Yamato $2000 DYRL MACROSS

[Cyclone Trooper]

i don't care what the thing does(outside of an actual fold manuver) its not worth $500 in my eyes. tooling, molds, R&D, all the BS involved with getting it made, should not equal a car payment for a frickin mercedes benz!

toy prices have been getting out of hand for a while now and i'm over it.

i really don't understand how some of you guys are still on it?

i love macross as much as the next guy and it holds a special place in my heart but is this stuff really worth it?

not to get all hippy on you guys but you could feed a kenyan family of 5 for a year for $500, instead some of us choose to own a toy. it just seems ridiculous.

sorry for the rant.

Well said, my friend...well said.

[VFTF1]

and expected reaction from their wife.

"Well - at least now there's finally going to be something big and long in the house!"

"Worth a lot, supposedly 2 feet long when fully extended, and due to a QC problem it has trouble standing up? Where have I heard that before dear?"

"You're such a sweetheart letting me use it as a rack to hang my lingerie on..."

Pete

Edit:

if you compare it to any similar priced item(including non-toys), do you think its worth $500? and itouch is less, and iphone is less, a flatscreen TV is less, the xbox/ps3/wii is less, you can get a decent desktop/laptop for the same price!

All of those items you are using in your comparisson sell millions of units per year and can take advantage of economies of scale to a much greater extent than something like the Macross. If manufacturers and vendors could sell millions more of them because the demand was there - they'd do it - and they'd do it for less. This of course doesn't factor in stuff like cost of production etc etc etc.

Edited February 24, 2009 by VFTF1

[Valkyrie addict]

I guess by the size of the thing is what people are considering it to be proper for it's price, I agree, it's expensive, but I've honestly wanted this for so long that I might pay for it, but I stopped buying valks after my vf-1s shoulder exploded and now I'm wasting my money on samurai katanas...the gf seems more happy with me taking a more 'manly' hobby, hahaha

[do not disturb]

All of those items you are using in your comparisson sell millions of units per year and can take advantage of economies of scale to a much greater extent than something like the Macross. If manufacturers and vendors could sell millions more of them because the demand was there - they'd do it - and they'd do it for less. This of course doesn't factor in stuff like cost of production etc etc etc.

this same argument comes up every time theres any discussion of pricing but at the end of the day, $500+ is still a lot money for a plastic toy. if thats what people need to tell themselves to justify their purchase thats fine. i just feel i could do more with $500 than spend it on a overpriced hunk of plastic.

the way things are going globally, i'd rather spend my $500 on something more meaningful than a toy that serves no purpose other than to wooo me.

at the end of the day, its everyones choice to spend their money on whatever they want but if given the choice, i choose the latter. maybe i'm alone on this but i've been blinded too long by my childhood nostalgia. time to time i find myself staring at my collection and can't help but to think how selfish i've been and how i could've used my money more wisely.

[logos]

$500 is actally a lot of money for any toy. we're just used to seeing these $200+ priced toys that we've become desensitized to the outrageous pricing by manufacturers and their vendors. it doesn't take a genius to figure out that these toy companies/vendors are taking advantage.

if you compare it to any similar priced item(including non-toys), do you think its worth $500? and itouch is less, and iphone is less, a flatscreen TV is less, the xbox/ps3/wii is less, you can get a decent desktop/laptop for the same price!

i don't care what the thing does(outside of an actual fold manuver) its not worth $500 in my eyes. tooling, molds, R&D, all the BS involved with getting it made, should not equal a car payment for a frickin mercedes benz!

toy prices have been getting out of hand for a while now and i'm over it.

i really don't understand how some of you guys are still on it?

i love macross as much as the next guy and it holds a special place in my heart but is this stuff really worth it?

not to get all hippy on you guys but you could feed a kenyan family of 5 for a year for $500, instead some of us choose to own a toy. it just seems ridiculous.

sorry for the rant.

