Why Are Yamato Macross Toys Becoming So Expensive?

[Black Valkyrie]

IMO that Yamato is a small company and Macross isn`t popular like Gundam, TF or go nagai`s robots.

Yes I don`t own a 1/48 (expensive, size )but I have a 1/55 and 1/60.

[KingNor]

In responce to OP:

I'm not really sure how to comfort you. I absoloutly love the VF-1 valks but i can't afford the kind of collection you have, and i'm not really sure i'd have that kind of collection even if i could afford it.

I find it a little worrying that you'd buy that much stuff and not really realize how much it cost you. every valk i buy i seriously consider before getting it (even when i found my brownie 1/55 i thought long and hard if i'd get more enjoyment out of it than the 35 bucks i paid.

When ever getting into a hobby its VERY important to always realize that you may not stick with it forever. you (we) should always consider what we buy and not spend say.. money for food.. on something like valks.

When i see a display case with a full line up of MPC's,

what looks to me to be 4 or 5 1/48's and a host of other action figures in a very nice display case; i think one of two things:

a. Huge, dedicated macross fan

or

b. someone with no restraint for their wants.

if you find yourself looking at your collection and feeling remorse rather than satisfaction, i would encourage you to not complain about how much the company is selling its product for and focus more on controlling how you buy things you may not get much enjoyment out of.

sometimes the desire for a "complete set" can be greater than the satifaction of actually owning the "complete set"

and you gotta ask yourself "do i really need this stuff???"

[Fortress_Maximus]

AMEN!!!! I could not agree more!

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Guys don't forget, Noel saw the prototypes@wonderfest was it(the one where he posted a gallery here I think in summer)? And I think the VF-1A 1/48 was in the vincinity of the proto, so if anything he has seen it first hand and would know the size difference.

There was a hasegawa scratch build that came out before macross zer0 was finished, it showed the scratchbuild VF-0B 1/72 scale next to a hasegawa VF-1 1/72 skull 1. Its in the magazine scan section, I think that shows the BEST size difference. I think Graham scanned the article in right before xmas 2002.And you can bet that if the VF-0 made it into 1/48 yamato might have added a chock full of more features and charged higher(bigger size=more room to work with=more detail=more potential for functional moving surfaces).

[dafunguy]

In responce to OP:

I'm not really sure how to comfort you.  I absoloutly love the VF-1 valks but i can't afford the kind of collection you have, and i'm not really sure i'd have that kind of collection even if i could afford it.

I find it a little worrying that you'd buy that much stuff and not really realize how much it cost you.  every valk i buy i seriously consider before getting it (even when i found my brownie 1/55 i thought long and hard if i'd get more enjoyment out of it than the 35 bucks i paid.

When ever getting into a hobby its VERY important to always realize that you may not stick with it forever.  you (we) should always consider what we buy and not spend say.. money for food..  on something like valks.

When i see a display case with a full line up of MPC's, 

what looks to me to be 4 or 5 1/48's and a host of other action figures in a very nice display case;  i think one of two things: 

a.  Huge, dedicated macross fan

or

b. someone with no restraint for their wants.

if you find yourself looking at your collection and feeling remorse rather than satisfaction, i would encourage you to not complain about how much the company is selling its product for and focus more on controlling how you buy things you may not get much enjoyment out of.

sometimes the desire for a "complete set" can be greater than the satifaction of actually owning the "complete set"

and you gotta ask yourself "do i really need this stuff???"

361299[/snapback]

The answer is "a - Huge, dedicated macross fan". Trust me, I do not feel any remorse when I look at my collection. I am very much satisfied and I enjoy collecting. I was just wondering why the prices keep going up and if everyone feels that they are still worth the high prices. I complain because I want them to be cheaper...so that I can buy more! At the rate the prices are going up, I will have to stop if it gets ridiculously high. That's pretty much what I'm saying, and I definitely do not regret anything that I have gotten (ok, except maybe the cms 3 flower girl).

[KingNor]

The answer is "a - Huge, dedicated macross fan". Trust me, I do not feel any remorse when I look at my collection. I am very much satisfied and I enjoy collecting. I was just wondering why the prices keep going up and if everyone feels that they are still worth the high prices. I complain because I want them to be cheaper...so that I can buy more! At the rate the prices are going up, I will have to stop if it gets ridiculously high. That's pretty much what I'm saying, and I definitely do not regret anything that I have gotten (ok, except maybe the cms 3 flower girl).

