The higher prices would be a littler easier to stomach if the case assortments and retail distribution were better. At least if the case assortments were better, then ordering online wouldn't sting so much. But when they carry forward figures (PEGWARMERS) over and over, and stuff so many repacks in as well, they lose those potential sales. Should I really be spending $110.00 per case for essentially 5-6 figures I want? No, I just can't justify it and I will NOT take the figures I don't want to a retailer for them to add to their inventory.
And you see places like Target, who have had the same pegwarmers since AUGUST suddenly jack up those figures by another buck, a lot of consumers are going to shake their heads in disgust. And obviously there are a lot of factors that go into the rising costs at retail and we probably can't simplify it to just one or two reasons, but it just really is starting to make it a whole lot more difficult for collectors like myself to continue my current buying habits; which were lower in 2010 than I think any year since I graduated from college in 2000.
And it's not like Hasbro doesn't have some quality control issues that they need to take care of... when they have issues with green headed clones (and greening limbs on other troopers), that's an issue. Has Hasbro addressed this yet? If they have, I am not aware - but when sales dwindle on those figures, are they going to be honest and consider that their lack of quality control is a factor too? Did they ever consider that part of the reason that Indiana Jones might have flopped was because the paint jobs on the faces were horrid? Or the case assortments were a joke? And Comic Packs - the figure selections were really questionable near the end of the line, which was Hasbro's decision - yet they blamed the demise on collectors. Hasbro might like to point the finger at us when they think they can, but they are not completely innocent when there are failures in their lines.
I guess I have a lot of frustration with Hasbro lately, really since 2008. A lot of it is how they come across in the Q&As... really, it's not the end of the world to me if I stop collecting this stuff. My priorities have been changing over the past few years with being a parent, so this hobby is secondary now... and I have never, ever felt any loyalty toward Hasbro. If another company took over the line and did a better job, more power to them.