Is Yamato too greedy?

[CF18]

Non of us really know about the cost for making each toy. The best we know is the mold is the major cost - the more unit they can sell the lower actual cost of each unit.

What I am actually wondering about is if Yamato will survive the economy down turn. Most of their products are expensive, and most are not mainstream and depends on lingering popularity of old anime. The big GNU lines old school robots don't seems to draw a lot of attention, unlike Bandai SOC. A bunch of their 1:12 Votom are still availble for 65% off at hobbysearch, after staying in the sale section for many months. I expect the the upcoming 1:24 Patlabor to end up in the same bargain bin - there are already tons of good Patlabor stuff from many companies, and they are much cheaprer. Everyone is selling Garlands at deep discount thanks to well known quality issues.

But who knows, may be their owner had been investing in gold and is now sitting on tons of cash.

[VFTF1]

The argument regarding the consumer not caring about costs and just wanting the best value for the cheapest price is correct.

But I ask you this:

Where do you see other companies producing stuff as great as what Yamato has given us in terms of Macross Valkyrie? Yamato have even surpassed SHE and are giving us the stuff at lower prices than SHE.

So yes - of course - if there were another company producing something as awesome as the 1/60 VF-1 v.2 or the 1/60 YF-21 or the Ivanov etc - and selling them for 20 bucks a pop - you bet I'd be buying those instead of Yamatos.

But the fact is - there isn't. And it's not even because Yamato has a monopoly or exclusive rights to the license (note that there are others producing Valkyrie).

It's only because Yamato has managed to do what others couldn't. This is why their products are commanding such a high price.

Pete

[Hurin]

wow, really? $40 to make a snowboard and then sell it for $300-$400. what's a snowboard made of? (sorry, no snow in our part of the world). definitely not plastic.

makes me REALLY want to know how much it costs to make a valk.

I have no idea why people are so fixated on the cost of production here.

It makes no difference! The price is set by the market . . . not by how much they spent to produce them. They will price them at the "magic point" where it's high enough to maximize their profit. So. . . not so high that very few people can afford their product and therefore will not purchase it. Yet not so low that they could have sold just about as many for a higher price.

It really doesn't matter if it costs $10 or $50 to produce, the price they charge would be the same. And they're doing nothing wrong in charging us that price. They're not in business to make you love them. They're in business to provide you a product for as much money as they can extract from you without making you so resentful that you'd never buy from them again.

Edited December 22, 2008 by Hurin

[VFTF1]

They're in business to provide you a product for as much money as they can extract from you without making you so resentful that you'd never buy from them again.

Isn't that the same as love?

Pete

[do not disturb]

^

[m0n5t3r]

I have no idea why people are so fixated on the cost of production here.

It makes no difference! The price is set by the market . . . not by how much they spent to produce them. They will price them at the "magic point" where it's high enough to maximize their profit. So. . . not so high that very few people can afford their product and therefore will not purchase it. Yet not so low that they could have sold just about as many for a higher price.

It really doesn't matter if it costs $10 or $50 to produce, the price they charge would be the same. And they're doing nothing wrong in charging us that price. They're not in business to make you love them. They're in business to provide you a product for as much money as they can extract from you without making you so resentful that you'd never buy from them again.

its not a fixation, just natural curiosity. and yes it makes no difference... just like everybody wanting to know what the hell SK/Bandai were thinking when they were making the VF-25 Model kit vs. the DX... still wouldn't make a difference. i certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over trivial matters such as these.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

The argument regarding the consumer not caring about costs and just wanting the best value for the cheapest price is correct.

But I ask you this:

Where do you see other companies producing stuff as great as what Yamato has given us in terms of Macross Valkyrie? Yamato have even surpassed SHE and are giving us the stuff at lower prices than SHE.

So yes - of course - if there were another company producing something as awesome as the 1/60 VF-1 v.2 or the 1/60 YF-21 or the Ivanov etc - and selling them for 20 bucks a pop - you bet I'd be buying those instead of Yamatos.

But the fact is - there isn't. And it's not even because Yamato has a monopoly or exclusive rights to the license (note that there are others producing Valkyrie).

It's only because Yamato has managed to do what others couldn't. This is why their products are commanding such a high price.