Good to hear, nothing worse than someone feeling like they've wasted their money.

The short answer to why prices keep going up is because people are willing to pay more.

As the product becomes rare-er people are willing to pay more to get them. Sometimes when a company sees people willing to pay other customers big bucks for the product, the company will start to sell its product new at that cost:

ie: kid buys valk for 100 bucks. kid sells valk on ebay for 200 bucks. yamato thinks "i could sell this for 150"

its a gamble because you can't really tell if demand will stay high, and the prices just go up and up, maybe you should buy now and hope for the investment.

if demand goes way down, it's better to wait, stores will get too many and start selling them cheap just to get the shelf space back.

[dafunguy]

Thanks everyone for their input. Here is the final summary. For why Yamato toys are getting so expensive, the reasons include lack of competition, dollar vs yen, high overseas shipping, middle man profit, yamato milking us dry, economics of scale, whatever 1/1 low viz wrote, high initial capital cost, high petroleum prices, and whatever 1/1 low viz wrote again. All these reasons are combined to create the "PERFECT STORM" high prices.

Are they worth the price? According to everyone, whatever the price, they are still worth it, as long as the product is well made. And it is universally agreed upon that this is the most beautiful, best engineered, best looking hunk of plastic ever assembled. Although we will complain and whine about the high prices, people feel these things are just too cool to pass up. People will buy these no matter what the price. Even if the prices are sky high, they will still buy a least one. Price only becomes a concern when people are considering buying multiples of the same item. Or if you are Godzilla, price is nothing but a number.

[Graham]

Thanks everyone for their input. Here is the final summary. For why Yamato toys are getting so expensive, the reasons include lack of competition, dollar vs yen, high overseas shipping, middle man profit, yamato milking us dry, economics of scale, whatever 1/1 low viz wrote, high initial capital cost, high petroleum prices, and whatever 1/1 low viz wrote again.  All these reasons are combined to create the "PERFECT STORM" high prices.

363217[/snapback]

LOL...........poor 1/1 Lowviz Lurker, does anybody actually read all the way through his super-long posts

Graham

[Macross73]

i'v read significantly longer on these boards.

[Fortress_Maximus]

Thanks everyone for their input. Here is the final summary. For why Yamato toys are getting so expensive, the reasons include lack of competition, dollar vs yen, high overseas shipping, middle man profit, yamato milking us dry, economics of scale, whatever 1/1 low viz wrote, high initial capital cost, high petroleum prices, and whatever 1/1 low viz wrote again.  All these reasons are combined to create the "PERFECT STORM" high prices.

363217[/snapback]

LOL...........poor 1/1 Lowviz Lurker, does anybody actually read all the way through his super-long posts

Graham

363220[/snapback]

I tried to in the past, but he just does not keep his comments to the point. No offense, some are insightful but far too time consuming to read.

dafunguy, thanks for the summary.

[nhyone]

One comment on the scale: Big West could have simplified the scale by making the VF-0 about the same size as VF-1, so that they can make a 1/48 model of it easily. Instead, they can only make a 1/60 model which is bigger than the 1/48 VF-1 and confuses the hell out of everyone.

Personally, I feel 1/60 works better when you take all the non-VF-1 into account. Right now everyone is demanding everything to be in 1/48, which is impossible to deliver.

Big West could change the VF-1 dimensions so that the 1/48 model now becomes the 1/60 model! That would solve everything!

[Macross73]

um yeah, what he said.

regardless of scale big is big and production costs are ... whatever they are.

how much can it cost to keep on releasing VF-1 valks that they already put out?

Shouldn't the price drop a bit? A new paint scheme some ABS and there you have

an vf-1a max/Lv/Hikaru/etc.

I wrote before on this that they are worth it and they are the best so far.

but after dwelling on this for a bit I'd really like to see prices drop a bit.

i've gotten lucky and i've gotten some 1/48 for what i thought were decent prices.

given the going rate on online stores and auctions. I dont feel that i've gotten

ripped off and re-release have allowed me catch up on missed items, my

collection is almost completed to my likeing. I guess i'm ready for new Valks not

repaints. I'm looking forward to the VF-0S.

[Blaine23]

Oh, and on a side note, IMO, the Toynami masterpiece collection is entriely under-rated..

No they are not as nice as the Yamato's...

