someone who loved the PAK line, that is why even with great pains, I must point out that what is happening is bad. There is no way one can justify more than doubling of price as being due to inflation of raw material prices and shipping while rest of the products that have similar raw material usage has not seen such a price hike. Sure, the PAK line would probably cost more than what I used to buy few years ago, but 200%+ in price is definitely not just the inflation or raw material price increases talking.

Oh and licensing fees are again down to how customers spend. If customers are not willing to pay a higher price, then owners are forced to give out their licenses at a more reasonable price. In the case of the Final Fantasy figure here, licensing costs do not make much sense since Square Enix is the owner of Play Arts Kai and the franchise....