Is Yamato too greedy?

[eugimon]

"too dense to recycle" is not the same thing as difficult to recycle and there are plenty of business out there who specialize in it and in fact lego recycles their ABS plastic as part of their routine business. AT&T also recycled their old phones.

Moving on, though, this is about how Yamato is believed or not believed to be charging too much for their products. And a perfect example is the 1/60 VF-0 series. They are roughly the same size as the VF-1 1/48s, yet they cost much more. Similar size, smaller design process (Anything with a pre-rendered 3D model is), and a higher cost.

There are many unknowns in your example.

1. the licensing fees, are they less or more?

2. the market demand, do people want a VF-0? as much as the vf-1?

3. RoI, even if the cost of developing and manufacturing the VF-1 and the VF-0 were exactly the same (this is impossible but whatever) the money spent developing the VF-1 has a FAR GREATER RoI, why? There are far more variants of the VF-1 than there are on the VF-0 which also ties back into point 2.

4. add-ons, which goes back to point number 3.

any one of those factors could be the reason for the increase in price.

Edited December 16, 2008 by eugimon

[SchizophrenicMC]

So are you telling me you'd be completely willing to spend MORE than what they're charging for them?

1. Licensing fees, probably less, considering its demand, versus VF-1s. The latter is more popular, so Yamato can accept a higher license. The former, if too expensive, would not be in production.

2. Market demand, Most of the people I've met who have/had one had the other.

3. The VF-0, having a concrete 3D model, had a base, saving months of time (time=money) on the initial modelling process. From there, all that had to happen were modifications to the model to make it toy-possible. The VF-1 is from scratch, therefore taking longer. (Time = money) So, the VF-0, logic stands to reason, is CHEAPER to dev than a VF-1.*

4. Add-ons make up a miniscule amount of their sales, not to mention the only add-ons for the 1 are the FAST pack and the GPB-1S, and the 0 has the Ghost booster.

*Besides that, many of the variants are made-up. Stealth, Woodland Camo, 25th Anniversary (Which they even did to a YF-19). And then there's variants that no one cares about: Angel Birds, Kakizaki, Max 1A. This means they're needlessly spending money producing valks that NO ONE BUYS. Which, might I add, leads back to point 2.

In summation, the VF-1 is more expensive to develop, produce, and more money is spent out of that, paying an aesthetic design department to make up variants, and it doesn't break; while the VF-0 is cheaper to do so, has only variants that are in the anime (2, man. 2), and most of what I hear about them is "The shoulder explodes". Which is more expensive? The latter.

[m0n5t3r]

Recyclable: Yes! Easily or practically so: No. ABS and POM fall under the category of the denser types of plastic not suitable for recycle. More common plastics like polyethylene terephtalate and HD Polyethylene are what is easily recycled. ABS and POM fall under plastic classification 7, as in other plastics. While recyclable, they are harder to do so than is economically feasible. It costs too much to recycle ABS, so it's not practiced commonly. In fact, Class 3(PVC) and higher are generally picked out of recyclable rubbish and thrown out, due to their difficulty of recycle.

Not only that, but bringing ABS too high above melting point will cause it to burst into intense flames. Polyethylene plastics, though they do burn, burn slower and cooler. Add to that the fact that thermoplastics, in general, are not good for subsequent melting, as the polymers degrade and the resulting plastic is more brittle.

Moving on, though, this is about how Yamato is believed or not believed to be charging too much for their products. And a perfect example is the 1/60 VF-0 series. They are roughly the same size as the VF-1 1/48s, yet they cost much more. Similar size, smaller design process (Anything with a pre-rendered 3D model is), and a higher cost.

And besides the cost of production, do YOU wanna pay $200 for a toy that breaks? I know I don't.

Reading this, you sound very smart... but calling a fellow member a "prick" is a pretty dumb thing to do.

I understand your affinity for legos given that you own a lot and have a lot of experience with them. But maybe until you actually own a Yamato and experience it, you can reserve some of your judgments... reading reviews is nowhere near experiencing the real thing. People complain, that's a given.. they complain about the weather, they complain about their food, they complain about other people... but i believe that a majority of Yamato Macross "toy" owners like myself are satisfied w/ their purchase/s... satisfied that they have a little piece of Macross w/c they experienced as a kid growing up in the 80's or 90's... a handsome piece that they can display and admire, and "play" with whenever they like. If they weren't, Yamato would be out of business by now.

I really do hope you get a good job soon and be able to experience owning a Yamato... so you can turn over to the dark side...