Like VFTF1 said you are totally forgetting about economies of scale and other factors. You can't compare a TV or and Ipod touch to a toy that's like comparing Apples to Oranges. I work for a farm machinery company that makes seeders haying equipment and aircarts. Our smallest models cost $30,000 and our largest costs $$150,000+. We sell maybe a 200-400 machines of all types a year. Am I going to say this unbelievably cheap because a 70' Airseeder only costs $180,000? NO, it does not makes sense. Believe me toys (or anything that sells at a low volume compared to say an Ipod) can cost allot more than you think. Molds are really expensive and if you aren't selling hundreds of thousands of units it really creeps into the cost of your item. Is $500 allot? Sure it is. But Yamato is factoring in Production costs and demand of the product when they set prices. Go to a parts vendor. See what they charge you if you order 1 part versus 1000 or 10,000 parts. You will be crapping your pants when you see the difference VOLUME makes to the bottom line. Now Yamato has the right to make a profit just like everyone else and they know if they overcharge they are going to loose sales. Would they have sold allot more 1/3000-1/5000 SDF-1s at $200 or less, maybe, but REMEMBER THAT YAMATO HAS NOT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED A PRICE YET! I am sure that once they get a handle on how many of these they will sell they'll announce one and if it's allot it might be cheaper than what's been speculated. Crap if they find out that they will only sell a couple of hundred of these they might not release it at all or we could be looking at a toy coming close to $800 or $1000.

Besides this is not the first $500+ toy I've seen and for me this doesn't really fall into the toy category. This is more like buying a totally awesome display piece. You know like those Darth Vader and Marvel Statues that sell for like $1200-$3000. If they really wanted to make a toy they probably would have stuck to 1/3000 or smaller. If you want that go buy the Wave simple as that. If $500 is too expensive for well theres nothing else to say. We all don't have the budget for something like this.

Edited February 24, 2009 by logos

[Cent]

Hey if you wanna roll over and pay US$500 or $600 without a fight, be my guest.

As I stated in my last post, chances are the price will be higher than $250. But what's the point in letting the seller know how much you're willing to spend? Why go in mentioning your maximum amount or a high figure?

That's a stupid business practice to follow!

Would you do that going into a car dealership?

Would you do that when trying to buy a house?

Do you go into Texas Hold 'Em game, announcing to everyone at the table, "Hey I'm going All-In with suited 10-J."

Remember, we're only dealing with 2-feets worth of plastic here. The BMF is probably the same size as the Yammie SDF-1 will be, and yet the BMF was only priced max at around $150 to $160. The GI Joe Phantom X-19 jet is well over 2 feet long, has moveable parts and stuff, and, even factoring in inflation, it would still be priced well less than $100.

Yes, I realize there's the whole transformation thing going on that would up the price of the SDF-1. But again, I cite the above examples to point out that the price can be estimated downward.

But if you guys just love paying higher prices for things, be my guest.

I didn't realise we were submitting bids all of a sudden, and not just speculating like we always do. Oops. Wrong forums I guess. Btw Yamato, I'd like my 1/2000 SDF free.

[do not disturb]

logos,

i know what things cost to produce, i agree that when they make less of something it costs more but thats besides the point. i was only using those items for simlar value(if that is the price) to show how much more you get for your money or other things where your money could be spent.

if you can't grasp what i'm saying, thats cool but don't copy and paste the same tired argument for toy pricing since the first macross toy was released.....molds, R&D, cost of plastic, cost of oil, cost of shipping, cost of all the cigarettes shinjo smoked and all the beers he drank when he came up with the idea, blah, blah, blah, its all been said before. next up is the guy who will post about the laws of supply and demand that we all love to read about.

sorry i know i'm being kind of rude but i've read the same crap too many times.

i was only sharing my opinion, not stating it as fact.

[miriya]

toy prices have been getting out of hand for a while now and i'm over it.

i really don't understand how some of you guys are still on it?

i love macross as much as the next guy and it holds a special place in my heart but is this stuff really worth it?

not to get all hippy on you guys but you could feed a kenyan family of 5 for a year for $500, instead some of us choose to own a toy. it just seems ridiculous.

QFT!!!!

I know. I used to make charitable donations regularly before I started this hobby. Now it has been all about me lately and it IS indeed hard to justify $500 for a toy when that much money could do so much for a family or even a village in an impoverished area. Not to mention that I should be at least saving for me and my families future instead of blowing it on these toys (as awesome as they are).

I am beginning to think that I need to back out of this hobby quite considerably and be more responsible lately.

The first 1/48 valk I got I had for about a day or so before I decided that it was too extravagant and selfish and just too much money that could and should be allocated more responsibly and compassionately and I put it up on ebay. It was shortly after that that I began to jones for a 1/48 yamato valk again like a junkie in withdrawals and bought a new 1/48 valk, and then fast packs, another 1/48, a Quedluun Rau, a VF-0A shin with booster, etc. etc. and it has gotten out of control.

