I can't say I disagree with Jeff's logic at all, I'm more disappointed by design directions than the price increase, but I'd be lying if I said the price increase makes me happy... They could've made it at least slightly more gradual rather than a full $1 bump. Would it really have hurt? $.50 goes a long way spread out among that many figures and makes inflation just an easier thing to deal with.
The show I think will be the ultimate decider on my level of "disappointment" with this year... I can safely say $7.99 sucks and, while I totally get where Jeff's breakdown comes in (anyone with account has to appreciate it), I think it sucks... 1 SW figure costs what a two-pack of military figures I collect costs, or almost two separate figures... That's pricey to me. That's why I'll probably be apt to turn my nose up to stylized Clone Wars figures. Otherwise I wouldn't care quite as much.
I doubt it ultimately impacts my spending on the basic figures... I do think it could impact army building though, especially prequal era, and customizing fodder. Then again, $6.99 impacted that... I didn't go hogwild on a lot of the clones like I probably would've liked to have. Such is life.
That said, if I come out of Toy Fair seeing a scale Torrent Starfighter, a scale AT-TE, some SA Rebels... I think I'll be ecstatic at the prospects of what is coming in 2008, just not what 2008 is going to cost. I mean, I really want to get into IJ stuff too, and that again is something that will make me adjust Star Wars spending habits...
I have to just take all this in, and probably decide on the fly... I've always budgeted things fairly rigidly, so I'll just have to stick to that model and "deal without" when it's just not a good idea financially to buy something I maybe dig. I just think the price increase could really cut into some things I enjoy as it is coupled with a LOT of products I'm interested in this year... To be honest, it makes the potential Clone Wars figures being a bust aesthetically, look like an eappealing prospect. That might almost come as a blessing in disguise to me I guess.
![Undecided :-\](https://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/Smileys/classic/undecided.gif)