Pete

I totally agree with that. I'm just pointing out that ALL businesses are in business to profit. But that the minute a rival company can actually produce a comparable quality product at a slightly lower price, that is when the nerdy guys start to look for the best bargain. At the end of the day just think of the consumer as a business that doesn't sell but only buys things. The things they buy have value to them and depending on the person that value may vary. Some people like toynami alpha more than CM. Some people hate yamato's because they have breaking arms in first release even though they paid a high price for it and collectors grade toys should be better than mass produced toys from hasbro (I admit the TF do have tree stump limbs but still they are tough toys - wouldn't you love yamato to put clicky joints in hips for example?)

I know industries have there differences but my point is that consumers that do buy different brands notice the differences in brands over years of buying history and rigorous usage. (I've noticed for example nintendo have dropped the ball on the Quality of the nintendo DS - the shoulder buttons on mine keep breaking. This was a company that had near indestructible hardware) Yes people whine but some of it is warranted and some of it isn't. I think something like clicky joints so the toy doesn't get floppy limbs is a reasonable expectation. If hasbro/takara have them, why not try to improve on what you provide instead of give reason for people to complain that they feel the toy is not 'worth' what they paid for? (due to comparing yamato to other manufacturers)

I know the VF-1 has got great reviews so far, but what about vb-6 koenig monster? Could they have found a way to add better joints on the hips or have the cannon lock into place? If other companies were thinking of making a monster in future, they would take what did work, improve on it, and throw out what didn't work. So even if yamato had no one else to compete with they can look at themselves and judge themselves to see how they can outdo themselves to make people not whine about them.

Edited December 23, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

This pretty much sums up good business vs bad business attitude:

It is a response to the gamasutra article which talks about the issue of used games hurting the original developers sales due to people looking for bargains buying secondhand copies, and how retailers make profit on this because it save them money too. The same idea can be applied to toys imo, I've bolded the bits that I think are relevant to this thread:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3872...mes_.php?page=3

Peter,

You are correct, the games industry does sell us on the experience, but that is not what is actually sold. You cannot sell an immaterial idea such as experience. That is just the promise of said product being sold. The Experience is part of the value equation, but not the product.

When people buy a product, it offers a number of features, both material and immaterial that make up the value of the product. People do by games because of the experience they get from said game, but once they have experienced that, there are fewer reasons for them to hold on to such products.

In your DVD example. You enjoyed the Theatre experience. You enjoyed the rental experience and thus you decided that the experience promised from purchasing a copy of your own was worth investing in and experiencing again and again. What happens when your purchased copy of that experience no longer provides the same for your? For most people, it sits on their shelves. But when it comes time to clean house or you need some money, the value of that copy of the movie will be used as you sell it on ebay, craigslist or some brick and mortar store that deals in used movies.

The same could be said of games.

Now let's say you have just experienced a game, but you do not feel so inspired to experience it again. What are your options under the world of publishers? Let it collect dust or throw it away. That is all they want you to be able to do once you have experienced all you can from it. But in the current market, although you have experienced it, the product that brought that experience still has residual value and you can sell it and get more money and free time to experience other games.

By limiting the used market and not focusing on ways to improve and extend the experience of games, you will be hurting the consumer. You may be making more money, but eventually, consumers will tire of buying games as tehy are finding fewer value increasing benefits.

Here I am, back at my original point of value vs. cost. Cost is easy to define and control. Value on the other hand is much harder to define and control. There are billions of people in the world. Each has tehir own tastes, cultures, norms, mores, ethics, etc that control their idea of value. Sure there are common themes throughout all mankind, but your idea of value or the publishers idea of value will not always be the same as the consumers.

Key factors that make up cost: Development, marketing, pressing, distribution, shelf space, etc.

Key factors that can make up value: Experience it promises, resale value, etc.

One final note before I end my long long rant: For those of you who think that games and cars are not comparable, think again. When was the last time you bought a car solely based on hard facts? When was the last time you saw a car ad that did not try to sell you on the experience the car provides? Just because a car physically degrades over time and you lose things like warranties, when was the last time you heard someone let that stop them from buying a 60' Corvette?

What I want to highlight is how there are businesses that do want to make a profit and that is the end goal (these are the guys like electronic arts that buy up all the developers to put them out of competition so they can gain control) and then there are the good businesses that actually do care about the 'value' that fans of their game and consumers can see in the products that they create which makes them loyal to that company.