Whe I hear about movie stars spending $20,000 on purses in one shopping spree it makes me sick to think of how that money could have been used to save peoples lives and the vain selfish gluttony that could justify that spending or the ignorance to do it without a second thought. But with every expensive toy purchase I make I have this feeling that I am not much different than that. It is a strange addiction.

Edited February 24, 2009 by miriya

[Kicker773]

Don't leave yet!!! You still need to make me perhaps some new boxes =) MG low viz's or Virgins

QFT!!!!

I know. I used to make charitable donations regularly before I started this hobby. Now it has been all about me lately and it IS indeed hard to justify $500 for a toy when that much money could do so much for a family or even a village in an impoverished area. Not to mention that I should be at least saving for me and my families future instead of blowing it on these toys (as awesome as they are).

I am beginning to think that I need to back out of this hobby quite considerably and be more responsible lately.

The first 1/48 valk I got I had for about a day or so before I decided that it was too extravagant and selfish and just too much money that could and should be allocated more responsibly and compassionately and I put it up on ebay. It was shortly after that that I began to jones for a 1/48 yamato valk again like a junkie in withdrawals and bought a new 1/48 valk, and then fast packs, another 1/48, a Quedluun Rau, a VF-0A shin with booster, etc. etc. and it has gotten out of control.

Whe I hear about movie stars spending $20,000 on purses in one shopping spree it makes me sick to think of how that money could have been used to save peoples lives and the vain selfish gluttony that could justify that spending or the ignorance to do it without a second thought. But with every expensive toy purchase I make I have this feeling that I am not much different than that. It is a strange addiction.

[miriya]

Don't leave yet!!! You still need to make me perhaps some new boxes =) MG low viz's or Virgins

You got it brother! After all I am still a graphic artist!

At very least I will be keeping most of what I already have - as selling that stuff in this economy will not bring me much. And it is difficult to stop this addition.

I still think that There is a Majickal Spell imbibed in the VF-1 design and that Kawamori san is an agent for the actual zentraedi who are trying to control our minds and wallets. (Just kidding - partly). . .

[VFTF1]

I know. I used to make charitable donations regularly before I started this hobby. Now it has been all about me lately and it IS indeed hard to justify $500 for a toy when that much money could do so much for a family or even a village in an impoverished area. Not to mention that I should be at least saving for me and my families future instead of blowing it on these toys (as awesome as they are).

If it helps make you feel better:

When you spend that 500 USD on a toy, you ARE helping a family, a even a village in an impoverished area.

Who do you think is making these?

And do you really think they would be better off if instead of making these, they just sat around their villages waiting for Habitat for Humanity to show up to build them a new hut?

I am by no means attacking charity, and of course everyone decides for themselves how much they want to spend on this hobby, but personally - on a personal level - aka - like if we were having a beer and you said that - I would say: Dude - chill out. Your purchase is putting food on peoples' tables and giving kids an education.

And I would wager it's doing so in a much more effective way than - gulp (don't hang me now) ...many charities.

Pete

[eugimon]

QFT!!!!

I know. I used to make charitable donations regularly before I started this hobby. Now it has been all about me lately and it IS indeed hard to justify $500 for a toy when that much money could do so much for a family or even a village in an impoverished area. Not to mention that I should be at least saving for me and my families future instead of blowing it on these toys (as awesome as they are).

I am beginning to think that I need to back out of this hobby quite considerably and be more responsible lately.

The first 1/48 valk I got I had for about a day or so before I decided that it was too extravagant and selfish and just too much money that could and should be allocated more responsibly and compassionately and I put it up on ebay. It was shortly after that that I began to jones for a 1/48 yamato valk again like a junkie in withdrawals and bought a new 1/48 valk, and then fast packs, another 1/48, a Quedluun Rau, a VF-0A shin with booster, etc. etc. and it has gotten out of control.

Whe I hear about movie stars spending $20,000 on purses in one shopping spree it makes me sick to think of how that money could have been used to save peoples lives and the vain selfish gluttony that could justify that spending or the ignorance to do it without a second thought. But with every expensive toy purchase I make I have this feeling that I am not much different than that. It is a strange addiction.

