How do you feel about figure pricing?

[thegoodsgt]

For me (as someone who paints veeeery slowly and only 54mm), figure prices still represent a good value, even with their increased prices. The enjoyment and satisfaction that I get out of a $25 or $35 figure is sufficient given the time that I spend with the figure and the final product.

That said, it's difficult to justify $50-60 for a 90mm or 120mm figure, although there are a handful of sculptors (Mike Good among them) whose work is well-worth the premium price.

 

[Roc]

Hey guys, we are living in a capitalistic society, which means that manufacturers are going to squeeze as much Euros and Dollars from us as they possibly can.
As long as we the consumers continue to pay such enormous and ridiculous prices, I guarantee you prices will continue to explode through the roof.
In my opinion the only solution is to buy less kits, only buy them when they go on sale or learn to sculpt your own figures.
I think $86.00 for a 90mm. Is outrageous, I hate to see what it’s going to cost next year.




Cheers
Roc.

 

[moore]

Since I am new to the hobby.. I really don't know if
its expensive or not. Right now I am willing to pay
what ever to get a figure I like. Like everyone is saying...
you have your grey armies.. but if you stick to those.. then
the cost is going to pass you by and when you do come to
buy.. you will be blown away with the cost.

What I am wondering is... is the hobby growing with
new people coming into it. Could that help keep costs
down, besides the rule of thumb of everything does go up..
nothing goes down... which is true like Mike stated.

I think a hobby has to have new blood coming into it.
What I am finding is that PF and the club I am in, everyone
is very helpful and willing to share.. I think thats important.

Also... am I incorrect to think this is a "cottage" type industry
for a lot of manufacturers. I mean, no one has these huge
plants where they make the figures.. etc.

Just my thoughts..
Dee

 

[Wlas]

Yes, I don't feel fondly towards the cost nowadays. I have a distant memory of buying 54mm's for $1.50.....sometimes splurging $2.50 on a Merite....
Most of my sympathy is for the pro sculpters like Mike Good. Without quality work the manufaturers are out of business....but the cost of living puts tremendous pressure on artists. I can type a list of talent an arm's length who have been 'in' the business and are 'out' simply because this market does not provide a decent living. The only one's that have achieved any level of stability are the dealers. Their investment is usually from 40 to 60 percent of retail. They neither sculpt or produce. But because the market is so narrow, so eclectic, even among the dealers it seems only the strong survive ( by 'strong' I mean those dealers who put a tremendous amount of time and expense establishing themselves, building a solid reputation within this community ).
The majority of the outside world still views the work we do as nicely painted toy soldiers.
This same outside world also determines what is Art and what is just an interesting aside.
In the times we live in that is exactly what it is, an 'aside' although a bit of an expensive one.
Perhaps a hundred years from now the outside world will view it as a fine art and an original Mike Good will bring $25K at auction. But that will be of little value or interest to Mike
who ( like all of us on planetfigure at this time ) will be nurturing the earth.

 

[flart1943]

Hi All
Here in the UK we have an added problem of rising postal (package) prices.
Pete

 

[Rob Brown]

I tend to buy most of my figures off ebay, almost always at prices less than retail, unless it is one that is very hard to find.

 

[DaveCox]

It's just the rising cost of figures (and models in general) that's hitting me, although it's a contributing factor - it's the rising cost of living that means I have no money available for hobbies. That and failing eyesight. I have one bust, two figures to come from Dan Morton, another that was a gift. After that I'm looking for a new hobby after 44 years.

 

[Roc]

Dave, I'm very sorry to hear about your failing eyesight, God willing it will improve.

I underatsnd how you feel about the high cost of figures, try to buy them on sale, that's what I do.

Cheers
Roc.

 

[polyphemus]

Hi All

Like most people here I'm not keen on present pricing levels for figures and as I only consider figures 90mm and above and only in metal some of the recent releases really hurt! Can I put in a small plug for some of the manufacturers who do still produce larger scale figures at lower prices. I recently bought 6 90mm scale British Peninsular War period figures at £15 each from Tradition of London. OK they're not to the quality of Pegaso's 90mm Templar Sergeant but they are good honest figures which will paint up really well. There are other manufacturers around with figures at similar prices eg nobleminiatures and clydecast. Might be worth a look.

Regards

Geoff

 

[BSPRU]

All hobbies cost money. I remember 12 cent comic books and 15 cent cokes. Now what are the prices? The most figures I have ever painted in a year since I got back into the hobby is 7. I have enough figures in my grey army to keep me busy for 20-25 years. I also used to be able to buy a beer for 35 cents at the bar, it is probably ten times as much now.
brian

 

[Major_Goose]

My call would go a lot with Rod , and Jean Paul . Like, since you re passionate with a hobby and youre a lot into it, you decide to invest some money .

