Retail Prices/Sales/Discounts

[JediJman]

Check out Amazon for some low prices on Black Series stuff.

Toryn Farr $2.55
Yoda $4.61
Anakin $5.85
6" Jabba $17
6" Scout Trooper $25

[Jesse James]

I loaded up on figs via Amazon just recently.  I've been pretty cheap about stuff this year, with good reason, and when I saw Reb pilot fodder that cheap, I dove in head first. 

For the curious, Torryn Farr's head fits the Juno Eclipse figures too, which would also swap with some female Rebel Pilots too, I think.  Wink wink nudge nudge.

[McMetal]

If you have a Rose's (discount chain) near you they have the TRU exclusive Pod Racer pack for $5. I bought one just for the hell of it.

[Phrubruh]

Does anyone use the web site http://camelcamelcamel.com/? It tracks prices on Amazon. Just put in the item you want and it will send you alerts when the item goes below your selected price. It will also show a line graph of price changes.

I just used it for H&R Block Deluxe tax software. It is currently at $27.36.

[Rob]

I stopped at a Target in New Hampshire yesterday - $12.99 for Black Series figures.

[JediJman]

I stopped at a Target in New Hampshire yesterday - $12.99 for Black Series figures.

$14.29 at the Rogers, MN store.  Unreal.

[Dave]

Does anyone use the web site http://camelcamelcamel.com/? It tracks prices on Amazon. Just put in the item you want and it will send you alerts when the item goes below your selected price. It will also show a line graph of price changes.

I just used it for H&R Block Deluxe tax software. It is currently at $27.36.

I use this for Lego sets.  It worked wonders on being able to get sets 30% off for about 18 months.  The past six months though have been different.  Amazon hasn't had good markdowns on Lego.

Still a great tool for getting deals though.

[Jesse James]

Still $9.99 by me.

[Diddly]

Stopped by a Target over the weekend, 12.99 here. Well, at least that's what they would be selling figures for if they had any figures in stock.

[Phrubruh]

$12.99 at Target. No figures on the pegs yet. $9.99 at TRU but they also have no figures.

[JediJman]

Can we call it a price increase if there are no figures to buy?  Going the other way, I'm not sure that I would classify a sale as a sale if there were no figures to buy.   

[Jesse James]

YodasNews is reporting that all retailers WILL be bumping prices up by $2/fig soon if they haven't already.

What say ye?

I say, fart.

And that it will certainly impact me.  I've found fun in other toy lines.  Ones I feel I get more out of in terms of fun, quality, detail, etc.  I'll still buy some Star Wars figures, and I'm firmly entrenched in the camp that if they improved quality to include multiple posed hands, multiple heads, nice accessories (and paint apps were actually decent), then I'd be ok with price hikes...  Unfortunately since 2008-now we've seen pretty steady price hikes (and now a spike) while quality has regressed obviously. 

I mean, that Yoda?  The R5 droid?  Any repaint or repack?  Those things are kind of unjustifiable with the price increases.  Likewise Luke's arms...  and I'm a fan!  But at $13 I'd want to have seen far better execution on that articulation.

Anyway, yeah, I'm here...  I'll buy, but I think I'm done with anything PT era.  Not much OT will catch my attention either.  4" is dying, or it feels like it is.  The 5 POA stuff, some of it looks nice, but it's not better than anything it's replacing, to me, so I'm not into that.  If it's new, maybe, but if not then it's not even on my radar right now.

Kinda feeling like Star Wars just sucks, to me.    At least the collecting side of it.  Not much to be interested in, happy about, or enthused.  Hell, I was geeked for those Rebels ships, then I got them, and they blow.

My biggest collecting happiness this year was ultimately getting those ship 2-packs for super cheap...  that and discovering Acid Rain World toys and other fun stuff I'm buying into now that aren't cheap, but deliver on a level Star Wars probably never could due to the license.

[Jeff]

I guess I'm on the opposite side here.  I really liked what I saw at the NYCC preview party and if I have to pay $12 to get them, so be it.  I'll gladly pay $12 if it gets me that Jawa 2-pack or that sweet Han with Carbonite Block or Mosep they had there.

They made about 20 figures in 2013 and about 20 figures in 2014.  Of those, I think I bought about 15 a year or so.  A $2 price hike would hit me for about $30, spread out across the whole year.  I'll pay $3 a month in order to keep doing the thing I love - collecting really nice Star Wars 3.75" figures (toys).

If the extra $50 per year is going to break you, then by all means quit...  or just wait a year and buy them then - look at how many of the existing Black Series figures you could have had for $5-6 on Amazon the last few months...

ps.
Not going to speculate on how this hike will affect the Ep7 toy line at this point...  though my prediction of a $15 premium 3.75" collector line is looking pretty good right about now. 

[Greg]

I'm still in despite the price hike, since I believe it will be short-term. I would hate to miss out on some of the upcoming releases like Clone Wars Clones and the Jawas. Hopefully the quality reverts back to 2012 levels with the price hike but I won't hold my breath.

I don't think the higher price point will be sustainable in the long run. My hope would be the prices come back down to normal levels with Episode 7, especially with lower oil prices and (hopefully) big box stores ordering larger amounts. My pessimistic side thinks it's just as likely for super-articulated 3.75" to be quietly phased out, maybe after a limited "premium" assortment for Episode 7. I can't see the 3.75" collector line keeping pace with 6" at $20 and 5POA at $6-7. The value just isn't there.

[Darby]

I'm kind of in the middle. Jeff makes good points on the overall impact of the price hike, but as Jesse says for a lot of figures it would be a non-starter for me. That being said I would have paid $12 for the Snowtrooper Commander or Toryn Farr. If the TFA line brings us the option of $12-$15 SA figures, I'll probably pass with some exception and focus on the 5 POA which I like and 6 inch.