LORD KUNGFU

I don't know how many yamato products you guys have, but I have well over one thousands 1/48s. I should say that my corporation owns over one thousands 1/48s since I used corporate moneys to purchase them. I really need to do an inventory and get firm numbers. NOt only do I give Yamato a lot of my money, but I think I could buy Yamato out as a whole. I should start my own toy company. Ill have to talk to my CFO about that idea. The only issue would be having to deal with HG. Hmmph......

Im sure it was a Marine, since the airforce is full of pansies.

wow, I can't believe I actually agree with eugimon on this. Cuz normally he's a punk. -Lord K.

roborob, I think you car is cool. But just to nit pick. I think the front end is too busy with the fog lights, the chevy bowtie, the camaro symbol, then the asian letters/characters on the hood all lined up like a stripe. It just throws off the smooth lines of the car. IF you just had the asian symbols or just the bowtie it would look cleaner IMHO. I do like the mospeada bird of light idea. I might need to incorporate that into my racecar design scheme. -Lord K.

I believe they're called "new members". Sure, Macross World is a close knit, semi-cliquish, family of sorts, but it's still a public forum. 382292[/snapback] This forum is way cliquish. Everybody says use the search feature which I do,but then get mad for bumping up an old thread. You cant win either way. Its a wonder why no newbies stay in these forums. Just kind of visit, get bagged on, so they leave and never come back. hmphhhh.

I love eugimon! yeah for eugimon!

379444[/snapback] Mowe, please dont put words into my mouth. I never claimed to be a business genius and I never said that nobody else knows anything but valkyries. I find the macross crowd to be in the upper plane of intelligence. Thats why I buzz these forums. I actually agreed with a lot of points the people made in other posts. Im just noticing a trend that people just say or assume things, but they dont take into account a lot of the variables in the whole scheme of things. Especially when it has been pointed out in detail why things are the way they are. Yamato is a business, in this post we are trying to detemine reasoning for high prices(besides greed), therefore it would be a reason to bring the word business and economics into the subject.

dont get me wrong, I see why people are complaining. Its just the question is why are the prices so high? Well, becasue Yamato is a business, and they want to make money. REally that simple. I personally like the high end toys. Just because everybody cant afford one doesnt mean they should lower there standards or price. I would like to see bigger better VFs. If somebody started making valks even better than Yamato and wanted to charge $500 for it, that should be o.k. Whether or not everybody gets one doesnt matter. If a plastic transforming toy is not worth $500 to you, thats just a personal delima and then dont buy it. If you cant afford a $500 toy, guess what, dont buy it. If you think its worth $500 but cant afford it, figure out a way to legitimatly get $500 and buy it. "Everyone in here is macross fan but everyone here is NOT in the same financial state... hence, the variety of reactions regarding price... Hell, even within the common trait as fans there are varied levels of devotion.... Given that, what is the fan with the greatest love of macross (among us) with least amount of money going to do? Just say "Nah, I'll just simply pass"?" Well, if the fan with the greates love of macross with the least amount of money does not have the means to purchase a 1/48, then yes, he will simply have to pass. If he was really devoted or loved macross so much, he might have to get a second job, or sell something else he has. Really, check out these forums, there people making sacrafices all the time to get more 1/48 or what ever else. Its up to you to determine whats important to you. Its not up to Yamato to make things more affordable because some people cant afford it. "Things aren't always just easy like that... infact it's the always-present dilemma between want vs having the means to acquire it. Don't tell me you've NEVER sighed because you couldn't get what you want, or you did but it cost you an arm and a leg.... it hurts..." your right, there is a big dilema between what we want and having the means to aquire it. Thats everybody in the world. People want things. If you dont have the means, then get the means. Get a better paying job. Go to school to get a better job. Start a business. If you are not willing to do what it takes, then you dont get the stuff you want. Welcome to the real world. And when you have to work hard, or sacrafice a lot, getting that valk is much more meaningful, even if its just 1 valk. Or become a Buddhist and quit wanting so much stuff. Less is more.

