How do you feel about figure pricing?

[Richie]

-And what do you do if a man attacks you armed with a banana?

Hi Janne,
Now you leave banana's out of this .

An interesting thread planeteers, as a newcomer to this hobby I can see all sides. I recently totted up that I spent approx. £320 on brushes, paints and undercoat, that was without other consumables and hardware and all this before I buy a figure! I wish I could purchase large scale figures for the prices some are commanding but when I look at the present economic situation I could not justify spending £100 on a figure when I could feed my family for a fortnight on that money.

Mike hit the nail on the head - he is just getting by and he is full time. Consider this even if a master costs £1000 (I have no idea by the way) and it is turned into a 120mm resin figure at a sales price of £30.00, (Mike's cost, if he charged £1000 is recovered in less than 40 figures sold worldwide) the resin cost per unit must be only a couple of pounds per figure at most???
But then there is the production costs, box art cost, the tooling and printing costs for packaging (if used), the tooling costs for the figure and I do not know how many figures you would get from a mould???before it is replaced.
Most sales now are probably internet based to reduce overheads. The retailer/stockist has to make a margin and a living. So is the bulk of the cost at the producers/manufacurers!!! (and I am not talking about a one man outfit) and what if they out source manufacturing to cheaper labour.

At the end of the day it is down to individual choice where you go, what you buy and how much you pay. But consider this, I have only been to one model show at Telford and I was one of the youngest ones at 47 - how are the youngster ever going to afford to get into this hobby if prices keep going up. If prices are getting too expensive and keep going up then you also create a market for re-casters.
Just my thoughts
cheers
Richie

 

[stu]

Figures are not cheap to produce full stop, at best you recoup your outlay and buy the next one. Your constantly looking for "the one" to coin a phrase.
If you get one its good, but if you dont your totally !!!!!!!!!! and its very bad.

Then there is the added problem. How many should i cast or have cast????. Today we want things yesterday and todays figures are old news fast, get it wrong and it dont take long to hear how bad you are on here !!! We also want perfection from boxart ,box, top quality casting, no mould lines, perish the odd air bubble and plugs on resin castings.

All these things cost, time is money and quality materials are not cheap.

I look to selling between 60 and 100 units of each piece. If this happens fast thats nice if slow it drains my buisness of cashflow.

If I sell more its a bonus !

Sculptors are worth every penny and in reality like mike has said are struggling. They have pushed the boundary's of what we enjoy and yet get very little more than 10/15 years ago. I bet everybody elses income has gone up quite a bit in that time.

I think figures are fairly reasonably priced, I dont understand the cost of a 90mm figure being so much either. Mine and a lot of others charge £35 for a 120mm resin figure, metal 90's are so much more even 90mm resin figures are selling for £50 plus.

Figures are cheap when you think of there enjoyment and time involved.

If you want cost rundowns I can give it but it may scare you

Stuart

 

[Tecumsea]

I keep a file of old adverts here are some comparative figures
1998-Metal Models 54mm Mounted Figures £41.50......2012 £57.00
1987-Almond 90mm Foot £13.68....90mm Mounted £42.55
1977-100mm Hearne Originals £16.45
1979-Real Models 100mm Ltd Editions £10.40
1979-John Niblett 150mm Pikeman and Musketeer £27.50 (it took me 3 instalments to pay for one of these!)
1980-Hinchcliffe 90mm Mounted Gothic Knight £29.00
1995-Imperial Gallery 120mm £24.00
1984-Ceremonial Studios-120mm Mounted Sioux Indian £39.68
1996-Roll Call 120mm £24.95

So what does this prove? I suppose it depends how you want to interpret the prices. Metal Models seem to be good value, 90-120mm Resin Kits have not increased at anything like the rate of Metal, is that because of cheaper material or Market forces (Proliferation of Figures)
When I look back at what I was earning in the 70's and 80's this was never a cheap hobby! I remember in the 70's having to buy my Niblett Kit in 3 Instalments and most of the mounted kits were Xmas presents. I'm not convinced that prices are out of kilter although some manufacturers seem to have increased prices substantially more than others but then compare the increases to Fuel, Energy, Property & salaries, I bet the curves on the graph wouldn't be too different....................Keith

 

[Tecumsea]

Interesting your comments about Resin figures Stu-confirms what I have said above-they are really good value.

Keith

 

[Tecumsea]

Engin, thank you for providing the link to Luca's very frank response-I have never seen this before and everyone who has posted so far should read it.......the sales levels put things into perspective, when I was in business I used to apply the 80:20 rule to most things and it seldom let me down (80% of sales will come from 20% of your figure offer).......Luca also answers a question we have asked before about recasters. A very interesting read.

 

[yellowcat]

Thanks Keith for all those prices. I remember back in the late '70s and '80s, I was ordering figures from Chuck of Red Lancers every 2 weeks. I have a huge grey armies in my collection. Nowadays the figures are just too expensive. I like the Andrea 90mm Lawrence of Arabia but it costs 160 pounds or $260 US. I still don't understanding the pricing between historical figures and figures from garage kit industry. A 90mm historical resin figure costs around $60 to $80 where a garage kit 1/6 scale resin figure costs around $90 to $100. A 1/9 scale historical resin bust cost around $45 to $75 where a 1/4 scale garage kit bust cost the same. Both use the same material and packaging for the figures and bust. But the pricing of the historical is two to four times more than the garage kit. WHY???