The 'good' ones are the ones that often listen to the fan feedback and at the same time manage to stay in business, while the bad guys are the businesses where they don't really care about the thing they make and are not passionate about it so it reflects in the work they do. The fanbase and long time consumer who plays them, may see a difference in the level of quality of the products and slowly stops buying once they see quality or value dropping in some way. It could be something as simple as the game not running as smoothly because the original programmers have no reason to work as hard because they are a big company now, ...or something like: the product no longer has the same team on board who possessed the unique vision which made the games so appealing - a bit like when a new director takes control of a movie franchise and the sequels don't capture the same thing that people valued from the originals and fans are disappointed.

The good businesses are not solely driven by the profit but by their own standard of trying to better themselves so they can get good critical response from those who will be using it. This is what makes them valuable to the consumers who do their homework and can see value in the product. The end result is that the consumers don't just buy the product based on 'love' but because they are actually getting the thing they wanted and kept 'happy'. For each person who spends money (whether money comes easily to you or not) the thing they value may not have anyhting to do with costs or anything like that. It may not necessarily be the thing that costs the company a lot of money to develop, but just be something simple that competitors overlook like how the art in the game looks, or in yamato's case the overall look of the toy and stuff like that.

Some people might not buy yamatos on the QC or anything like that, but something like the look of robot mode to them. Another guy might value yamato's for the sculpt, but be disgusted at the price because they want a tough toy because they are used to strong materials in expensive toys. The end result is this: what the consumer values in a product will differ from person to person. Just as you have your fans of transformer alternators who might be drawn to the low price of them (it means they can handle them and transform them a lot) vs the fans of the more-costly transformers binaltechs who might value the heavier weight of the toy and feel because they are collectors who don't handle the toys. The more-expensive BT isn't necessarily more valuable to the consumer in the former group who was drawn to buying the plastic alternators even though the BT would be more expensive to make.

You could say that the greed of a company can be in how it overestimates their products' own value to the consumer who isn't willing to pay for the costly feature that was put in the product that (to them) didn't really improve the product. (because they value something that was missing from the product that could have been the focus of the company making it. Often in the game industry you hear people whine and complain about all the attention of the game being focused on shiny graphics but the game just isn't as 'fun'. How do you quantify 'fun'?)

Edited December 23, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[VFTF1]

At the end of the day just think of the consumer as a business that doesn't sell but only buys things

I disagree.

The consumer is a business that sells money.

Pete

[arrow]

now that bandai sculpts for the 1/60 macross f vehicles are getting better than the chunky monkeys. at least there are more choices now.

[SilentCrossHairs]

now that bandai sculpts for the 1/60 macross f vehicles are getting better than the chunky monkeys. at least there are more choices now.

Yes...Amen to that. I am all for chioces.

[nghia59]

I don't think that anybody who goes out and makes toys for a living whether it be management or production goes out to screw the consumer. You only get into that sort of industry if you really love what you do and belive in it. If anyone is out purely for profit, there are other industries that you can get into that will have a far higher yield in profit than a specialty market than collectors toys. For the most part, I think that the prices are high just because of manufacturing costs and the small production numbers that they cater to.

I work in the video games field and it will surprise you at the risks involved on a per project basis. I don't think that there are any employees that I know at any company that is out to screw the consumer. Everyone makes a huge effort in trying to figure out how to make a better product for the fans and are really proud of the work they do to bring something to the table. Let's say that in any current game there is an expectation in quality per asset that we would have to generate to make the end consumer happy. Characters are a good example. The starting cost of a character to build the first base model with textures will be about $14000 US of man hours to get the ball rolling and see it in game to be reviewed. Tack on the next level, rigging and animation will put $30000 on per character. So we are at $44000 per character in the first pass. Now double that to $88000 per character to take it to final and multiply that by the number of characters you see in every game. That's just the cost of business trying to get something as good as it can be for guys like every one on this forum to be happy with it. BTW, that's not even including all the other stuff like programming, environment art, effects, third party apps, marketing, manufacturing, lisencing, equipment, programs, and rent.

Believe it or not toy manufacturing can be just as expensive because you actually have to deal with the physical aspects of the end product. Anyone who does this type of stuff does the best they can to keep the consumer happy. Even outside of our personal want for the product to be good we always have management bearing down on the team for more quality every day. So I think that with Yamato's track record of successes given their relatively small size and short history, I can be very forgiving for what they have produced. And don't forget how spoiled we all are these days because of them. People tend to forget that before they came along companies like Bandai wouldn't give two shakes of a rat's ass's attention to Macross fans and just let the lisence laps without even a hint of product development. We had to wait for resin kits (that are not as good as any Yamato) to come out at Japanese toy shows for us to hunt down on auction sites.