Macross has a limited fanbase, without new animation out to promote this franchise, there isn't new interest in Macross. This means any production of goods for Macross will be a *limited* run, unlike HDTV which are hot commodities, any production run is to mass produce to keep costs low and reduce prices to become more competitive than others. Yamato also enjoy the status of being the sole producer as well. Small monopoly. I think the prices are okay for toys of this level. Have you guys seen what Bandai charges for model kits? $130+ for Perfect Grade model kit, which requires less work to produce than a finished toy of the same size and amount of plastic. 379346[/snapback] Protoplast, I like you man. Its nice to see somebody thats able to back up there point. I find that most people, not all, bitch, moan, and talk out there rear end, with really no understanding of the business aspect. If you dont like the price of something, then just dont buy it. If you cant afford it, then dont buy it. If you want it that bad, skip lunch everyday and save up. Then buy it. I have plenty of money to burn, but I never pay full price for anything. I go to anime shops all the time, and if the price isnt right, I just dont buy it. A lot of people want a Ferarri, but cant afford it. I doubt that Ferarri will start to mass produce there cars so most can afford it.

LOL! You don't get rich by writing checks. edit: I'd still like to know where LORD KUNGFU bought a house in Southern Cali for $50,000 in 1999. 378855[/snapback] Yeah, its hard to imagine buying houses that cheap. To this day, I really do appreciate how lucky I got and I do not claim to be any kind of real estate expert. First, for fansubs, I didnt make that much off toys, but the toys gave me enough cash to invest in real estate where I really made the most money. But I made about 90k a year off the toys. with $300k in cash, I found property in the San Fernando Valley. 1 house for 100k in Sylmar, 1 in Panaram city for 90k and one in Newhall for 140k. At least I was going to buy. I ended up going north on the 14 freeway up to the Antelope Valley or high desert, past Acton to Palmdale/Lancaster. There my friend, was a gold mine of real estate. You could get 7 bedroom, 3 bath, with swimming pool for $140k. You could get executive homes/mansions for 300k. Marble floors, circular driveways, the works. THere were houses in the 50k to 70k range everywhere. Move in condtion. Most of these were hud homes, and were requiring bidding. I found 5 that I could buy from the sellers with outbidding. One guy was trying to sell me his house 2000 sqr.ft., 4 bed, 2 bath, on 1 acre lot fully fenced for 80k and I didnt buy it because I thought that was overpriced. Funny when I think about that mistake I made. I figure it would be way cooler to say that I own five houses instead of 3 in the S.F. valley, so I bought in the desert. If you were to go north just a little more, you would end up in Edwards AFB/Rosemond were I found houses for $15k. Thats 15k, not 150k. I know your eyes are buggin out right about now. Anyway, I figured I could get more monthly cash flow from 5 houses, bought them, real estate skyrockets, and I sell them for a nice profit. Then I buy more real estate when everybody was saying that the market was going to shift, but they ended up being wrong and I made tons more money. Some food for thought - dont take advice about real estate from people that dont own any or not in the business. Dont go up there in the A.V. desert looking for deals now, its getting crazy up there. But its still a lot cheaper than the S.F. Valley or O.C. if you want to retire. NOw I will go on topic: If you dont look at toys as an investment, then look at them as a security. So lets say the end of month, you have $150.00 to spare. You can buy some Air Jordans or buy a 1/48 Valk, or even stick the money on the bank. If are saving for bigger and better things, then stick the money in the bank. It will be boring, you dont get to play with it, post pictures of it on MW, and wont gain any value. The air jordans are like a car, they will lose half there value once you wear them. But in 20 years, they may gain there value back, but not if you used them like a true player. The 1/48 Valk will display nicely, chances are you will get some enjoyment out of it on a daily basis even if its just looking at it and wanting more. So lets say its now 3 years down the road. Heres what happens to these choices: 1) money in bank is now worth $153 instead of $150 = boring and not much money gain, but its there if you need it 2) your air jordans are way out of style and worth nothing for another 2 decades 3) you got to own and enjoy your 1/48 valk. Complain about the crooked skulls in the forums, and have friends and family snicker at you when they come over for spending that much money on a "toy". But, if you had to sell it to get money, chances are it will be worth more than what you paid. Maybe not a whole lot more, but more. At the very least, you should be able to recoupe the full amount you paid. So if no profit is gained, you at least got to have one. And the finger pointing and snickering from family and friends is priceless. And if Yamato were to go out of business, then your valk would definatly gain in value. Just look how much MPC are going for now. These will gain in value for as long as our generation is alive. Oh, so lets break it down like this. Lets say that what ever toy gains in value about 7% every year. Thats not a lot if you only have $150 in toys, but I have well over 100k in toys so I would assume that my toys are gaining in value about 7k a year. There is no place you can put money that will gain 7% annual, without a lot of risk.