BTW, sorry to butt in your little argument here...

Edited December 16, 2008 by m0n5t3r

[eugimon]

So are you telling me you'd be completely willing to spend MORE than what they're charging for them?

1. Licensing fees, probably less, considering its demand, versus VF-1s. The latter is more popular, so Yamato can accept a higher license. The former, if too expensive, would not be in production.

lets see, a 20 some odd year license versus a brand new one... hmmm.. hmmm...

2. Market demand, Most of the people I've met who have/had one had the other.

And I'm sure you know enough people to form an accurate survey.

3. The VF-0, having a concrete 3D model, had a base, saving months of time (time=money) on the initial modelling process. From there, all that had to happen were modifications to the model to make it toy-possible. The VF-1 is from scratch, therefore taking longer. (Time = money) So, the VF-0, logic stands to reason, is CHEAPER to dev than a VF-1.*

And the VF-0 has far more parts, more metal, more paint, more tampo printing, which equals = more money, more money, more money and more money.

4. Add-ons make up a miniscule amount of their sales, not to mention the only add-ons for the 1 are the FAST pack and the GPB-1S, and the 0 has the Ghost booster.

the GBP is a 100$ add-on, that's hardly minuscule and it comes in 3 variants and it has been reissued at least one time. The stand alone ghost comes in 2 variants costs 50$ and has not been reissued. if you think that an add-on that costs 75% of the original item is minuscule...

*Besides that, many of the variants are made-up. Stealth, Woodland Camo, 25th Anniversary (Which they even did to a YF-19). And then there's variants that no one cares about: Angel Birds, Kakizaki, Max 1A. This means they're needlessly spending money producing valks that NO ONE BUYS. Which, might I add, leads back to point 2.

yes, and I'm sure the money people paid for the made-up variants are made up as well. Lets take a quick poll and see how many people here paid 300 dollars for their made-up low viz variant, show of hands?

In summation, the VF-1 is more expensive to develop, produce, and more money is spent out of that, paying an aesthetic design department to make up variants, and it doesn't break; while the VF-0 is cheaper to do so, has only variants that are in the anime (2, man. 2), and most of what I hear about them is "The shoulder explodes". Which is more expensive? The latter.

In summary, like your statement about yamato plastic being too dense to recycle, like your statement about H2O2 being a base, like your oh so witty personal attacks, your statements here are come directly out of your ass.

[VFTF1]

Calme down guys

There is absolutely no point in getting iritated on a personal level with one another because ultimately NONE OF US knows what the heck he or she is talking about because we don't know exactly how much what costs, how much the demand is, what exact materials are used etc etc etc.

We are having this discussion in the ralm of educated guesses and our understanding of economics, business, marketing, and the production process and materials composition used.

It's not like we have actual data to infer things from - so really calling eachother names is uncalled for and besides the point.

Also - it's not like I expect to "convince" people on the "other side" that I'm "right." So please respect that you have different opinions and agree to disagree.

I think Yamato is a very good company that makes great products. They annoy me a little bit whenever I have a QC problem, but that is rarely. They are expensive, but to me - they are worth it. I do't think they're greedy.

I've explained in detail why I think so and I enjoy debating the issue and have learned a lot from listening to all of the various opinions and arguments.

I think both Eugimon's and Schiz's posts were very informative; particularly Schiz who presents himself as a young person - and is still able to write and think in a very convincing and intelligent manner.

But guess what? I still agree with Eugimon anyways and like my Yammies.

My point is, it's possible to respect both sides and still be on one of them. So I would ask that you guys please respect eachother and not call eachother names please.

The thread is very interesting and it would be stupid to have it locked.

So please chill out and keep debating in a civil fashion.

Pete

[sketchley]

As someone else said (either in this thread or another) Yamato is not being greedy. They are not trying to monopolize the market with their variation of the toy. Any company that does try and monopolize the market IS being greedy.

Hey, doesn't the USA have an anti-monopoly law?

[Roger]

As someone else said (either in this thread or another) Yamato is not being greedy. They are not trying to monopolize the market with their variation of the toy. Any company that does try and monopolize the market IS being greedy.

Hey, doesn't the USA have an anti-monopoly law?

Yes. It applies to American companies that participate in the American consumer market.

Since Yamato USA does not sell Macross toys in the USA, it doesn't apply to these products.

[sketchley]

*cough* I was referring to HG monopolizing things *cough*

[Roger]

I think you need your definition of "monopoly" (and that cough) checked out.