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I sculpt my own for the most part - because I enjoy it and no one makes what I want. Cost isn't a factor. I do buy the odd figure and when I do cost is a factor. Gotta watch for the bargains and kudos to Maurice Corrie for his free Light Brigade figures with a a purchase of a reasonably fair amount of product.There's case where you get great quality for a fair price.

I don't buy any of the major mainland European metals anymore because the cost is high, the engineering can be suspect and cheaper alternatives prevail. And don't forget shipping and customs. I won't buy from anyone that uses a single all comers international postal charge or anyone who insists on using a courier like UPS or Fedex as I get hammered on duties and fees.

Tirade over.

Colin

 

[Mariner]

As a newcomer to the hobby, I had to give this one some thought.
I've been a weekend artist all my life and have often sold my paintings. I can't sculpt worth a hoot. When I figured out my costs on a painting (materials, time etc) I was making about $12 an hour, sometimes a bit more. I stopped doing shows long ago because I was tired of people nickel and diming me on the price of what took hours and hours of work.
When I started figure painting, I was astonished at the quality of the kits, especially the detail. Not only are they the work of master sculptors, the quality kits are beautifully cast. I wanted to start a collection of something special, and rather than go buy China or crystal figures, I decided to build and paint my own. Thank goodness I found PF.
All of this is to say that when I factor in the hours of enjoyment, fulfillment and satisfaction of completing my painted efforts, the price is well worth it. My investment represents a personal accomplishment of something I never thought I could do. The price of the figures is irrelevant when compared with that.
I don't know if figures are overpriced or not. But, I feel good about something that supports the hardworking sculptors and shop owners who, by making their living in this hobby, provide me with so much pleasure.
Just my 2 cents.
Mary

 

[Redcap]

On a £ per hour entertainment basis, I think most figures are good value for money. What hacks me off however is sometimes paying premium prices for a leading brand name and then having damaged or broken parts due to poor or shoddy packing. Of them all, Soldiers SGF produce probably the best range of Roman figs on the market and I have just about all their 54 and 90mm Romans - I love them! Yet, the number of returns I have made over the years with their products because of damaged parts rattling around inside a flimsy box exceeds ALL the others combined. If one is being asked to pay for a quality product, is it then too much to expect some proper packaging or a sturdy box that will protect the parts?
Gary

 

[DaveCox]

When compared to plastic kits with their large volume sales, I don't have a problem with the cost of figures which still require a lot of time and work to produce. My problem is the ability of my wages to buy figures and pay the bills!

 

[dimgall]

iam not happy at all.they are going up all time and since the flood of 75mm (some great pieces although ).for example a piece of mounted piece 75mm goes up to 100 euro.this is very high price for me.i wish many companies switch to resin so they could low prices .

 

[Tecumsea]

Hi Felix, I think maybe the answer to your question is based on sales volumes-I've never understood what the term "Garage" means when applied to either figures or music can only assume it is aimed at a younger audience and volumes are higher.

Keith

 

[O' Tabac]

Thing worst is when you pay so much, for very little.
Maurizio

 

[brian]

Hi Mike
I've just recently retired after working for the last 50 years, and for the most part at jobs that i didn't particulary like (some were absolute crap jobs).I can only remember of enjoying one job ,that's when i was a dog trainer and handler in the Royal Australian Air Force,a job i loved doing and that lasted 9 years.
My point being that the general workforce rarely work at a job they like ,or would be of their choosing.
Your one of the fortunate ones Mike ,working at something you have a passion for,and it shows in your work.
I'm now 65 years old and believe me,with hindsight, money isn't everything.If you've got your health and your family close by,they're the most important things in life by far.
So endeth the sermon!!
Brian

 

[housecarl]

Why can top producers such as Young and Alpine, release there wares at a much better price than others I could mention?
Carl.

 

[polyphemus]

How many of us buy more figures than we ever have the time to paint? I do wonder what would happen to at least some of the manufacturers if we all decided to stop buying for a time to actually paint some of that grey army.

Geoff

 

[yellowcat]

Hi Keith.
For the term garage kits please take a took at these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_kit
http://www.antsnest.net/Garage.php
I do not understand why a 1/6 scale resin figure kit is more or less the same price as a 90-120mm historical figure kit. Nowadays the process to produce a figure kit is the same for both. A company hire a sculptor to sculpt a master figure. Silicone mold is made from the master and resin is poured to produce the kit. A historical figure uses less material to produce and yet it cost more to the modelers.

 

[balder]

Hi. I guess I'll put in my two cents too. I agree with Felix's comments comparing garage kits to historical figure kits. The prices don' t seem to make sense when you compare the amount of materials used to produce the kit. Also I don't understand why some 120mm figures are $90 and some are $25.
I don't want to complain too much. I don't think anyone is getting rich producing kits. Everyone wishes things cost less than they do.
The hours of enjoyment and relaxation I get from this hobby are worth what I pay for kits and supplies.

Gerald

 

[billyturnip]

How many people have only the one figure to work on and while doing so are busy saving up for the next one? Not many I'll bet.

Roger.

 

[DaveCox]

How many people have only the one figure to work on and while doing so are busy saving up for the next one? Not many I'll bet.

Roger.

I do for one. I get models and figures for birthdays and christmas, make'em last as long as I can and then give up the hobby 'till I get more disposable cash. Mostly I make/paint in the winter and enjoy nature photography the rest of the year