ok, let me explain - for example, If I said I was going to invest in microsoft, that doesnt mean that I will go to best buy and buy out all the microsoft products and hord them in my garage for 20 years hoping they will go up in value, hmmmmm. So the same goes for toys. Back in the day, some people invested in beanie babies and did really well. If you are good at stock, investing in Hasbro or Mattel could make you some money(depending). I dont mean go out and spend all day trying to find a certain figure so you can sell it in ebay for $5 profit even though you just spend $20 on gas trying to find that figure. Broaden you horizens FM. I know the ebay scenerio is what most people think when you say toy investing. Haven't you seen Silver Spoons, the t.v. show back in the 80s about the toy billionaire. Did you know there are people really like that. I know a lot of people here do not like TSINC and I dont know him or them personally, but the they have a spot at Frank and Sons and 35,000 feedback on ebay. I bet hes making some money off toys. Im going to have to explain what I did and it may be lengthy and go off topic a bit. It will sound like an infomercial too but I am not selling anything. Heres how I started: 1997, I become member of ebay. I find a toy that I am able to puchase for $2.00 and sell on ebay for $24.00. $22 profit, Nice profit if I do say so myself. I am not going to mention what the item is because it is still to this day being sold and I cant in good concious let the secret out since I was bought out by other people. I was able to clear about $400 a week in profit. The problem is I didnt want to flood the market wich would reduce the value of my toy. Back then, ebay did not have buy it now. $400 a week was good enough for me and I quit my job. Now, $22 profit is nice for a $2 investment, but I was still limited in my potenial. So I started getting contacts and wholesaling these out to others for about $8 to $10 each. Reduces my profit to $6 each, but I started selling hundreds and in some instances over a thousand pieces per week. At $6 profit each, thats up to $6,000 a week(somtimes). Yipeeee. That sure beats $400 a week. I just made sure not to limit myself to ebay and now you see my profit potential. Anyway, so I confront my wholesaler. I threaten that if he doesnt lower my price down under $2 per item, I will go to Hong Kong myself and import the toys myself completely bypassing him. So he lowers the price to $1.75 per item. Not a lot, but it adds up when selling in volume. So my wholesaler and I start to become close business partners since the more I make, the more money he makes. So he starts showing me the business a little more and I get to know more about his finacial status. Now let me drop the bomb on you guys.....my wholesaler makes at least $10,000 a day. Of course, more on the holidays. He brought in $6,000 one day and complained that was his worst day ever as far as profit is concerned. He has had his store for over 20 years at that time. You couldnt not tell that he made so much since his store was really small. So, Im doing well financially, but its taking to much time and the business starts to consume my life. So I get into real estate to diversify my porfolio and I try to make cash flow with income properties. Am I starting to sound like an infomercial yet? BTW, Im living in Southern California, and its before this big real estate boom. So I bought a few houses, super cheap back in 1999. I actually bought a 1200 sq.ft. house, 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $50,000, and they were everywhere. So I tell some of my buddies. Most them being network engineers, unix admin, cisco certified, ect......most of them made about 80k salary and were working for big dot.com companies. I tried to get them into buy some real estate, but most of the houses I was buying was to far for them and they would rather stay in an apartment a few blocks from work. I told them to buy as an investment, dont live in it. They didnt listen. Very smart people in the networking world, but maybe lacking common sense. OF course, a few years later, the dot.com bubble burst, and most of them lose their jobs or have to take a large paycut. At the same time, real estate booms and I become rich. I was very lucky. I bought all my houses to be a long term investment never anticipating the real estate boom. But just show you how lucky I got, I aquired 5 homes in the $50k to 60k range. When I sold them, they were in the $240k to $300k range. That was just the start. And all this stemmed from a $2 toy. I remember when I first bought that toy and put it on ebay. When I sold it for $24, that light bulb went off in my head and it was non stop since then. There are some items that can make you money by buying from any retail store and reselling on ebay. I can not tell you what the items are, so dont bother asking me or pm me. If everybody were to jump in doing the same thing, the market would flood driving the prices down dramatcally. Right now, you can go to any walmart, target, ect.........purchase these items, and in about 12 month time span, double your money on ebay. Of course, you could only buy so many of these items, but other people make $20 to $30k a year selling these items. In 1998, I would have been happy to make $30k a year and not have a 9 to 5 job. Now, my point of mentioning this is that these items would fall in under the toy catagory I guess. But, if you knew this information, would you not buy as many of these items as you could. So if you knew that the low vis valk would be up to $400 now, would you not have bought more back when they came out. That would be investing in toys wouldnt it? If you were like godzilla and had 50 low viz, you would have a small fortune right now.