But they are not **that** bad, and honestly,they have alot of advantages over the old chunky monkeys, and if the Yamatos never came to fruiition, Im sure alot of you would be waving the Toynami flag, right now

True. But that's kinda like saying that if the only woman on Earth was Roseanne Barr then men would be fighting to bang Roseanne Barr. Take away any decent competition and "any port in a storm will do." Still doesn't make Roseanne Barr any more bangable.

The truth is Toynami had a sub-par product out of the gate. Macross fans had the choice of Yamato 1/60s, Bandai 1/55 reissues and Toynami. Toynami finished dead last in that race. It also didn't help Toynami when they lied about the amount of die-cast that would be in the toy (they promised the toy would be 33% die-cast) until after they were released. Thus screwing over a ton of pre-ordering customers.

If buying on the cheap is the only thing that matters, then heavily discounted Toynami versions and $15 dollar Taiwan knockoffs are available. Enjoy 'em.

[pfunk]

I cant help but put in my 2 cents. People arnt looking at the production numbers,,, for example take the production from say a transformer to a low vis valk, probably 1/10000. when you quote to produce a plastic thing (for better words) when I would quote ABS from a manufacturer and wanted to do some test parts, so say I needed 10lbs of vigin ABS pellets, the price was around $20, thats 50 cents a pound, in a production situation, your ordering 1000 lbs at about 10 cents a pound.

Also, tooling,

you take your tool to a press shop and want 100 pieces, they have to set it up just like they would for high volume, test shoot, ect,,,

piece price would be say $2500 a part

say you wanted to run 10,000 parts

peice price would run $25 a part to get the same cash,,,oh, and BTW you pay and ship the material

now this is drastic automotive situation, but the same is true for ANYTHING mass produced

[Fortress_Maximus]

Since it was brought up, what ARE the production runs when Yamato reissues the 1/48s?

I.e. Roy reissue#5?

FPs,

VF1A Hiky,

upcoming Hiky VF1S?

etc.

[Fortress_Maximus]

Anyone know? Come on share people! Thanks!

[nhyone]

No idea on the production runs. I'm wondering about the colored valkyries, like the Max/Millia VF and CF. Do they have to be on separate runs from the white VFs? If so, the chances of a reissue is lower. Or is it that changing color doesn't incur much cost?

On the price, I'm sure it can be lower than US$150, but the sellers have no incentive to do so.

How low can the price be? When the 1/48 first came out, it was available in HK at retail for US$100. (I've no idea the current price.) Let's say distributor price is 20% cheaper, so that's US$80. And suppose you ship by economical surface shipping, those container type, not regular mail, the shipping should be much cheaper than what individual buyers can get. Thus, we'll looking at US$100 + profit.

(All figures are plucked out of my ass. Just thinking aloud.)

[Neova]

No idea on the production runs. I\'m wondering about the colored valkyries, like the Max/Millia VF and CF. Do they have to be on separate runs from the white VFs? If so, the chances of a reissue is lower. Or is it that changing color doesn\'t incur much cost?

On the price, I\'m sure it can be lower than US$150, but the sellers have no incentive to do so.

How low can the price be? When the 1/48 first came out, it was available in HK at retail for US$100. (I\'ve no idea the current price.) Let\'s say distributor price is 20% cheaper, so that\'s US$80. And suppose you ship by economical surface shipping, those container type, not regular mail, the shipping should be much cheaper than what individual buyers can get. Thus, we\'ll looking at US$100 + profit.

(All figures are plucked out of my ass. Just thinking aloud.)

367478[/snapback]

All the colored valks are technically seperate runs just to change the colors. That is how mass production works in general.

If you were a mass production baker, you wouldn\'t prep 2 chocolate cookies, a raisin oatmeal and double chocolate dip on the same line. You either finish one full run, then setup for the next run or run simultaneou different lines.

Just imagine what would happend if the guy painting Hikaru\'s VF-1J had to paint 3 Max 1Js next, then 2 CFs, another Hikaru 1J and finally a Millia 1J. I can imagine all the QC issues or the creation of those \"rare, mistake valks\" that look like Joon wannabees. This might make for even crazier prices on Ebay.

Also, speaking for pretty much all etailers everywhere, that 80 USD Valk is a pipedream. I wish most etailers can get it at that price. Now I can believe it if TRU Japan got that kind of pricing due to their volume but thats only at 500 pieces or more of the same exact item only.

The only time I recall the magical 100 USD Valkyrie came to be was during the VF-1A Max blowout and when some of us were parting Super Valks out. Note I was not in HK during the initial release of the 1/48 so can\'t comment on that.

