Prime 1 - Dark Knight: Master Race Statue - 1:3

[aa909]

Originally Posted by StatueDiva

I mean no offense to this. More power to anyone that is willing to continue to collect and stick to these statues no matter the price, scale, or edition size...


I don't think statues are investments, and I feel that people saying that are only attempting to undermine other people's opinions without fully understanding what they're saying.

This hobby was built on collectibles, like it or not, a big draw of collectibles it that they're rare and cool to look at. Personally, I do not feel compelled to pay $1,000 or even $2,000 for a statue with 1,000 or 2,000 ES, that's absolutely ridiculous.

If Prime 1 wants to make these high end pieces in bulk, then cool. I prefer spending that type of money on something that has far more scarcity. High end is usually synonymous with rare and these are not that. I'm not paying for any statue just for it to drop in value right after release. Yes, I value my collection in how much I like them, rarity, and aftermarket value of each. That is a huge draw for me.

For high rollers out there that can drop $1,000 without thinking about ES, value, and space I applaud you for that.

I'm just not paying that amount of money up front without even knowing how much they're making.

a lot of what you say is true. But much has changed in china, and the cost of manufacturing has truly increased because their middle-class is growing and no longer in a nascent stage. The supply of dirt cheap labor in China is no longer what it was 5 to 10 years ago. They're not working for $2/hr anymore.

You can see the true cost of manufacturing in the custom market. Most custom pieces are ~$800 plus shipping. That $800 is pretty much the cost straight to the factory (plus artist etc). Companies like SS get efficiencies because of scale but they also need a profit margin.

IMO most collectors are getting priced out and the entire statue market is in a bubble (too much supply). only matter of time before it pops...

[Zombiez]

Originally Posted by aa909

a lot of what you say is true. But much has changed in china, and the cost of manufacturing has truly increased because their middle-class is growing and no longer in a nascent stage. The supply of dirt cheap labor in China is no longer what it was 5 to 10 years ago. They're not working for $2/hr anymore.

You can see the true cost of manufacturing in the custom market. Most custom pieces are ~$800 plus shipping. That $800 is pretty much the cost straight to the factory (plus artist etc). Companies like SS get efficiencies because of scale but they also need a profit margin.

IMO most collectors are getting priced out and the entire statue market is in a bubble (too much supply). only matter of time before it pops...

If this is the case then customs need to die and so do some of the smaller companies.

[StatueDiva]

Originally Posted by aa909

a lot of what you say is true. But much has changed in china, and the cost of manufacturing has truly increased because their middle-class is growing and no longer in a nascent stage. The supply of dirt cheap labor in China is no longer what it was 5 to 10 years ago. They're not working for $2/hr anymore.

You can see the true cost of manufacturing in the custom market. Most custom pieces are ~$800 plus shipping. That $800 is pretty much the cost straight to the factory (plus artist etc). Companies like SS get efficiencies because of scale but they also need a profit margin.

IMO most collectors are getting priced out and the entire statue market is in a bubble (too much supply). only matter of time before it pops...

I wouldn't want them to get paid any less for the labor, so if I have to call it quits at some point I will.

But I think some of these companies...Prime 1 especially is pumping out just way too much product. No high end company should be making that many products in a year with the prices they are commanding. IMO they need to slow it far down. But they'll do what they want, we all know this.

Some people may take offense to this, but being blunt, Prime 1 is nothing more than glorified Funko Pops right now. They are extremely good at the craft, but the sense in any sustainability to this hobby is completely shot.

[chavez553]

Originally Posted by StatueDiva

I wouldn't want them to get paid any less for the labor, so if I have to call it quits at some point I will.

But I think some of these companies...Prime 1 especially is pumping out just way too much product. No high end company should be making that many products in a year with the prices they are commanding. IMO they need to slow it far down. But they'll do what they want, we all know this.

I’ve also wondered about this ..?


Everyone pumping this stuff out as fast as they can. It’s as if they know the end is nigh.

[MegatronG1]

Originally Posted by aa909

a lot of what you say is true. But much has changed in china, and the cost of manufacturing has truly increased because their middle-class is growing and no longer in a nascent stage. The supply of dirt cheap labor in China is no longer what it was 5 to 10 years ago. They're not working for $2/hr anymore.

And they will be dirt poor again. If that wealth was safe to reinvest inside their own country, then they wouldn't be buying up so much property abroad. They need our consumption more than we'll ever need them. Collectibles sure aren't necessities, and I would hope the big producers have their own contingency plans in place in case things got worse. Funko POPs and other cheap toys have been made in Vietnam for a while now. It's not a stretch to think that they'll be ready to make higher end figures and statues in the near future.

[Phoenixblazes]

Unfortunately if you're looking for pieces to maintain the value of your 'investment', that's not going to happen and I would suggest getting out now.

As far as I'm concerned, if you can't afford a 50% or more drop in the value of these things you shouldn't be buying them in the 'current market'. I pretty much associate purchases like this as if I were buying shares/stocks on the share/stock markets, and like those particular investments you can lose everything at any moment.

My point of view will differ from most as I only got into statue collecting 4-5 years ago and from day one 'collectors' were already complaining about pricing and edition sizes and declaring the end of the hobby.

[Joel]

Wow. This thread is basically an e-book now. Need to set aside some to time read the posts since I last checked in a day ago!

[StatueDiva]

Originally Posted by Phoenixblazes

Unfortunately if you're looking for pieces to maintain the value of your 'investment', that's not going to happen and I would suggest getting out now.

As far as I'm concerned, if you can't afford a 50% or more drop in the value of these things you shouldn't be buying them in the 'current market'. I pretty much associate purchases like this as if I were buying shares/stocks on the share/stock markets, and like those particular investments you can lose everything at any moment.

My point of view will differ from most as I only got into statue collecting 4-5 years ago and from day one 'collectors' were already complaining about pricing and edition sizes and declaring the end of the hobby.

You guys keep saying we see these as investments. That is not the case...

A piece I buy that is supposedly rare and super limited should not be dropping in value by 50% after release.

If pieces are dropping that fast in value that tells you a lot about this market and how jacked up it is. It's not even about if you can afford it or not at this point, it's what makes sense vs what doesn't.

Why pay $1,000 when I can get it for $800? That's where we're at right now. There is little incentive for pre-ordering these pieces. I'm not even talking about the investment portion and hell, if I can get the same option for less I very much will...

If value no longer matters, why have an ES at all anymore? Why not just completely axe the whole limited ES thing and produce them as long as they keep selling?

[Phoenixblazes]

Given the amount of options, the market is vastly different to how it was 5-10 years ago.

With every new release from multiple manufacturers, the greater the overall supply. Which will in itself depress the $ value of most previously released pieces.

My point being that even if every piece released did have relatively low edition sizes, each release will in effect still dilute the market and no matter what a tipping point will be reached. Low edition sizes are great, but it's probably only delaying the envitable.

So even if you have a piece from a 200 edition size, it doesn't necessarily mean that it'll hold its value in an ever increasing market supply.

And personally I don't really see the distinction between an investment and a rare collectable item for possible resale. Because in either case we 'hope' to get as much value in return as possible. Of course there is the intangible value one might associate with a piece knowing that it's somewhat rare, whatever it's dollar value might be.

At the end of the day, buy what you want, when you want, at a price that you accept.

[Zombiez]

It will be extremely interesting to see how people react if the edition size for this is low.