Just think of it this way, you're helping keep some poor chinese peasant girl working in a factory instead of being married off when she's 13 to some 45 year old in order to pay for her drunk dad's gambling debts. Only to be raped repeatedly as soon as she starts menstruating, working in the fields for 14 hours a day, 365 days a year except for that one day she gives birth... praying that it's a boy so they don't have to go drown a girl baby in the bath so they can try again for a boy baby in order to keep her in-laws happy and to continue the family name.

The small pittance she receives from yamato helps to keep her mother and father warm at night with the small lump of raw coal they burn in their small stove. Of course they have to keep the windows slightly open, even in the middle of winter because their mud walled home has no chimney and the carbon monoxide builds up at night all the more dangerous because like the other 200 million desperately poor peasant farmers in China they sleep on pounded earth floors not just because of tradition but because they're too poor to afford a bed.

This peasant girl considers herself lucky to have a job at all, knowing full well thousands of factories have already closed down, their workers sent packing in the middle of the night. The lucky ones will go home to a feast of hot rice and stir fried wild vegetables that grow on the parched land behind their parents homes. In the morning they'll go out to work the fields or tend the milk cows with their parents. The unfortunate ones will find themselves prostitutes in the streets of Shanghai or Hong Kong servicing drunk westerners on their sex holidays. The really unfortunate ones will end up in some building in some city in some foreign land, no money, no passport, confined to three rooms (the room the eat in, the room they poo in and the room they service in) for the next 5-10 years until they pay off their "debt".

This peasant girl even hears whispered stories of girls younger than her in places like Indonesia who work, chained to their tables, for 14 hours a day putting together beauty and the beast toys for disney. Their fingers burned from the poorly designed equipment, their already frail bodies used up and broken by the time some rich american teenager gets a brand new car for graduating high school. The peasant girl hears stories about how one of these Indonesian workers tried to stand up and form a union and had her knees shattered for it. The Chinese peasant girl hears these stories because the people who tell them to her wants her to be happy for the job she does have and not to get funny ideas into her head, comrade.

Edited February 24, 2009 by eugimon

[danth]

...This peasant girl even hears whispered stories of girls younger than her in places like Indonesia who work, chained to their tables, for 14 hours a day putting together beauty and the beast toys for disney. Their fingers burned from the poorly designed equipment, their already frail bodies used up and broken by the time some rich american teenager gets a brand new car for graduating high school. The peasant girl hears stories about how one of these Indonesian workers tried to stand up and form a union and had her knees shattered for it. The Chinese peasant girl hears these stories because the people who them to her wants her to be happy for the job she does have and not to get funny ideas into her head, comrade.

Was that supposed to make me feel better?

[SilentCrossHairs]

$500 is actally a lot of money for any toy. we're just used to seeing these $200+ priced toys that we've become desensitized to the outrageous pricing by manufacturers and their vendors. it doesn't take a genius to figure out that these toy companies/vendors are taking advantage.

if you compare it to any similar priced item(including non-toys), do you think its worth $500? and itouch is less, and iphone is less, a flatscreen TV is less, the xbox/ps3/wii is less, you can get a decent desktop/laptop for the same price!

i don't care what the thing does(outside of an actual fold manuver) its not worth $500 in my eyes. tooling, molds, R&D, all the BS involved with getting it made, should not equal a car payment for a frickin mercedes benz!

toy prices have been getting out of hand for a while now and i'm over it.

i really don't understand how some of you guys are still on it?

i love macross as much as the next guy and it holds a special place in my heart but is this stuff really worth it?

not to get all hippy on you guys but you could feed a kenyan family of 5 for a year for $500, instead some of us choose to own a toy. it just seems ridiculous.

sorry for the rant.

Do not Disturb

You make a dam good point. $500??? For something to look at. It's not like this is a priceless painting in all. It is a toy. Something with a resale value of $250. When I see something like this it makes you take a step back and say WTF. Miriya you make good points to. I understands dudes have to make there money and all. I understand the art of the hustle. Take .50 cents and flip it to a dollar. But for me I got turned off when I saw those Macross Frontier DX toys going for a crapload of cash. But hey, if you can afford it, knock yourself out. But $500???? With this messed up economy? I may like my hobby. But I am nobodies crackhead. Hell I'll get my girl something really nice with $500. She's worth it. Toy companies......not.