Want to save on shipping? Go surface mail and wait 6 - 8 weeks. It is ~ HALF of the price of AIR SHIPMENT at 8x the transit time. This is available from most overseas retailers.

I was going to further comment on the common notion here on MW that dealers have no incentive to lower the prices, but will leave it at this : without knowledge of the economics involved or the available choices offered from each dealer is ignorance.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Neova

[nhyone]

All the colored valks are technically seperate runs just to change the colors. That is how mass production works in general.

If you were a mass production baker, you wouldn\'t prep 2 chocolate cookies, a raisin oatmeal and double chocolate dip on the same line. You either finish one full run, then setup for the next run or run simultaneou different lines.

There are two steps in the mass production: parts and assembly. I was asking more of the parts side. What's the minimum quantity that is made per run? Is there a lower limit? Is it high?

The assembly part should not be a factor. It's easy to switch without additional cost.

I was going to further comment on the common notion here on MW that dealers have no incentive to lower the prices, but will leave it at this : without knowledge of the economics involved or the available choices offered from each dealer is ignorance.

I don't mean eating into the seller's profit. Because the valks sell at US$150, the sellers have no incentive to reduce their cost.

[Neova]

There are two steps in the mass production: parts and assembly. I was asking more of the parts side. What\'s the minimum quantity that is made per run? Is there a lower limit? Is it high?

The assembly part should not be a factor. It\'s easy to switch without additional cost.

True assembly can be switched with neglible cost impact for similar items, but it is STILL a seperate run. One assembly team would focus on a color version and one would focus on the regular version.

One team would never mass produce two different line simultaneously. It is always a seperate sub team or teams. QC issues.

The parts costs would cost same regardless of color since the plastic resin is purchased in bulk. Again, it would be a seperate run plus downtime to simply change out the color of the resin, clean out the tooling (residue colors, etc...)and setup. They produce only one color after another unless simultaneous runs were in place.

Actually, most dealers are constantly trying to reduce their cost since the selling price of one item does not equate to fixed operation and behind the scene costs. I would say the market dictates the selling costs more so than the dealer or manufacturer.

[Macross73]

Does anybody know what the production runs have been.

how many VF1S, VF1A low viz, vf1a Max, etc have been produced

[jenius]

Fort Max asked:

Since it was brought up, what ARE the production runs when Yamato reissues the 1/48s?

Then we heard crickets. Basically, no one knows except Yamato. I think someone deduced the number of LowVis' at one point. Something like 5000 if I'm not mistaken. Now, if we could then determine that each run was 5000 pieces we could figure out exactly how many of each type would be... Unfortunately, I'm not certain about the 5000 LVs and I'm less certain that we could use that to ascertain that that is exactly the number of each production run.

PS - the 1/48 is profitable (or Yamato is a very bad company). Why do I say this? Their pricing model would almost certainly be such as to recoup the costs of the toy after completion of its FIRST production run. Now, using the old creedo that everything costs twice what you hope it will we should be able to determine that after the Second run Yamato had at least broken even. Everything since then is gravy baby.

PPS - here's some speculation for you. We just saw the Hik 1A, 1J, and 1S get reissued (all use the exact same red right?). My guess is at some point we will see the Max Super 1J and Max 1A get reissued. As someone posited earlier, it's going to be the odd ducks (CF & Miria) that have less likelihood at more runs (unless they prove very demanded).

Edited February 7, 2006 by jenius

[Graham]

Then we heard crickets.  Basically, no one knows except Yamato.  I think someone deduced the number of LowVis' at one point.  Something like 5000 if I'm not mistaken.

367589[/snapback]

It was less than that.

Graham

[feudallordcult]

i am curious, wonder how the low viz effect is being applied to the plane. if it's airbrushed individually, then i can copmprehend why it's so darn costly.

[Macross73]

Fort Max asked:

Since it was brought up, what ARE the production runs when Yamato reissues the 1/48s?

Then we heard crickets. Basically, no one knows except Yamato. I think someone deduced the number of LowVis' at one point. Something like 5000 if I'm not mistaken. Now, if we could then determine that each run was 5000 pieces we could figure out exactly how many of each type would be... Unfortunately, I'm not certain about the 5000 LVs and I'm less certain that we could use that to ascertain that that is exactly the number of each production run.