I mean since you want to play Playstation, dont you accept by default the prices of every game cartridge ?

In my point of view and knowing well what it takes to sculpt a figure and the expenses to cast it as well as the hazards of working with metal and resins and chemics.

I also evaluate the hours of pleasure that this little kit gives me and the relatively very low cost of making it . Few drops of oils or acrylics and asmall base is nothing compared to a wild night out in the clubs , or to a weekend in a fancy site.
The hobby is really and definately cheap and not money demanding compared to most of other hobbies.

So thinking all these and the fact that also the complaining guys have bigger or smaller gray armies , i think that mostly we like to complain than we rather have an existing problem. Anyhow there is a solution ,If you cannot afford getting many figures every day or every week, slow down the buyingor even painting rate.

I think we re lucky enough tobe engaged in a hobby , that approaches or is already a form of art, and as the mastercard adv intv says thats really PRICELESS.

in my opinion figures have the right price and theyre affordable even to new comers in the hobby. Evaluate a tank kit in 1/35 with all the demanded additions to get a medal in a competition and see that this equals half a workers monthly salary (in Greece at least)

but since we have democracy its nice to hear all peoples opinions

 

[Figure Mad]

I voted that I was OK with it. I realy think it depends on a lot of things as far as the buyer is concerned, the quality of the figure, if the figure really appeals to you, is there any potential for conversion, light or heavy, availability through suppliers within your country (postage cost), and (you may laugh) eyesight.

I do think that quality makes part of the decision for the buyer, you would think that quality and cost would be linked, but in some cases they are not. A good example would be a prolific manufacturer in England, who untill he had to retire due to ill health, produced some of the best quality mounted and foot figures in the world, but his prices were extremely reasonable (mounted £85), but there are manufacturers out there at the moment producing lower quality figures, but the prices are still at the upper end of the market (mounted £130), the lower quality maybe just down to quality control or demands of the market place, demanding the manufacturer to produce the figure at such a speed and at such quanitities

But its the buyer who has the last decision, if they like the figure enough they will buy it, no matter what the cost. I personally have slowed my painting rate, to increase my quality, so my spending rate has naturally slowed for purchasing figures, but my research costs have risen by quite a bit.

A final word is, I enjoy it, so ill do it.

Dave

 

[Graywolf]

First of all ; Do we all have enough information about the production process of figures or their production costs? I dont have much info on that.Personally ; figures are plastic,resin or metal parts for me. I read or heard there are some technics like injection molding, centrefuge but I dont know the details of these processes. How many people is needed to produce a figure? How much a machine that is used for figure production costs? How much they pay to the sculptors for a figure or how much a mold cost? There are so many questions that can be asked when we think it at this point and I dont know the answers of them.I am just a painter and painting figures as a hobby..besides that I have a job,I have to earn my life and I like to be paid well or maximum (i never mean exorbitant) when I do my job well because I believe i deserve it. The one who earns money by producing and selling figures is probably thinking in the same manner. As he thinks he makes a big effort and makes many expenses to produce a good figure,he thinks he deserves to cover his expenses and make some profit. I can blame them for that.
I respect all figure producers in this way.On the other side,I have a limited fund to buy figures that I will paint so I have to make some choices. In my opinion;there is 2 ways for that.
1. To buy more figures in quite good or a little poor quality in low prices or
2. To buy less figures in high quality in reasonable prices or a 3rd way ; doing both in different periods.
I believe there are figures on market suitable for everyones taste and everyones financial conditions. I agree there are some companies trying to sell their figures in exorbitant prices but i dont believe they will have a long life on this market.
About the rising of prices; they are rising on everything in those days in my country not only on figures..when the postal rates, shipping,custom rates,the monthly payments for your workers insurance, the mainteance costs of your machines,etc are increasing you must be AN ANGEL to keep your figures prices at the same rate.
So IMHO lets dont pay much money to the figures that will never worth it but lets respect the effort and try to understand all companies that are trying to survive this hobby giving reasonable prices to their top quality figures....and let me add this ; REASONABLE is a relative term that may change for all of us depending to our conditions. Lets buy it if we think the figure deserves the money....

a related subject was discussed in HFM before (when Armorama figures forum) under a different topic and an explanation was brought by Luca Marchetti of Pegaso Models. If related ,you may read it here .
best regards
Engin

 

[P GREEN]