So all in all, I think that Yamato is doing a really good job of keeping the prices as low as they can or the quality level given the small market we are as Macross fans. And no, I don't think that they are greedy. I actually think that they are taking some fairly large risks given what they are trying to do versus the relative size of their market. I have also been a victim of broken arms on my vf-0a, wrong, stress boken, or flipped joints on earlier 1/72 plus valks, broken or unpainted OG 1/60's, floppy 1/48's, etc... But i can still forgive them for what they're trying to do.

- Nghia

Edited December 25, 2008 by nghia59

[VFTF1]

I so totally agree with everything nghia59 has written, especially this:

I don't think that anybody who goes out and makes toys for a living whether it be management or production goes out to screw the consumer. You only get into that sort of industry if you really love what you do and belive in it. If anyone is out purely for profit, there are other industries that you can get into that will have a far higher yield in profit than a specialty market than collectors toys.

We do tend to forget that if it were strict monetary greed driving the people at Yamato then they'd just say "screw these Macross fans" and start making something that sells on a far bigger scale for far lower costs of production...

But the fact that they put so much risk and effort into tryign to make a perfect valk for us really shows their dedication.

Pete

[arrow]

but, there must be some decent margins in macross toys if they are doing it. its not like yamato is a non-profit organization

[boota]

Profits, yes. Decent margins, no. The discounts offered for the Yamato stuff are telling me otherwise. HLJ isn't stupid. They most certainly will not sell at... at least 50% off without Yamato's say so... and Yamato, will not blindly sign off on such a significant profit margin if it isn't doable... all it took was a little persuasion from the bad economy. Your paper has always been more valuable than their plastic.

I could be wrong though, maybe Yamato is in serious trouble. If I'm right, HLJ is lucky... the others stuck with Yamato's stuff are SOL... So, as enlightening as it is, these verbose praises and ideals aren't what we don't already know... but they are more fitting for an eulogy, though.

[joker]

You realize the prices would probably go down if local retailers in the U.S. could actually sell them without having to give harmony gold there cut? I mean don't get me wrong robotech is what most us collectors of macross started into anime with. But as we matured and realized macross was a way better storyline unattended it sorta fell apart for them. If these companies didn't have to deal with harmony gold you can only imagine that the prices would come down. Maybe not significantly but it would come down a lil bit.

[Scream Man]

I've jjst been giving this a good read, and i tend to agree with the "Yamato isnt greedy" crowd.

i mean ask yourself who is greedier: a company for making a toy that sells for $200 or a fan for buying 4 of them. Then saying they're greedy for making us buy 4 at such a high price. Then making us pay that price again when they make the stripes red instead of black. Those bastards!

I work at a company that sels high end speaker and home theatregear, and man u think the toy industry is nuts: I have seen people buy 5.1 surround systems made of speakers that cost $35,000 AUD each! Thats about $24000 and change in USD. Each speaker. For 5 speakers. Then maybe a $14000 AUD sub to go with it. (For those curious, the brand is Meridian, however there are some very pricey ones we do from Kef and Sonance as well. And thats just the speakers; we have $1500 HDMI cables as well...) now we're a distributer so those pries are roughly the red retail ona product, not what we buy or sell for, which I couldnt really say on here. but lets go with an example of rough numbers.

Now let me ask u this: If a manufacturer makes a speaker for $50, we buy the a speaker for $100, Sell it for $200 and the retailer sells it at the rec retail of $300 plus his labor thenw ho is the greedy one? Everyone has just doubled the price at each step! And like someone said 2 pages back, 100% markup isnt a huge stretch of the imagination when selling something, so dont think my numbers are wild and out there!

Is Yamato greedy? No. Are they making a product we want and are clearly illing to pay through the nose for? yep. So whats greedy about that? We demanded something, they said we'll make it for u, but it costs this much and we said ok! And then bought lots of them! Thats not greed, thats just plain neighbourly!

[sketchley]

(...)

Now let me ask u this: If a manufacturer makes a speaker for $50, we buy the a speaker for $100, Sell it for $200 and the retailer sells it at the rec retail of $300 plus his labor thenw ho is the greedy one? Everyone has just doubled the price at each step! And like someone said 2 pages back, 100% markup isnt a huge stretch of the imagination when selling something, so dont think my numbers are wild and out there!