PS - the 1/48 is profitable (or Yamato is a very bad company). Why do I say this? Their pricing model would almost certainly be such as to recoup the costs of the toy after completion of its FIRST production run. Now, using the old creedo that everything costs twice what you hope it will we should be able to determine that after the Second run Yamato had at least broken even. Everything since then is gravy baby.

PPS - here's some speculation for you. We just saw the Hik 1A, 1J, and 1S get reissued (all use the exact same red right?). My guess is at some point we will see the Max Super 1J and Max 1A get reissued. As someone posited earlier, it's going to be the odd ducks (CF & Miria) that have less likelihood at more runs (unless they prove very demanded).

367589[/snapback]

I certainly hope that they reissue the super 1j Max etc. i need to fill out my collection.

[boinger]

I just buy one (1) 1/48 every 6 months. Yamato can just keep reissuing the 1/48 the valkyries and I will keep on buying them.

Thank you very much, please!

[amptor]

I completely stopped collecting Yamatos because I noticed the plastic yellows, and it wasn't expected..but I hadn't bought the last 5 1/60 versions yet. I might pick more up if I ever find some super cheap deals, I got a spare vf-1a hikaru for around $35 shipped about 2 years ago.

[Skullsixx]

If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay...

[Limbo]

You sickos belong to a cult. Yamato toys are like scientology. Expensive and for the privileged only. Welcome to the elite of transforming toys. Sorry if you can't afford.

ps - And yeah, I do own 3 of them.

Edited March 7, 2006 by Limbo

[jenius]

If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay...

Holy crap, Penny, is that you?

Oh, sorry, for a second there I thought you were my exgirlfriend.

[Protoplast]

I'm actually very tired of hearing people complain about the prices of goods.

Does anyone actually understand how the global economy works? How currency value works?

Does it come to mind that over the past 10 yrs that the dollar has sank in value continuously against other world currency?

Why is that? Well, our government keeps printing money faster than you and I make money. More people borrowing than actually money being brought home and saved.

That's the whole idea why prices go up...

Now, how do you fix this? You can't ... I would like to see people who complain about prices to go do the same to their bosses.. Ask for a raise and tell them.. the price of goods and services have gone up due to annual inflation and dollar depreciation.

I'm sure most of you guys are gonna say, that's not gonan happen or else I'll get fired..

Well, if you and I don't ask, the employers out there will continue to keep wage growth down, below the rate of annual inflation which is about 4%

This means, if you don't get a 4% raise every year, you are making less and less each year as it cost more every year to buy the same goods and services.

The makers or sellers of Macross toys are raising prices simply to reflect current cost of production and business operations.. You should do the same at your job or be looking for a new job .. ask for a raise or adjustments..

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

In summary of the thread:

I just want to see something similar to what has happened with other stuff like the Garland and Scopedog.

Not have to pay premium due to the need to import. Bringing the costs down means raking in more profit since more people will be able to afford it.

The way I see it: Like shopping for bargains during sale time, people will spend money when they see stuff at price they can afford. But the starting price is usually much higher to produce at first so it appeals first to the "early adopter" (who can afford it and is enthusiastic about it enough to pay the price for the company to profit enough) and these people open the gates to the masses as prices go down over time and the cost to make something goes down. The 'sale' price is usually its normal price which all the bargain hunters wait for before shelling out.

eg

Not everyone I know owns a HD tv, but as production increases and the cost to make them goes down, the demand increases, while the technology gets better and efficiency to produce increases, and companies start to make a profit rather than losing or breaking even, ...that is when more people will own it eventually.

where does the demand come from for macross toys though?: I believe it might be with the international RT crowd who fondly remember macross as its robotech incarnation and instantly recognise the vf1 from the old cartoon of thier childhood. But I have a feeling high price (through all the middleman costs) is a barrier unless you are hardcore into it.

The more time that is wasted, the less interested people will be and the smaller the fanbase gets as it shrinks over time. As interest dies, profits go down, and then production of that thing is reduced. The secondhand market and collectors will then be able to make a profit if they try to hold onto the toys long enough to be able to demand whatever they want for it on ebay for all the "late-comer" fans who missed the boat. (see my example of the "1/72 yamatos being sold at 1/48 prices" as one instance)

Edited March 11, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Mowe]

Protoplast, don't mean to be rude, but:

1. Yes, many of us are just ignorant fools and do not know how the global economy works, but, if it can be explained in one post in the Macross Forum, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out...or may be it is a little more complicated...