[anime52k8]

*cough* I was referring to HG monopolizing things *cough*

what HG does is hardly monopolizing. HG would have a monopoly or if they controlled a Major market to the point where they could force out competition, such as if they were were the only company that could import foreign animation, or if they were the only distributor of toys in the US. as it stands what they're doing is basically controlling a nitch market within a larger type of market, which is actually encouraged by the US system of patent and copyright laws.

to have a true manopoly, you either have to control all of a certain type of business or market to the point where you can force out competition (such as being the Only manufacturer of Computers)

or you have a vertical intigration type manopoly, in which you control a majority of one industry or market, and have operations in every other related industry or market, so that if anyone deals with one of you're branches they're forced to deal through all of you're branches. (like what Microsoft got busted for doing in the 90's)

[VFTF1]

Yes. It applies to American companies that participate in the American consumer market.

Since Yamato USA does not sell Macross toys in the USA, it doesn't apply to these products.

This is like standing over a murder victim's body and saying that legal protection against murder applies to all citizens, and since that guy who just got murdered is dead, then it doesn't apply to him - because he doesn't exist.

Yamato USA exists. Yamato sells toys in the USA. Yamato doesn't sell Macross in the USA because Harmony Gold is trying to effectively enforce its sole rights over the brand (aka it's monopoly).

If there were no legal problems, then Yamato would be selling Macross in the USA alongside Toynami.

In general, from what I understand, the US doesn't so much have anti-monoply laws as anti-trust laws which broadly interpreted have served to thwart monopolies (although at times they've only served to thwart economies of scale which is not very beneficial).

Anyways - the anti-trust/anit-monopoly laws do apply to these products since there's an on-going dispute over who can do what with the brand.

I fail to see why Americans aren't supposed to be ableto legally purchase a VF-25 or an SV-51 just because HG says you can't buy them outside of Japan based on something they won't show anybody.

Pete

[Roger]

Heeehee. "Manopoly."

[Roger]

This is like standing over a murder victim's body and saying that legal protection against murder applies to all citizens, and since that guy who just got murdered is dead, then it doesn't apply to him - because he doesn't exist.

Yes, but what about manslaughter?

[VFTF1]

Well, since it is stipulated that this is a "murder victim" - then manslaughter wouldn't apply either

But this thread is definitely veering off into seemingly off topic territory - although the topic lends itself to the question of "what is it to be too greedy?" - and that opens a pandora's box of possibilities...

I did however find your charge of telling people to go to work and tell their bosses that they're being too greedy and to please lower their (the worker's) wages to be very amusing and insightful

Pete

[anime52k8]

This is like standing over a murder victim's body and saying that legal protection against murder applies to all citizens, and since that guy who just got murdered is dead, then it doesn't apply to him - because he doesn't exist.

Yamato USA exists. Yamato sells toys in the USA. Yamato doesn't sell Macross in the USA because Harmony Gold is trying to effectively enforce its sole rights over the brand (aka it's monopoly).

If there were no legal problems, then Yamato would be selling Macross in the USA alongside Toynami.

In general, from what I understand, the US doesn't so much have anti-monoply laws as anti-trust laws which broadly interpreted have served to thwart monopolies (although at times they've only served to thwart economies of scale which is not very beneficial).

Anyways - the anti-trust/anit-monopoly laws do apply to these products since there's an on-going dispute over who can do what with the brand.

I fail to see why Americans aren't supposed to be ableto legally purchase a VF-25 or an SV-51 just because HG says you can't buy them outside of Japan based on something they won't show anybody.

Pete

really whether or not Macross toys can be sold in the US has nothing to do with Yamamto, or Bandai, or Toynami, it's 100% in the hands of HG and Big West. the short version is that HG is full of bullshit, and BW has it's head far enough up it's ass to refuse to actually try and work out some kind of deal with HG. Both HG and BW feel that trying to work out a deal with concessions isn't worth the time, effort, and coast that would be needed to make the consumer happy.

so basically, if anyone's greedy it's BW and HG.

Heeehee. "Manopoly."

oh shut up I'm going to sleep.

[miriya]

This http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.ph...mp;mmlnk=081216 is $300 USD? Um.... Why?

[VFTF1]

This http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.ph...mp;mmlnk=081216 is $300 USD? Um.... Why?

Because 28,000 JPY is now 300 USD rather than 200 USD ever since the exchange rate became extremely volatile due to the financial crisis.

Pete

[Vostok 7]

Because 28,000 JPY is now 300 USD rather than 200 USD ever since the exchange rate became extremely volatile due to the financial crisis.

