LWATC - So Cheap looking and So Expensive. WTF!!!

Thank you Raging Nerdgasm for allowing me to use these pictures.  World War Z figure. Check them out at http://ragingnerdgasm.com/.

Maybe is just me but recently I find myself walking down the isles of toy stores with my husband and thinking to myself “Wow, many of these new toys just look so darn bad and cheap, but they come with a whopping price tag. What gives?”

I recently did a You Tube video called “Why are Toys so expensive”.  Check it out.

Now, I personally have an idea and an understanding of why the toys cost what they cost, but it still doesn't justify it enough for us to buy any of the products at the whopping prices they are asking for just because is a license we love. Especially when we keep encountering the following problems with new collectibles toys:

Figure...
… is not secured in package.
… is broken in package.
… comes with wrong limbs, poorly attached limbs or poorly made limbs.
… has a sloppy paint jobs.
… will brake the second you get it out of the package due to using cheaper plastic.
… will not stand or pose well due to molding issues.
… can’t hold accessories they come with.
… doesn't have likeness or a bad sculpt of whoever they are supposed to be.
… has orange color skin or colors are off completely and they are not suppose to be variant.

We love Kick-Ass but the figures for Kick Ass 2 just don't look very good compare to the usual NECA Release figures.

The worst part is that many of these companies have the balls to sit there and ask for $12 plus tax for a crappy 3 inch figure or $20-$25 plus tax for a 6 inch figure.  God forbid if you are buying anything larger like a 12 inch figure, special release figure, overseas release, a play set, or a reprint or re issue figure.  At that point you are looking at $35 + for figure.  That’s insane. It wasn't even that bad even just a few years back when I first met my husband.

We find ourselves often going into the store and often leaving without buying anything these day. When we do find something,  we are finding ourselves literally picking up certain figures just because we simply love the licence so much that we have to have it, but only to leave them in the package because we are aware that the manufacturer produces such low quality product it would simply break or paint will chip the second it comes out of it’s package.  We like to call these figures “NRFB” or “NRFP” Figures” (Never remove from box or never remove from package).  However, there’s been times that we have simply loved a licence but the quality of the figure was so so so so bad that we walked away without buying.  I mean that is bad when you have people willing to give you money for something and they simply can’t do it. That’s bad business.

Currently I believe that the main issue is that being a nerd and a collector has finally become so mainstream that companies are quickly trying to profit on this and simply putting out garbage just because they think new collectors will buy anything that has a connection with the licenses they love.  While this might be true for some new collectors, in the long run their will start fading off this craze due to several “life” events or simply realizing that the quality is not there for what they pay for and cut off cold turkey.  That’s when you start seeing collections being sold on eBay or craigslist.

Companies are banking on the same illusion that comics when through during the Golden Age of comics “If I buy this now and keep it, in the future it will be worth a fortune”.  Well I would say that would have made sense if you started collecting in the 1950’s  when collectors were far and few and many toys were simply played with and disposed.  However if you start collecting today many of those toys you buy at the store will not be worth much because they are too many people collecting them and there are too many of them out in the market.  Supply and demand 101.  More of an object the less is worth, less of an object the more it’s worth.  Yes there are exceptions for to these statement but more often than not this is fairly true.  Example:”Spawn Figures”, "Newer Star Wars Figures", est.  That’s all that I’m saying.