Is The Hobby Dying?

[Josh-a-tron]

Originally Posted by Choopie

I agree with you regarding eFX, but not with Chronicle or PCS. They just focus on more niche licenses that cater to a smaller set of buyers. Not everyone wants comic characters.

regarding PCS, I think if they could do Comic Characters they would though. Heck Jerry even tried with the 1/7th scale Batman wall-hanger, but that was just a little too out of the box.

I think PCS could grow I think it's just snagging the right license that gets you a large fan base to cater to that has the money to spend.

Crazy thing is I think Power Rangers was a step in the right direction, 90's nostalgia is in full swing in the 30 something crowd.

[DTAngel]

A little background first. I could say I have been collecting since the late 90's with some Kayodo and Kotobukya figures but only passed to the big leagues (1/4th scale) in late 2014. Up until then I didn't even know one could get Sideshow pieces without it being directly from Sideshow (and for some reason, they don't ship to Portugal).
When going in the 1/4 scale, at least for me, this isn't a cheap hobby, but I could indulge in a statue every now and then. As the prices rise I begin to feel my money isn't being properly spent. The same way as I don't see myself paying a premium on a art print just because it has an automated signature of the artist. But that's just the way as I perceive the value of things.

Skeletor was mentioned multiple times in this thread...and funny enough...he's one of the reasons I'm tapping out (or at least being a lot more selective) about statues that I get in the future.
Just last year, I got Kier from the COTD, for 440$. It is an awesome statue filled with details and has 2 heads I can display her with.
Skeletor on the other hand costed me 550$, isn't even 1/4th scale and I couldn't even get it with the so covetted old school floating yellow head. Even if you could justify a 110$ difference due to licensing (and I'm pretty sure that's not the case), we would still be looking at a 1/5th scale statue at the same price as a 1/4th scale one just mere months apart.
Add to that, that if I wanted the extra head I would have to pay 450$ from Sideshow + 150$ in shipping + 130$ in customs...that would bring Skeletor to a whopping 730$ (or more).
I know it's not totally fair to bring up customs and shipping, but the bottom line is that I begin to feel like I'm not getting enough for what I'm paying.

I don't think the hobby will ever die...but at this rate it will surely slow down...at least it has for me.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by DTAngel

A little background first. I could say I have been collecting since the late 90's with some Kayodo and Kotobukya figures but only passed to the big leagues (1/4th scale) in late 2014. Up until then I didn't even know one could get Sideshow pieces without it being directly from Sideshow (and for some reason, they don't ship to Portugal).
When going in the 1/4 scale, at least for me, this isn't a cheap hobby, but I could indulge in a statue every now and then. As the prices rise I begin to feel my money isn't being properly spent. The same way as I don't see myself paying a premium on a art print just because it has an automated signature of the artist. But that's just the way as I perceive the value of things.

Skeletor was mentioned multiple times in this thread...and funny enough...he's one of the reasons I'm tapping out (or at least being a lot more selective) about statues that I get in the future.
Just last year, I got Kier from the COTD, for 440$. It is an awesome statue filled with details and has 2 heads I can display her with.
Skeletor on the other hand costed me 550$, isn't even 1/4th scale and I couldn't even get it with the so covetted old school floating yellow head. Even if you could justify a 110$ difference due to licensing (and I'm pretty sure that's not the case), we would still be looking at a 1/5th scale statue at the same price as a 1/4th scale one just mere months apart.
Add to that, that if I wanted the extra head I would have to pay 450$ from Sideshow + 150$ in shipping + 130$ in customs...that would bring Skeletor to a whopping 730$ (or more).
I know it's not totally fair to bring up customs and shipping, but the bottom line is that I begin to feel like I'm not getting enough for what I'm paying.

I don't think the hobby will ever die...but at this rate it will surely slow down...at least it has for me.