Pete

Still, 28,000 JPY seems excessive for a naked figure, considering a Takara 1/6 figure fully decked out with just as much articulation costs that much.

Vostok 7

[VFTF1]

Still, 28,000 JPY seems excessive for a naked figure, considering a Takara 1/6 figure fully decked out with just as much articulation costs that much.

Vostok 7

Yes, but Takara's doesn't have such a nice a$$ :)

(ok - I'm reaching here )

Pete

[Save]

This http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.ph...mp;mmlnk=081216 is $300 USD? Um.... Why?

Possibly because you may not be familiar with the Doll market in Japan. We had our doll collector do the Yamato's Minmei Doll review, she is not even a Macross fan and she says "This doll was so well made that I think even non-fans could easily develop an infatuation. The price alone sets it out of most people's league, especially given the collectors' inflation, but the initial 60,000 doesn't seem that unreasonable."

The obitsu body is Made in Japan that is also why it's not so cheap, Takara stopped making their dolls in Japan back in the 90's.

Doll collecting is a serious and expensive hobby, many sell for over $1000 US. In fact last month Mandrake had the Minmei Doll for sale and marked it up at just under $1000 and is sold in less than a week.

None of that mark up went to Yamato so now who is greedy.

The doll used in the review was ordered for jasonc who last I checked wasn't a doll collector so maybe we should has him if it was worth the money.

Edited December 17, 2008 by Save

[miriya]

Possibly because you may not be familiar with the Doll market in Japan. We had our doll collector do the Yamato's Minmei Doll review, she is not even a Macross fan and she says "This doll was so well made that I think even non-fans could easily develop an infatuation. The price alone sets it out of most people's league, especially given the collectors' inflation, but the initial 60,000 doesn't seem that unreasonable."

The obitsu body is Made in Japan that is also why it's not so cheap, Takara stopped making their dolls in Japan back in the 90's.

Doll collecting is a serious and expensive hobby, many sell for over $1000 US. In fact last month Mandrake had the Minmei Doll for sale and marked it up at just under $1000 and is sold in less than a week.

None of that mark up went to Yamato so now who is greedy.

The doll used in the review was ordered for jasonc who last I checked wasn't a doll collector so maybe we should has him if it was worth the money.

Thanks for the background save. That is very interesting. I suppose that it is a low priced item then compared to others in the same category. Amazing. I am just really happy that I dont collect Japanese Dolls. Japanese Pre-painted PVC figures are expensive enough at $60 - $120 and I am addicted to those. Not to mention the macross stuff.

[sqidd]

Enough already!

You goofballs have no idea what their overhead is, what they sped on R&D, Wages, taxes, etc, etc, etc. Without this information, WHICH YOU CAN’T GUESS you don’t have anything resembling an argument.

Now move on and complain about the VF-25 or something, I'm sick of seeing this thread at the top of the list.

[eugimon]

Enough already!

You goofballs have no idea what their overhead is, what they sped on R&D, Wages, taxes, etc, etc, etc. Without this information, WHICH YOU CAN’T GUESS you don’t have anything resembling an argument.

Now move on and complain about the VF-25 or something, I'm sick of seeing this thread at the top of the list.

well you just bumped it! go yell at your own damn self.

[mr.chogokin]

Hey sqidd, I just got the HLJ, 50% off 1/48 Max VF1 Super's shipping notice... you're right, I probably don't know alot about Yamato... but I can guess who got the shorter end of Yamato's raw deal... I don't pity Yamato one bit but the retailers who carry their stuff.

[sqidd]

well you just bumped it! go yell at your own damn self.

I bumped it two spots. Nice try though.

[VFTF1]

Actually Squidd - you also reminded me of something that we're forgetting to factor into the prices - namely VAT. Japan has a VAT tax - I think it's 17% or whatever.

This not only means that the retailer's price is 17% higher, but also that the net price to which the retailer adds VAT itself contains factors of 17% stretching back from the producer. Americans don't have a VAT tax, but the 17% is charged at every step of the cycle - the producer sells to the wholesaler and adds 17%, then the wholesaler adds their mark up + 17% and finally the retailer does the same.

For the majority of products, unless you compare their prices to identical goods in countries with no VAT tax, this tax actually is pretty "invisible" - or at the very least its' most visible part is when you ask the retailer for a bill where the Net and Gross price will be posted, and you see just how much that 17% is. But in reality, the ratio is much higher and the consumer ends up footing the entire bill, since companys get refunds and only pay the difference in VAT. It's basically the government using companies as tax collectors rather than have something like the IRS do it (although, of course, most countries have those too).

