primalxconvoy wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Hindsight being what it is but, if so many people hadn't literally thrown money at the blatantly overpriced MP-44. HasTak might have given pause to the price hikes of the MP line.
"So many people"? Almost everyone I know in my (real-life) TF-collecting circle of chums didn't bother getting it, due to the price, QC issues, aesthetic choice (compared the VERY popular MP10), etc.
If that circle refers to people in the range of four or five figures. That makes it an effective metric, for a collector line. I do a lot of sourcing figures. MP-44 was one of a small handful of MP's consistently sold out across multiple outlets. By the same token, the few available on the secondary market have an insane mark-up. Yet, they too also sell. Indicative of demand. Subsequently, since the first month or two after MP-44 was released. I see a lot of used MP-10's appear on the secondary market.
primalxconvoy wrote:The price hikes, amongst other things, were due to a shrinking market. Takara shed most surplus fans (interested in the previous aesthetic for MPs) and concentrated upon a smaller, but consistent "hardcore G1/toon aesthetic" demographic of older Japanese collectors. I think this moved into alignment with them then largely abandoning spending more money on extensive repaints of CHUG figures (to share such costs with Hasbro) and concentrating their "hardcore domestic collectors' line" more MPs, similar to how Bandai does with their (IMO, absurdly overpriced) collectors' figures (Gundam metal builds, Macross, etc).
The distinction being, prices always rise. That is the nature of retail. But there were certain milestones wherein the price leapt to a far higher level than it's contemporaries. From the Beast Wars line, Blackarachnia is the prime example. Yes, Megs and Dinobot are very expensive. But unlike BA, they aren't more expensive than figures bigger and better made than them (within the line). That hike, which they tried to justify with the inclusion of a stand.
An opportunity presented itself. Both Takara and Hasbro seized upon it and MP-44 was sold for the price he was. Conversely, MP-49 was released with what was probably a more honest mark-up (and better knees, apparently). Those that buy into the idea the trailer covered the price difference between them...
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