The future of "High End" Statue Collecting - 2023 onwards?

[Straken-SWE]

Originally Posted by 67L88Stingray

It would be less repetitive and also interesting to see how the discussion evolves if it was in a sticky thread. I am all for the discussion itself, that isn't the issue, I just don't want to have the same basics hashed out over and over in different threads.

That is actually a really good point, this should be a sticky thread. I would also be interested in an evolving discussion about this subject. As is pretty much every single thread have bits and pieces of this discussion.

[Hobbyist]

Going forward, those high-priced high-end statues will become (if they haven't already) more like luxury goods reserved only to those who have large disposable income and wouldn't mind to spend big on hobbies.

Statues are no mainstream consumer goods by any means, and the community of collectors is a niche market to begin with. Hence, the relatively small ES on most statues. The continuously rising prices of statues will push many collectors out of the hobby. Those who choose to stay will have to be content with less expensive smaller scale statues with lesser quality or go back to 1:6 scale action figures whether they like it or not.

This will likely be the case for many collectors in North America and Europe where the economic growth, incomes and purchasing power of the general public have already been eroded somewhat, and the possibility of a recession is looming. Collectors in those regions are not going to have the mood or money to spend on expensive statues. Money will be tight and needed for real necessities to sustain lives and support families.

Companies which solely cater to the wealthy section of the collecting community will have to rely on the Asian markets, like China, to buy their products and support them in the long term. That's where the money is and continue will be for some time to come. That's what many of those upscale European luxury brands are counting on. I suppose those high-end statue companies like JND, Infinity Studio, Queen Studios and Prime 1 are now part of that group.

Soon enough, those collectors who are not in Asia won't be the target market for those high-end statue companies. They will become only a secondary market. My advice is: Get used to it.

[Hobbyist]

Here are the country of origins for the high-end statue and figure companies:

Hot Toys - China
InArt (QS) - China
Infinity Studio - China
Queen Studios - China
XM Studio - Singapore
Prime 1 - Japan
JND - South Korea

Theoretically, they could trade among themselves and survive with small orders from collectors in North America and Europe. All of their products are manufactured in China. Asian products by Asian companies for Asian markets. Asian markets are stronger in comparison, and Asians have larger disposable income to spend on hobbies. That's why the prices keep going up.

They don't set their prices based on the demands in the North American and European markets. I don't foresee any major changes any time soon.

That's how I see it going forward.

[Mercy]

I expect people to cut back and become more selective if they choose to stay in the 1/4 or 1/3 statue market. Others, will leave the statue market or go back to the 1/6 scale.

[Silas Loki]

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

Here are the country of origins for the high-end statue and figure companies:

Hot Toys - China
InArt (QS) - China
Infinity Studio - China
Queen Studios - China
XM Studio - Singapore
Prime 1 - Japan
JND - South Korea

Theoretically, they could trade among themselves and survive with small orders from collectors in North America and Europe. All of their products are manufactured in China. Asian products by Asian companies for Asian markets. Asian markets are stronger in comparison, and Asians have larger disposable income to spend on hobbies. That's why the prices keep going up.

They don't set their prices based on the demands in the North American and European markets. I don't foresee any major changes any time soon.

That's how I see it going forward.

I think you might be right. It will be interesting to see what the US and European Retailer community will do in 2023 - as this is where the first signs of change might be seen. Example, JND release their next project and places like SpecFiction or DerivStore - simply don't stock it.....if that happens, the message is clear - they don't have confidence that they will find end customers for the product.....this will also mean the days of JND's 2hr "sell out" will be over.....as we know the biggest factor in their website sell out is retailer purchases.

[Silas Loki]

Originally Posted by Mercy

I expect people to cut back and become more selective if they choose to stay in the 1/4 or 1/3 statue market. Others, will leave the statue market or go back to the 1/6 scale.

I'm personally already seriously thinking in this direction.....especially the modern military 1/6 genre - which brings back memories of Rainbow6 and Call of Duty - something absolutely underrepresented in Statue format anyway.

[StefanCo]

I'm not a diehard collector, only get a piece when I really want it, but I'm sure with lower prices/shipping I would have gotten more than I have now.

I have the QS Catwoman on batpod on preorder, that is a $4K statue. That limits my spendings on statues for 2023 too, and I think this will be the only one I get, unless F4F releases some more Silent Hill statues.

Maybe the prices making me think twice is a good thing, that way I end up with only things I really want. I just hope it works the other way around too, and the companies feel they need to earn the buyers attention more, and spend more time in creating a unique statue and offering higher quality in general.

[Augen]

I think a lot depends on the economies of key markets. If we enter a recession period one would think these sort of hobby luxury items would take a hit in regards to volume sales.

Companies may have to reposition themselves and lean into smaller consumer base pushing rarity and prestige of ownership. Smaller ES, higher price, playing it safer with character choice.

The big variable I see is the spectre of 3D printing becomes more and more appealing for folks as the price of that drops while the hobby prices them out. I'm not sure about 2023, but next few years it could become a larger part of the hobby.

[jeremydmc]

My buying has really slacked off in the last couple years due to the pricing. I currently have 5 PO's and then absolutely nothing else that interests me so far. I still have $375 in sideshow points I need to spend on something but I have no idea what. LOL

My 5 PO's are 3 TH statues (Krypto, Flash and Aquaman), Kala Series Harley Quinn 1:6 and the Queen Studios Ann Hathaway Catwoman w/Batpod 1:6.

There will have to be a must have, for me, reveal of a character to get me to put in anymore PO's at the current price points. The days of impulse buying a character have been over for a couple years now for me at least. The higher the prices and the dicier the economy gets that will only get worse.

On a side note I did try to PO the TH John Stewart Ex through Sideshow to use up my rewards but they are not usable on that statue for some reason. I contacted customer service and they were not able to allow me to use them either.

[Silas Loki]

What direction would manufactures need to take to get regular customers excited and ready to spend on their products? If we wanted reduced pricing, what are we willing to settle for? Reduced scale? Simpler bases? No more mixed media?.....

Let's imagine pricing was going to stay on it's current trajectory, what do we expect for the price?