In any event - my point here is that assuming that Yamato's initial production costs are very high and that the initial price of the product out of the factory is very high, then when you factor in the VAT taxes that are being paid along the way until it reaches the consumer - then it's no wonder it costs as much as it does.

And the same can actually be said for Bandai's soul of Chogokin line - which, by the by, I also love and don't see people complaining about pricing on that?

And yet - you could say "what?! This simplistic thing costs so much" etc etc etc etc.... and I think you'd find that it costs so much for pretty much the same reason as the Yammies cost what they do.

Pete

Financial Expert Extraordinaire Ltd

Dishing Out Unwanted Free Advise Since 05-12-2006

Edited December 17, 2008 by VFTF1

[sketchley]

Where are you getting your info from?

Japan has a 5% consumption tax.

See: http://www.nta.go.jp/foreign_language/statistics/tokei-e.htm

(or http://www.worldwide-tax.com/japan/jap_other.asp and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_added_tax if the official government page doesn't do it for you.)

Edited December 17, 2008 by sketchley

[edwin3060]

Pete: I think you're thinking about the UK, which had a 17.5% VAT, now cut to 15%, which hasn't seemed to do anything about the drop in value of the pound

However, Value added Tax is only levied when the product is sold to the final consumer, so it is a one-off thing rather than how you are making it out to be. Also, only certain products are taxed, such as chocolate covered biscuits, whereas others, like chocolate covered cakes, are not-- leading to the case where McVities fought against the UK government on whether Jaffa cakes were cakes or biscuits but I digress.

Edited December 17, 2008 by edwin3060

[blacklotus]

Possibly because you may not be familiar with the Doll market in Japan. We had our doll collector do the Yamato's Minmei Doll review, she is not even a Macross fan and she says "This doll was so well made that I think even non-fans could easily develop an infatuation. The price alone sets it out of most people's league, especially given the collectors' inflation, but the initial 60,000 doesn't seem that unreasonable."

The obitsu body is Made in Japan that is also why it's not so cheap, Takara stopped making their dolls in Japan back in the 90's.

Doll collecting is a serious and expensive hobby, many sell for over $1000 US. In fact last month Mandrake had the Minmei Doll for sale and marked it up at just under $1000 and is sold in less than a week.

None of that mark up went to Yamato so now who is greedy.

The doll used in the review was ordered for jasonc who last I checked wasn't a doll collector so maybe we should has him if it was worth the money.

Thanks for the review. After all these bad experiences with Japanese poseable dolls/toys that's made in China, I'm sceptical of this Yamato VMF line being better. But, I took another leap of faith to pre-order it after looking at the prototype. http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.php?gid=1261

So this one's made in Japan huh? Glad to hear it. And hopefully, this time, Made in Japan means QC is top notch.

Made in Japan nowadays just means OEMed in China to me for so many items. Seen a Sony made laptop battery self destruct lately?

p.s. And before somebody flame me for being a Sony hater, I own a number of Sony products - PSX, PS2, PS3, PSP, PSP v2, a number of cathode ray tube Trinitron TVs, one 32" widescreen is still working fine, and quite a number of walkmans too, before the MP3 era.

[VFTF1]

Japan has a 5% consumption tax.

So it does.

Thank you Sketchy for seting me straight on that. I was under the impression that Japan also has VAT, but apparently it does not. So I guess that knocks down the possibility of VAT having anything to do with the price of Yammies.

However, Value added Tax is only levied when the product is sold to the final consumer, so it is a one-off thing rather than how you are making it out to be.

That's not the way it works here in Poland. Here, VAT is levied at every step as I describe it. I had simply assumed VAT works the same in all of the EU. Perhaps it doesn't. In any case, if VAT is only levied when the product is sold to the final consumer, then it is not really a VAT tax, but simply a sales tax/consumption tax.

The whole idea of VAT is that it is levied throughout the chain and that the consumer foots the final bill while companies pay only the difference (aka a company would pay to the government [VAT collected minus VAT paid] - and if the difference were negative, then the government owes them).

Pete

[blacklotus]

So it does.

Thank you Sketchy for seting me straight on that. I was under the impression that Japan also has VAT, but apparently it does not. So I guess that knocks down the possibility of VAT having anything to do with the price of Yammies.