I can live with the prices as long as I get what I have payed for. It has put the brakes on my rapidly expanding grey army, and made me very selective of what I purchase. I don't mind paying for the major manufactures. I myself work in private sector manufacturing and the price of doing business is insane in todays economy. This inturn makes the ever rising price semi acceptable Regretablely I do remember the $35 90mm figure
Paul

 

[Jameson]

Although I've been a member for sometime now this is my first post to a thread.
This is not a rant but just an observation.
Like some of you I've been involved/interested in this hobby since the early days. My first figures were Rose and Stadden. The first figure kit I ever purchased was a mounted Polish lancer from Rose probably sometime around 1964... I think I paid the princely sum of $10 cdn. for it.
I've painted many figures over the years and I've sculpted quite a few one offs, some figures I still have, others are in collections around the world. I've competed and won awards at shows. I've watched this hobby grow, contract and change, the talent level of both painters and sculptors rise in quality to the point that what some of you create really is art. I have also watched manufacturer's come and go, some good, a lot...not so much. Things change, it's inevitable, prices go up, never down and that's a given. What we are are experiencing now is the higher cost of raw materials influenceing the marketplace and that's on everything from metals to rubber and resin to paper, all the things that make up the end product we purchase at our local retailer or direct from the manufacturer. The price of oil drives everything!!
The talented artists who provide us with the finished product we purchase also live in this world and are deserving of the ability to earn a meager living from their efforts. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Talent, like cream always rises to the top and stays there. There will always be talented artisans to feed the need...the lesser talents will come and go but this hobby will survive. Hobbies are something we do for love or relaxation, something to suit our liesure time or our interests and requires some disposable income. Unfortunately many of us are victims of the global economy at some level and have had to curtail or modify our hobby spending for the necessity of putting bread on the table. This makes it very difficult not to resent being unable to afford the latest piece that we want for our collection. Add to this the higher costs to bring us our latest wants and 'Bam' you now have sticker shock and have to rationalize your purchasing. The bottomline here is we had it good for a long time with lots of disposable income, cheaper pricing and lots of choice but now we are paying the psychic price at some level or another for thinking things would/should never change.
This is a free market economy we live in and things have to be bought and sold to keep the machine working so if we buy less stuff the machine slows down and then we have less and less choice... so get out and buy something, feed the machine but be more selective, finish up your gray armies and hope that someday we can all live 'on the bubble' again.
'He who has the most toys when he dies wins... but also leaves behind a lot of unfinished junk'.

 

[stu]

Wow, if you think figures are dear, try putting one into production.

Interesting thread I may reveal more when I have more time.

Stu

 

[DEL]

"I work as a full-time sculptor. I am one of the few in the business who still does. The problem for me is that my rent and living expenses have continued to go up over the years, while the money I can expect to make for a master has fallen DRASTICALLY over the same amount of time. I charge as much for my work as the business will allow but I do not have money for retirement or even savings anymore. It is strictly a hand to mouth existence. If I was not married, I would be living under an over-pass roasting squirrel for dinner........!"
A chilling reality check from Mike.
Derek

 

[Steve]

I have a good friend who manufactures figures. He does not make tons of money on his products. Quite the contrary. He does, however, pay a small fortune for masters. This leads me to believe that maybe the sculptors are the only folks making money. I appreciate Mr. Bonehead's points but a thousand bucks or more for a master of a single foot or a bust regardless of scale is quite a bit. Everyone deserves profit for their efforts. Somebody needs to add a bit of reality to "what the market will bear". That is the exact logic the oil companies use, and it is a stretch. No offense but that pony don't run.

 

[Bailey]

$1000 may sound like a lot, but how long did it take them to make that bust or full figure? If you can create a good looking sculpt in 5-10 hours you're doing pretty well. But if you put 100 hours into a figure, you're making $10 an hour... not exactly raking in the dough. Plus you're selling the rights to have your figure mass produced by someone else. It doesn't sound like the sculptors get any royalties for every figure the manufacturer sells. That being said, I have no idea how long a professional sculptor spends on a figure or what most masters go for. I do know that if I sold my painted figures at fair market value I'd be making less than if I worked in fast food.

While I'd like figures to be cheaper, I don't think anyone is really sticking it to the consumer. And, compared to the models in my dad's collection from 30 or 40 years ago, I think the quality of the sculpting has improved by leaps and bounds.

 

[BobLff257]

I feel that Mike G has hit the nail on the head as to the high prices of figures these days. I am used to paying hundreds of pounds for masters, and in fairness to sculptors I have commissioned, their cost has been quite constant for a number of years, as they themselves have to remain competitive. It is lack of sales and the increasing amount of new manufacturers and products available which significantly affect the pricing of a new figures.