Well, first off, Sideshow doesn't have to pay any licensing fee's for CotD since they own the intellectural property rights to the entire CotD line. 2nd, Kier was a great statue, no doubt about it, but it doesnt even come close to the level of detail that Skeletor has. Maybe I am in the minority, but I have no problem with the difference in price between Kier and Skeletor, even when factoring in the 1:4/1:5 difference. Skeletor is one of the nicest pieces I have ever seen come out of Sideshow and at least for me, it was worth every penny what I paid for it.

While I will not jump up to the XM price level for 1:4, I have absolutely no problem with Sideshow's current pricing level given the quality of the statues they have been delivering the last 6+ months. They have raised their game to a whole new level and I would much rather pay the prices were seeing right now and get the quality were seeing right now than jump back a couple of years to that pricing level/quality level. But as always, to each thier own and I definitely understand overseas buyers having 2nd thoughts. If I was an overseas buyer, I would have probably already stopped collecting statues at this point in the game. Adding $200+ to the price of these statues would be enough for me to jump ship. I have a LOT of different collecting hobbies, but if the price in a particular hobby gets to the point where I feel that money would be better spent in one of my other collecting hobbies, that is when I cease buying, just like I did with original comic art and modern comics.

[risingstar]

The "hobby dying" thing can be tough to predict. Believe it or not, there were people going nuts when Bowen statues hit the $200 mark. People swore to leave. Ironic as we're now seeing people willing to pay $400 just for shipping.

Don't even get me started on original art prices......

[adee]

Originally Posted by risingstar

The "hobby dying" thing can be tough to predict. Believe it or not, there were people going nuts when Bowen statues hit the $200 mark. People swore to leave. Ironic as we're now seeing people willing to pay $400 just for shipping.

Don't even get me started on original art prices......

It is crazy to think how far this thing has gone and even crazier that many of us were here from the early beginnings and have watched it all unfold. Who knows what will happen in the next ten years.

[built2shred]

With all the companies and all their statues flooding the market, the hobby has lost some of it's charm. It was more fun when it was more niche.... I'm defiantly losing interest as it becomes more main stream...

[DTAngel]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Well, first off, Sideshow doesn't have to pay any licensing fee's for CotD since they own the intellectural property rights to the entire CotD line. 2nd, Kier was a great statue, no doubt about it, but it doesnt even come close to the level of detail that Skeletor has. Maybe I am in the minority, but I have no problem with the difference in price between Kier and Skeletor, even when factoring in the 1:4/1:5 difference. Skeletor is one of the nicest pieces I have ever seen come out of Sideshow and at least for me, it was worth every penny what I paid for it.

While I will not jump up to the XM price level for 1:4, I have absolutely no problem with Sideshow's current pricing level given the quality of the statues they have been delivering the last 6+ months. They have raised their game to a whole new level and I would much rather pay the prices were seeing right now and get the quality were seeing right now than jump back a couple of years to that pricing level/quality level. But as always, to each thier own and I definitely understand overseas buyers having 2nd thoughts. If I was an overseas buyer, I would have probably already stopped collecting statues at this point in the game. Adding $200+ to the price of these statues would be enough for me to jump ship. I have a LOT of different collecting hobbies, but if the price in a particular hobby gets to the point where I feel that money would be better spent in one of my other collecting hobbies, that is when I cease buying, just like I did with original comic art and modern comics.

Don't get me wrong. To me Skeletor was also worth every penny I paid for him. I was maybe expecting a bit less plastic on some of the materials (same as He-Man), but I won't complain as visually it achieves the desired look (well, the lava coming out of the serpent could have been done better). Even without the EX head (though I wish it came with the head and the EX was something else)...I'm really happy with this purchase.
But it did condition me in the sense that considering what I paid for him, I feel that having He-Man and him is enough for me, and I won't be getting Evil-Lyn...and almost certainly no other statue from the MOTU line.
Like I said...the hobby isn't dying (to me at least), but these prices will condition how often I indulge in any item.

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by built2shred

With all the companies and all their statues flooding the market, the hobby has lost some of it's charm. It was more fun when it was more niche.... I'm defiantly losing interest as it becomes more main stream...