Edited February 24, 2009 by SilentCrossHairs

[SilentCrossHairs]

You got it brother! After all I am still a graphic artist!

At very least I will be keeping most of what I already have - as selling that stuff in this economy will not bring me much. And it is difficult to stop this addition.

I still think that There is a Majickal Spell imbibed in the VF-1 design and that Kawamori san is an agent for the actual zentraedi who are trying to control our minds and wallets. (Just kidding - partly). . .

That kind of reminds me of a South Park episode. When all the kids wanted a Chimpokomon.

[fifbeat]

2 feet of plastic? Hmmmm so it should be the price of two 1/48's.... right?

=)

I didn't realize that Yamato had a plant in MANILA.

[edwin3060]

QFT!!!!

I know. I used to make charitable donations regularly before I started this hobby. Now it has been all about me lately and it IS indeed hard to justify $500 for a toy when that much money could do so much for a family or even a village in an impoverished area. Not to mention that I should be at least saving for me and my families future instead of blowing it on these toys (as awesome as they are).

I am beginning to think that I need to back out of this hobby quite considerably and be more responsible lately.

The first 1/48 valk I got I had for about a day or so before I decided that it was too extravagant and selfish and just too much money that could and should be allocated more responsibly and compassionately and I put it up on ebay. It was shortly after that that I began to jones for a 1/48 yamato valk again like a junkie in withdrawals and bought a new 1/48 valk, and then fast packs, another 1/48, a Quedluun Rau, a VF-0A shin with booster, etc. etc. and it has gotten out of control.

Whe I hear about movie stars spending $20,000 on purses in one shopping spree it makes me sick to think of how that money could have been used to save peoples lives and the vain selfish gluttony that could justify that spending or the ignorance to do it without a second thought. But with every expensive toy purchase I make I have this feeling that I am not much different than that. It is a strange addiction.

Well, you could spend that 500 dollars to give someone something for nothing, or you could spend that 500 dollars paying someone else (equally poor) who produces a beautiful toy for you!

Really, for all the billions that has been pumped as free aid into Africa, the results have frankly, been pathetic. On the other hand, the billions (trillions?) pumped into China for paid laborers who actually work for their money has basically spawned a burgeoning middle class that is slowly but surely creating social change in China.

So, you might as well put your money to work making yourself happy and saving lives, rather than lining the pockets of some tinpot African dictator!

P.S. The situation with free aid has gotten so bad that you now have african diplomats and educated people actually asking for people not to donate!

[miriya]

VFTF1, Thanks for that perspective.

(SO can I write off my macross collectible figures as charitable donations on my taxes this year? )

eugimon, That was poetic and true and sad. You are a good writer. And thanks for that perspective too.

danth, I feel that.

SilentCrossHairs, I will need to check out that episode. I am far behind in my southpark.

[miriya]

edwin3060, Thanks for that information too. Very interesting.

I knew you guys would help enable my addiction! Thanks!

[D_Unit]

Ironically, I have a perfect spot for the spacecraft mode in my 3' x 3' x 7-1/2' enclosed diorama. $500 is doable for me but not in a collector's stand point. If I was just collecting, I couldn't justify spending so much money in a downturn economy. But since my friends' kids love to come over to see my displays and since I could share photos/videos of it with everyone via my website; then I guess I can justify selling that extra quart of blood.

[isa_o]

$500 is actally a lot of money for any toy. we're just used to seeing these $200+ priced toys that we've become desensitized to the outrageous pricing by manufacturers and their vendors. it doesn't take a genius to figure out that these toy companies/vendors are taking advantage.

if you compare it to any similar priced item(including non-toys), do you think its worth $500? and itouch is less, and iphone is less, a flatscreen TV is less, the xbox/ps3/wii is less, you can get a decent desktop/laptop for the same price!

i don't care what the thing does(outside of an actual fold manuver) its not worth $500 in my eyes. tooling, molds, R&D, all the BS involved with getting it made, should not equal a car payment for a frickin mercedes benz!

toy prices have been getting out of hand for a while now and i'm over it.

i really don't understand how some of you guys are still on it?

i love macross as much as the next guy and it holds a special place in my heart but is this stuff really worth it?

not to get all hippy on you guys but you could feed a kenyan family of 5 for a year for $500, instead some of us choose to own a toy. it just seems ridiculous.

sorry for the rant.

That's no rant, you bring up a good point that hopefully yamato willl pick up on from their "BUYING" audience.