2. I admire your negotiation skill to confront your boss for a raise every year, but trust me, there are a lot of very mean bosses out there, screwing their employees every day. They can do it because they are in the position to do so. We all want a raise but most of the times, it takes a little more than just asking.

3. I bitch about Yamato prices not because I can't afford the toys or I don't have the annual 4% raise. I bitch about it because it is over priced for what it is worth. I also bitch about it because thanks to Harmony Gold, Yamato has limited access to the world market (see Post 16 of this thread Yamato Garland Pre-Order to see the immediate effect when Yamato's toys have access to the bigger market).

We might be ignorant Valks collectors but voicing our opinions regarding product prices is the minimum right we have as consumer.

I'm actually very tired of hearing people complain about the prices of goods.

Does anyone actually understand how the global economy works?... You should do the same at your job or be looking for a new job .. ask for a raise or adjustments..

379211[/snapback]

Edited March 11, 2006 by Mowe

[Protoplast]

3. I bitch about Yamato prices not because I can't afford the toys or I don't have the annual 4% raise.  I bitch about it because it is over priced for what it is worth.  I also bitch about it because thanks to Harmony Gold, Yamato has limited access to the world market (see Post 16 of this thread Yamato Garland Pre-Order to see the immediate effect when Yamato's toys have access to the bigger market).

We might be ignorant Valks collectors but voicing our opinions regarding product prices is the minimum right we have as consumer.

I'm actually very tired of hearing people complain about the prices of goods.

Does anyone actually understand how the global economy works?... You should do the same at your job or be looking for a new job .. ask for a raise or adjustments..

379211[/snapback]

379276[/snapback]

In order for Yamato to bring the toys here, someone gotta pay for the shipment of the goods, marketing, and royalities to Harmony Gold.

If Macross was a huge success such as Pokemon, I'm sure the royalty issues would've been addressed.

If you look at it from a business perspective:

"Is it profitable to import these toys to America, just to satisfy maybe 10-30,000 fans, only?"

Personally, I don't see any validity to the complaints by the Macross collectors. Nobody is forcing you to pay these prices, you are buying hobby goods which are less important than other goods.

You can rationalize all you want about Harmony Gold, about the toys not worth the price, etc, etc...

Worth = Avg price of what others are willing to pay for.

You gotta pay if you want to play.. don't get involved with hobbies that you can't afford.

Try rationalizing at your current job:

- Are you worth what they are paying you?

- Are you happy at your job?

- Can you afford cost of living with your pay?

If you would like to get a raise, you have to answer these questions and raise them to your employer. If they won't give you what you want, you have a choice...

It's a free economy.. you have the right to leave or ask for a raise.

You may say not everyone have these options..

Ask your employer the same questions, they will do whatever it takes to make a profit for themselves, that's their bottomline.

Your bottomline is that you want to make more money to afford new cost of living. If your case is not strong, then it's time to upgrade yourself and become more marketable.. I'm tired of hearing from people that want a raise but does not do anything at their jobs to become more productive or marketable.

[Protoplast]

Not everyone I know owns a HD tv, but as production increases and the cost to make them goes down, the demand increases, while the technology gets better and efficiency to produce increases, and companies start to make a profit rather than losing or breaking even, ...that is when more people will own it eventually.

where does the demand come from for macross toys though?: I believe it might be with the international RT crowd who fondly remember macross as its robotech incarnation and instantly recognise the vf1 from the old cartoon of thier childhood. But I have a feeling high price (through all the middleman costs) is a barrier unless you are hardcore into it.

The more time that is wasted, the less interested people will be and the smaller the fanbase gets as it shrinks over time. As interest dies, profits go down, and then production of that thing is reduced. The secondhand market and collectors will then be able to make a profit if they try to hold onto the toys long enough to be able to demand whatever they want for it on ebay for all the "late-comer" fans who missed the boat. (see my example of the "1/72 yamatos being sold at 1/48 prices" as one instance)

379258[/snapback]

Macross has a limited fanbase, without new animation out to promote this franchise, there isn't new interest in Macross.

This means any production of goods for Macross will be a *limited* run, unlike HDTV which are hot commodities, any production run is to mass produce to keep costs low and reduce prices to become more competitive than others.

Yamato also enjoy the status of being the sole producer as well. Small monopoly.

I think the prices are okay for toys of this level.

Have you guys seen what Bandai charges for model kits? $130+ for Perfect Grade model kit, which requires less work to produce than a finished toy of the same size and amount of plastic.