I think the niche aspect has been replaced by options and higher quality product (i.e., a different kind of charm). While there was something special about it feeling more exclusive back in the late 90s and early 2000s, I'm not sure if there were that fewer people around back then, likely only fewer people who popped online. Bowen busts, for example, had many large edition sizes between 5000-12,000. Those are massive runs. Many Bowen statues had edition sizes in the multiple thousands too. At the time, the hobby was composed of a huge population too. What's changed recently is the movie cross-over fanbase. It's the new generation of superhero fans. We can't really fault them for being born in an era when comics were arguably at their least inspiring.

During the 80s, virtually every Marvel book was a fun read whereas now, the odds of finding something good, let alone consistent, is more challenging. You turn your head for one second and your favorite Avengers title has been cancelled and replaced/relaunched featuring an entirely new team. It's hard to follow what's going on so many feel put off.

[Josh-a-tron]

Originally Posted by risingstar

I think the niche aspect has been replaced by options and higher quality product (i.e., a different kind of charm). While there was something special about it feeling more exclusive back in the late 90s and early 2000s, I'm not sure if there were that fewer people around back then, likely only fewer people who popped online. Bowen busts, for example, had many large edition sizes between 5000-12,000. Those are massive runs. Many Bowen statues had edition sizes in the multiple thousands too. At the time, the hobby was composed of a huge population too. What's changed recently is the movie cross-over fanbase. It's the new generation of superhero fans. We can't really fault them for being born in an era when comics were arguably at their least inspiring.

During the 80s, virtually every Marvel book was a fun read whereas now, the odds of finding something good, let alone consistent, is more challenging. You turn your head for one second and your favorite Avengers title has been cancelled and replaced/relaunched featuring an entirely new team. It's hard to follow what's going on so many feel put off.

I agree with you. This wasn't something you talked about online...or well anywhere but a comic shop really when I was first collecting statues from 97-2005. You basically went into the store, asked if your order was in, and then who ever was in the shop would watch you unbox it and talk about it there. There wasn't a forum you went to as we do now.

But as you said, Bowen's and DCD and even Clayburn Moore were selling thousands of statues. So it wasn't like there weren't a bunch of people buying.

Why do I feel like an old person talking about "Back in my day" ...

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by DTAngel

Don't get me wrong. To me Skeletor was also worth every penny I paid for him. I was maybe expecting a bit less plastic on some of the materials (same as He-Man), but I won't complain as visually it achieves the desired look (well, the lava coming out of the serpent could have been done better). Even without the EX head (though I wish it came with the head and the EX was something else)...I'm really happy with this purchase.
But it did condition me in the sense that considering what I paid for him, I feel that having He-Man and him is enough for me, and I won't be getting Evil-Lyn...and almost certainly no other statue from the MOTU line.
Like I said...the hobby isn't dying (to me at least), but these prices will condition how often I indulge in any item.

Again, I fully understand. If I were overseas I would have given up on statues altogether and just focused on my other hobbies at this point. As I have said before, when it comes to 1:4, the $600 to $650 level is really as high as I am willing to go, unless its a really big 1:4 PF. I am speaking just generally for 1:4. I don't mind paying close to $1000 for the occasional 1:3, but when it comes to 1:4, $600-$650 is really my limit. At that point, I would rather put my money into my other hobbies, especially considering I already have a pretty sizable statue collection and own a significant number of characters that I deem must have.

A few omissions at this point that I would really love to add to my 1:4 collection include Supergirl, Batwoman, Black Widow, Elektra, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, Iron-Man, Silver Surfer, and Flash and Martian Manhunter to finish off my original 7 Justice League. Statues I would like to get, but could definitely live without include Witchblade, Starfire, Sif, Domino, X-23, and a few other odds and ends, but if I were to stop collecting tomorrow, I would still have a pretty solid collection that I would be 100% content to live with. If statue collecting was my only collecting hobby then I would probably have very different pricing guidelines that I would follow, but I have a TON of collecting hobbies and I am constantly weighing purchases in one toward purchases in another. Once the prices go above the $600-$650 level for 1:4, I would definitely be putting that money into my other collecting hobbies.