uh, I would have to disagree. My toy investing gave me enough captital to buy real estate wich led me to become a millionaire. There are people that are billionaires now because of investing in toys. Now when I say investing, I dont mean toy hording. I always see people on these boards saying that investing in toys is a bad idea, but I doubt that anybody in this forum is stacking greenbacks like me. edit - spelling

damn dude! you live in the O.C. and cant afford a Voltes. Whats up with that?

MYK, you have a hot body dude. I want to smother warm honey all over your chest and manly shoulders. Totally!

former helicopter pilot Now real estate millionaire - now I fly my own helicopter

Graham is totally right. Yamato is not filling the grand canyon with cash right now. You guys just want something to bitch about.

Damn that 1/1 low viz lurker!

Yet you still started this thread. You are the weakest link - GOOD BYE

What! no macross? -Wanker

pisssshhhh! My collection is way bigger.

Herpes!

that looks like a dude.

Your family must be proud.

Nah, killing the kids would still leave adults to have more kids. Also, that would leave time for people to come up with a way to have kids and hide them knowing that the human race was being exterminated. It was be too time consuming to round up all the children and hold them hostage. It would be easier to just wipe everybody out and spend your resources cleaning up the mess. Then take over the planet. If you are tring to take the planet for its natural resources, then killing everybody at once would not be a good option as it would pollute the natural resources. Also, you may want to use humans as slaves. Leaving humans alive though, would give us time to think, and even fight back. If you killed my kid, yeah, Id be demoralized, but that would just make me angrier for revenge. You really could not psychologically stop a lot of people. It would just make us fight back harder. So if somebody killed my kid, I would not stay home and just pout feeling bad. I would be out with guns ablazing, or hide out, take my time, make a plan, and wipe out the entire family of the person who killed my kid. So, there would be a violent frenzy by a lot of people if kids were captured, yet there will be others ready to take action. A risky proposition by the aliens, because humans do have weapons and can fight back. Humans would not have time to fight back or find a way to protect themselves if sudden attack by chemicals or disease. Hell, humans would not even know they were under alien attack until its too late. How many people do you know saying that the bird flu is caused by aliens. NONE! So, we could be bombarded by disease at this very moment, and would not even know that its some E.T. doing it to us. Silent, but deadly. TO EASY DRILL SEARGENT! TO EASY!