(...)

I've worked both ends of the spectrum (manufacturer and retailer; though for different products) and those rough numbers (doubling) sounds about right. The retailer also tends to increase the mark-up pending a) how long they estimate the product will sit on the shelf (which costs them money as they could be putting something else on that shelf that may sell faster) & b) how much shoplifting goes on in the store.

Yes, you heard me, shoplifting. I've heard of one market that basically charges double because half the stock is stolen. The ones they sell covers the loss of the ones stolen. Imagine how much lower the prices would be in all the stores you shop at if people are more honest. :!:

[Roger]

You realize the prices would probably go down if local retailers in the U.S. could actually sell them without having to give harmony gold there cut? I mean don't get me wrong robotech is what most us collectors of macross started into anime with. But as we matured and realized macross was a way better storyline unattended it sorta fell apart for them. If these companies didn't have to deal with harmony gold you can only imagine that the prices would come down. Maybe not significantly but it would come down a lil bit.

US retailers don't pay Harmony Gold anything when they sell Yamato Macross products. Where did you get this idea?

[ntsan]

Well after some ventures on YJA, I'd say it is about 50/50 between Yamato and consumer themself

[Scream Man]

YJA?

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

YJA?

Yahoo Japan Auctions

[Radd]

US retailers don't pay Harmony Gold anything when they sell Yamato Macross products. Where did you get this idea?

I believe he meant if local shops could sell domestically released versions, rather than higher priced import versions. Something HG has prevented.

[DarrinG]

For anyone who thinks they ARE greedy;

Just go and start your own high-end toy company.

After decades of blood, sweat and tears, and a few 100 thousand dollars (if not millions) of investment, you you absolutely ask the top price people are willing to pay.

THEN - if someone suggested you were being too greedy for doing so, you would simply say don't buy my toys then!

---- I wonder if the toy companies have threads talking about the crazy fans that wish they would make less on their hard work simply because they 'should', 'because its selfish and greedy to charge the most they can' ----

[mr.chogokin]

For anyone who thinks they ARE greedy;

Just go and start your own high-end toy company.

After decades of blood, sweat and tears, and a few 100 thousand dollars (if not millions) of investment, you you absolutely ask the top price people are willing to pay.

THEN - if someone suggested you were being too greedy for doing so, you would simply say don't buy my toys then!

---- I wonder if the toy companies have threads talking about the crazy fans that wish they would make less on their hard work simply because they 'should', 'because its selfish and greedy to charge the most they can' ----

I can see the validity of such reasoning if a company's products receive moderate to very little negative feedbacks from their customers. But Yamato is far from that.

[Omegablue]

Well I look at it like this.

My V1 Vf-1J cost me $70 back in 2001. I whined that I wanted something better and would pay more money for it.

My 1/48 was $120 in 2003. Loved it, but when I compared the 1/48 to the V2 VF-1, and considering how much I paid then, to the quality and finishing to what I'm paying now, yes, I'm fine with the price. But only with the V2 VF-1.

The VF-0, SV-51, and VF-22 are overpriced considering their fragility and issues... (K, not alot of issues with the VF-22, but still why overpriced when it's still breakable plastic.)

So it's a balance between the different lines. Then again prices are also determined by the shipping from the sizes and weight of a box.

Now, lets look at other figures that I collect. I standard 8inch Good Smile Figure a years back use to be around $30 to $40... Most these days go for $80 to even $120!!!

And lets be honest, the price 1/100 Vf-25 by Bandai, should be more of an issue.

[DarrinG]

I can see the validity of such reasoning if a company's products receive moderate to very little negative feedbacks from their customers. But Yamato is far from that.

If you are still buying any of their toys, knowing the possible negatives going in, then the price is just right.

Once you decide NOT to buy given their history of negatives, then the price just went a little too high.

NOW

All you need is to get about 30% of the folks who usually buy despite the negatives NOT to buy, and they will drop their prices . . .

[Nani?!]

For anyone who thinks they ARE greedy;

Just go and start your own high-end toy company.

After decades of blood, sweat and tears, and a few 100 thousand dollars (if not millions) of investment, you you absolutely ask the top price people are willing to pay.

THEN - if someone suggested you were being too greedy for doing so, you would simply say don't buy my toys then!

---- I wonder if the toy companies have threads talking about the crazy fans that wish they would make less on their hard work simply because they 'should', 'because its selfish and greedy to charge the most they can' ----

"blood, sweat and tears?"

