TOY FAIR 2008!

[jedi_master_sal]

On one hand, I look at the price increase like this - if you buy all 30 "droid factory" figures, you get the pieces for 7 unique droids.  By my count, that's $240 bucks (30 x $8) to get 37 figures, which works out to about $6.50 each (plus tax of course). 

Not that different from what we are paying now for the 30AC stuff, so I am fine with it (especially if a few of the figures still have a larger pack-ins, like Ak-Rev with the drum and what-not).  That's just me though.  If you don't buy them all and you are not into the 7 bonus figures/droids, I can see why the increase would bother you.

On the other hand, for the Clone Wars figures (with no announced pack-ins yet), it's a harder pill to swallow at $8 each...  I still have to decide where I'm going with that line. 

Now why did you have to go infusing logic into this, heh heh...

[Jesse James]

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. 

[Darth_Anton]

Looks like I picked the right year to stop collecting a carded set with $8 figs.

[ruiner]

If you're on the fence, this is the time to get out.

I can still remember picking up ROTS figures for less than $5.

[Brian]

Like everyone else, I'm definitely not crazy about the price increase.  Each year I go in thinking its going to be the year I cut back overall (and that's what I tell my wife), and it seems to be more difficult each year than I think.  I'm excited to see all the product this weekend, and the Build-a-Droid series sounds pretty cool - but like I've said before, I'd really be ok if there wasn't quite so many figures each year (especially the last half of the year).  It makes it really tough to keep up, even if all you collect is Star Wars (which seems to be very few of us these days).  I usually end up liking/picking up most-to-all of the figures (although I'm not a completist), and just the basic figures alone are going to cost a fair amount (not to mention vehicles, exclusives, and "other" stuff).

One question though, so is The Force Unleashed wave the last wave until July 26th then?  Obviously there are exclusives (like the Order 66 packs, etc.), Evolutions, comic packs, and the new Legends wave - but is there going to be that big of a basic figure line gap (from March to July?).  I guess it gives me a chance to save up (or more likely, spend it on Indy stuff).  Either way, I'm pretty excited to see all the offerings this weekend.  I will say, with the price increase and all the figures - as much as I'm looking forward to it, I hope the rumored Falcon holds off until next year.  I know I'll want it, but I just don't see how I'm going to be able to afford all of it.  Time to start finding stuff to sell .

[CHEWIE]

I'm actually hoping that I don't like this Clone Wars line, save for the vehicles.  It would be nice to not drop a grand on this line.

[Nicklab]

That whole safety scare with Mattel and the Chinese manufacturers might not have hit Hasbro in the headlines.  But I would be almost certain that Hasbro launched their own internal investigation into the safety precautions that the Chinese factories are taking, and might have stepped up their own protocols.  The result?  An increase in costs that is passed along to the consumer.  Translating to an increase in retail figure prices.

And the cost of oil is definitely another consideration.  Oil is a major component in the makeup of the plastic our figures are made from.  Add in the additional costs there, too.  The cost of running the factories, as well as the increased costs for shipping because of fuel:  trans-pacific shipping from China, distribution shipping, and shipping to the stores.  All of those costs are increased by higher oil prices.

Now am I happy about a price increase?  No, definitely not.  But I could see something like this coming.  And as a result I may cut down on my army building.  Or try to shop at stores that offer sales, etc.

[Sprry75]

$7 a pop has really limited the number of figures I buy.  But eight bucks?  I think I'm done.

[CHEWIE]

That whole safety scare with Mattel and the Chinese manufacturers might not have hit Hasbro in the headlines.  But I would be almost certain that Hasbro launched their own internal investigation into the safety precautions that the Chinese factories are taking, and might have stepped up their own protocols.  The result?  An increase in costs that is passed along to the consumer.  Translating to an increase in retail figure prices.

And the cost of oil is definitely another consideration.  Oil is a major component in the makeup of the plastic our figures are made from.  Add in the additional costs there, too.  The cost of running the factories, as well as the increased costs for shipping because of fuel:  trans-pacific shipping from China, distribution shipping, and shipping to the stores.  All of those costs are increased by higher oil prices.

Now am I happy about a price increase?  No, definitely not.  But I could see something like this coming.  And as a result I may cut down on my army building.  Or try to shop at stores that offer sales, etc.

Like so many things we realy don't know the answers to, I'm sure people can analyze this all we want.  But unless we see some sort of similar price increase across the board for Hasbro's lines of toys, I don't think I'd chalk a nickel of this up to safety inspections.  And I'm not sure one can blame it on oil either... again, unless we see this across the board for their other toy lines.

This is roughly a 14.3% increase in retail price though, which is significant.  Aren't the Indy figures slated for a similar price point?  I'll take an optimistic approach and predict they'll be lowering prices on Indy stuff after a few weeks when they see that it's just too high of a price.  And they might just follow suit with these Star Wars lines and keep the price around $7.00. 

Though I can see Target at the gate charging more... looks like whatever Walmart charges will will be the real factor here... after all, they charge more than a buck less for GI JOE stuff.  Yet some still despise them.   

[CHEWIE]

Hmm... now I'm seeing that the Indy figures are going to be $6.99 each.  That's better.  But if that's the case, then why Star Wars a buck more?  Licensing?  Greed?  Both?

[Rob]

I'm not too worried about the $7.99 thing - and I don't think it will be permanent (we went from $7.99 at Target in 1999 to $4.99 a few years later) but I'm definitely not buying anything that is animation-style, not even 1 of each.

[Scott]

For sure its licensing...they paid a pretty pretty penny for the rights to make those toys.  The MSRP on GI Joe is $5.99 (which they own wholly)and is an equivalent level of figure accessory and articulation wise

[ctonra]

I did a toy run at lunch time today (found nothing) but I did notice the price hike target pulled a few weeks back has been rolled back they shot up to 6.99 and are now down to 6.49.   Maybe it is to clear out the glut of legends and 06 figures they have clogging the pegs.  but I thought I mention it. see if anyone else has seen it.

[Morgbug]

Wouldn't the continued floundering of the US economy/dollar factor in as well?  It's not like your dollar has really rebounded at all in the last while.  When the orders for the TAC stuff were solicited, it was probably doing better and that might have been held over during the tumble the dollar took. Now that it's a new year and a new series (of sorts) wouldn't they be pricing it on the current margins?  In other words, the retailers are probably paying more to get them and that's being passed on to you?

All of that in addition to the licensing costs.

[Jesse James]

For sure its licensing...they paid a pretty pretty penny for the rights to make those toys.  The MSRP on GI Joe is $5.99 (which they own wholly)and is an equivalent level of figure accessory and articulation wise

I agree with Scott. 

I'd agree on the other factors (oil, general inflation through overhead and other factors, weak dollar, etc.) if this was an across-the-board increase in prices at Hasbro, but I'd be willing to wager that isn't the case, and certainly not by the same percentages even if some other items maybe are seeing some flux in price this year.  I think it's partially licensing, partially the natural attempt of Hasbro to capitalize on the line at a potential peak in popularity before it troughs out a bit again, plus you have some ideal things to "blame" too right now...  That's a little trick I'm sure Hasbro's not immune to.

Hasbro's probably dealing with the other increases in costs like everyone else, but you really can't cite giant spikes in MSRP's around the industry.  Slight maybe, but really have there been big bumps in prices of toys that we've seen so far?  Have $10 LEGO sets cut back on the number of parts-per-set, or increased from $10 to $11?

I hope the price comes down, but in the meantime you just deal with it and adjust how you collect if you want to bite back a little bit without abandoning the hobby entirely.