That's not the way it works here in Poland. Here, VAT is levied at every step as I describe it. I had simply assumed VAT works the same in all of the EU. Perhaps it doesn't. In any case, if VAT is only levied when the product is sold to the final consumer, then it is not really a VAT tax, but simply a sales tax/consumption tax.

The whole idea of VAT is that it is levied throughout the chain and that the consumer foots the final bill while companies pay only the difference (aka a company would pay to the government [VAT collected minus VAT paid] - and if the difference were negative, then the government owes them).

Pete

That's how GST (Goods and Services Tax) works in Singapore too. It's currently at 7%, raised from 5% this year.

BAD Mistake by the autocratic govt, considering how Singapore is the FIRST country in the world to go into a recession in 2008. Then again, our Singapore govt always likes to brag about being 1st in everything. So I guess that's alright with them, seeing that they're also the most expensive govt in the world.

p.s. Our Prime Minister earns about US$2 million per year, excluding perks. His predecessor, now a Senior Minister earns about the same amount. His father, the Minister Mentor, earns about the same amount too. We also have a president, who earns a few hundred thousand dollars more than the PM.

BTW, the rational for Singaporeans to pay such large amounts of money to the high ranking civil servants is so that there will be no corruption.

I hope I'm not too off topic with this post, since we're talking about greed here as well.

Edited December 17, 2008 by blacklotus

[jwinges]

Is Yamato greedy? Of course they are. If HLJ is clearancing out 1/48 super max and milla's for $90 (regular price 190) its blatently obvious that Yamato is greedy. HLJ isn't going to let them go for a loss. Therefore they cost less than $90 to produce. That's equates to more than 100% markup.

Pathetic.

[VFTF1]

Is Yamato greedy? Of course they are. If HLJ is clearancing out 1/48 super max and milla's for $90 (regular price 190) its blatently obvious that Yamato is greedy. HLJ isn't going to let them go for a loss. Therefore they cost less than $90 to produce. That's equates to more than 100% markup.

Pathetic.

That's a MAJOR assumption.

first, retailers very often let things go for a loss because they prefer to have cash flow.

Secondly, with the change in the value of the Yen to the Dollar, I am not surprised at the sale on Macross items - they had become "prohibitively expensive" in USD.

Saying that the mark up is 100% just because you see a blow out sale is what's pathetic.

The whole point of having retailers is that retailers are the ones who take the final risk that the product won't sell for whatever reason and are the first to get hit with the loss. (wholesalers/producers only get hit later when the retailer stops taking their orders).

Finally - there could be a third reason:

It is very possible that the WHOLESALER is the one having a blow out sale and you only THINK that HLJ has marked down their goods, when in fact it is Yamato who have marked them down because of declining sales and too much stock cluttering their shelf space.

So it's not always as simple as it seems.

Pete

[jenius]

Actually, a 100% mark-up on toys isn't at all uncommon and pretty much in line with what we should expect.

Edited December 17, 2008 by jenius

[blacklotus]

That's a MAJOR assumption.

first, retailers very often let things go for a loss because they prefer to have cash flow.

Secondly, with the change in the value of the Yen to the Dollar, I am not surprised at the sale on Macross items - they had become "prohibitively expensive" in USD.

Saying that the mark up is 100% just because you see a blow out sale is what's pathetic.

The whole point of having retailers is that retailers are the ones who take the final risk that the product won't sell for whatever reason and are the first to get hit with the loss. (wholesalers/producers only get hit later when the retailer stops taking their orders).

Finally - there could be a third reason:

It is very possible that the WHOLESALER is the one having a blow out sale and you only THINK that HLJ has marked down their goods, when in fact it is Yamato who have marked them down because of declining sales and too much stock cluttering their shelf space.

So it's not always as simple as it seems.

Pete

Yup. I agree. Cashflow is more important than profits, especially for a company that runs on tight margins. Just ask GM/Crysler.

And yes, I've seen dirt cheap Yamato products before. My very good friend (a Macross crazy guy) bought the much sought after LOW Visibility model for S$100. That's about US$65. And guess where he bought it? In a Takashimaya store in Tokyo. He only bought one, not because there's no stock, but because he saw stacks of them on the floor. He thought nobody wants them at all.

He only found out about the CRAZY prices people are bidding on Evilbay months later. If he only knew then...he would probably be a millionaire now...

p.s. if anyone wants proof, I can always ask him to scan the credit card bill. He still has it for the record. He still couldn't believe the crazy prices mad fans are willing to pay for it on evilbay...

Edited December 17, 2008 by blacklotus