Almost sounds as if yamato hand carved each valk out with their own bare hands.

Anyway, look... the question wasn't whether if yamato has the right to ask top dollar for their creations... which certainly they do and they have.

The question is that is it greedy practice to gauge top dollar from your "crazy" fans in a niche market, with virtually no competition?

The simple answer to that is.... YES, it is.

But then again, what company isn't greedy? ~shrugs~

Edited May 4, 2009 by Nani?!

[thankheaven]

Yamato are no more greedy then other toymakers who sell high-end toys for the collectors market.

I mean what about Bandai ? The DX VF-25 costs just as much as a similar sized yamato and Bandai is a much bigger company with alot more money in their pockets and resources. Are they greedy for charging so much for the DX ?

What about Takara and their masterpiece line of transformers ? The new Grimlock is $130 not including shipping and he's the size of a standard leaderclass transformer priced at $50.

If Yamato is greedy so is Bandai, Takara and every other company making similar toys.

Edited May 4, 2009 by thankheaven

[DarrinG]

"blood, sweat and tears?"

Almost sounds as if yamato hand carved each valk out with their own bare hands.

The question is that is it greedy practice to gauge top dollar from your "crazy" fans in a niche market, with virtually no competition?

The simple answer to that is.... YES, it is.

Well, I must admit I do not know anything about who founded Yamato, what it took to make it happen, and the sweat or long hours it might have taken to build it into what it is today.

Maybe he (they) feel its justified because of the 3 divorces and 2 heart-attacks it caused.

Or maybe he was a trust-fund baby and he just got lucky and now he is rolling in even more dough.

But let's take the Special Weathered version of the 1/60 Tomahawk and see how it effects me the customer;

The questions are as you just posed them;

A. Did they get top dollar?

B. Am I crazy for buying it?

C. Is there any competition for this item?

ANSWERS

A. No - I probably would have paid even a little more

B. Maybe - but who can judge that except those that know every detail of my life?

C. Yes - but they did not appeal to me as much (model kits, less expensive toys I could customize)

Edited May 4, 2009 by DarrinG

[Nani?!]

why is all defence of yamato a strike at bandai?

bandai are greedy too, no doubt.

but how bout we argue for yamato with stuff about yamato.

[mr.chogokin]

A. No - I probably would have paid even a little more

It is precisely in this type of answer by majority of Macross collectors, compounded by the fact that Yamato simply refuses to use proper material that can prevent breakage, makes their greediness a wrongdoing by manyfold. Everything is overpriced these day, no doubt about that, but that's generally the only thing to complaint about usually... With Yamato, you get more than one complaint.

[sharky]

I dunno about all this greedy talk. The way I see it, it would be greedy if they sold a necessity such as food, water, shelter, at a price much higher than what most people could reasonably afford. Also, it seems to me that greed is charging more money than what a person or company actually needs. So, how is it going to be decided what Yamato needs by way of a profit. They're not running a charity. They are in business to make a profit, and they would not exist if not for the ability to make a profit. If they do not make a profit the investors or bank will decide not to put any more money into the company and they will have to close the doors.

I believe in capitalism, a free market, and the freedom for a person or group to build a business that is strong and healthy to an economy. If a company is truly greedy then the forces of the market will either force them to lower their prices or they will be forced out of business by competition or the simple lack of sales.

So, my answer would be, no way is Yamato too greedy.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

What about Takara and their masterpiece line of transformers ? The new Grimlock is $130 not including shipping and he's the size of a standard leaderclass transformer priced at $50.

A more appropriate comparison is MP-03 Starscream compared to Yamato's 1/60 line of Valkyries. MP-03 Starscream in fighter mode is similar in size to the Macross Zero and Plus releases by Yamato in 1/60 scale.

Takara has the benefit of owning the Transformers franchise alongside Hasbro, so they don't exactly have to buy the license to make a toy of character that they themselves own.

In general, all Macross toys have been expensive, and people will of course compare Gundam and how it is cheaper, however the real issue could be that Sunrise charges a lot less for Gundam licensing than Big West charges for Macross licensing fees. Same might go for Evangelion, if Sunrise is the license grantor for it.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

[arrow]

I don't understand why yamato can't be greedier and sell more repaints of non-vf-1 valks. so that we know that we are getting the fixed versions- like the VF-0.