[isa_o]

Like VFTF1 said you are totally forgetting about economies of scale and other factors. You can't compare a TV or and Ipod touch to a toy that's like comparing Apples to Oranges. I work for a farm machinery company that makes seeders haying equipment and aircarts. Our smallest models cost $30,000 and our largest costs $$150,000+. We sell maybe a 200-400 machines of all types a year. Am I going to say this unbelievably cheap because a 70' Airseeder only costs $180,000? NO, it does not makes sense. Believe me toys (or anything that sells at a low volume compared to say an Ipod) can cost allot more than you think. Molds are really expensive and if you aren't selling hundreds of thousands of units it really creeps into the cost of your item. Is $500 allot? Sure it is. But Yamato is factoring in Production costs and demand of the product when they set prices. Go to a parts vendor. See what they charge you if you order 1 part versus 1000 or 10,000 parts. You will be crapping your pants when you see the difference VOLUME makes to the bottom line. Now Yamato has the right to make a profit just like everyone else and they know if they overcharge they are going to loose sales. Would they have sold allot more 1/3000-1/5000 SDF-1s at $200 or less, maybe, but REMEMBER THAT YAMATO HAS NOT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED A PRICE YET! I am sure that once they get a handle on how many of these they will sell they'll announce one and if it's allot it might be cheaper than what's been speculated. Crap if they find out that they will only sell a couple of hundred of these they might not release it at all or we could be looking at a toy coming close to $800 or $1000.

Besides this is not the first $500+ toy I've seen and for me this doesn't really fall into the toy category. This is more like buying a totally awesome display piece. You know like those Darth Vader and Marvel Statues that sell for like $1200-$3000. If they really wanted to make a toy they probably would have stuck to 1/3000 or smaller. If you want that go buy the Wave simple as that. If $500 is too expensive for well theres nothing else to say. We all don't have the budget for something like this.

at the end of the day it's a choice we make or don't make. I'm convinced that yamato is just getting a feel for the SDF and pricing to more accurately gage a good price. I hope. But the end result price or not we have that choice to buy or not to buy.

[Negotiator]

you have NO choice but to get it and you know it!

[DarrinG]

Atlas Shrugged - anybody read that?

If they get people to buy at the price they set more power to them - even if its $800 bucks or more for this ship!

And if we're frustrated at all by that, all we have to do is come up with a product ourselves that people love so much they pay $800 a pop for.

We then make big bucks, can give away money to the needy, and easily afford a few SDFs for ourselves in the process.

And when we get there we'll understand how bizarre it is that folks squawk about our products or price, and that we can't do this and that when we've put all the blood, sweat and tears in and they haven't.

Make any sense?

[Hurin]

I've notified the NYC branch of the UN's International Food Fund to be expecting a multi-thousand dollar donation courtesy of a certain someone's soon-to-be-sold Macross collection. I'm sure he won't let us down. People need help out there!

Everyone should also probably stop selfishly wasting hundreds of hours per year on this discussion forum when we could be volunteering at a local homeless shelter or otherwise doing charitable work with that time.

I've personally stopped buying Macross toys. I can't justify the expense myself since my priorities have changed. I only wish my priorities had changed so selflessly as others here who are kind enough to share their epiphany and new-found moral clarity.

But, we can all at least sleep better knowing that the "valk money" from one of our more long-standing member's collection will soon be on the way to the needy where it will begin spreading hope and prosperity across the globe.

[isa_o]

silhouette of it transformed

[eugimon]

I've notified the NYC branch of the UN's International Food Fund to be expecting a multi-thousand dollar donation courtesy of a certain someone's soon-to-be-sold Macross collection. I'm sure he won't let us down. People need help out there!

Everyone should also probably stop selfishly wasting hundreds of hours per year on this discussion forum when we could be volunteering at a local homeless shelter or otherwise doing charitable work with that time.

I've personally stopped buying Macross toys. I can't justify the expense myself since my priorities have changed. I only wish my priorities had changed so selflessly as others here who are kind enough to share their epiphany and new-found moral clarity.

But, we can all at least sleep better knowing that the "valk money" from one of our more long-standing member's collection will soon be on the way to the needy where it will begin spreading hope and prosperity across the globe.

You know full well just because I've achieved sanctimonious holier than thou moral clarity that I'm not going to do anything about it.

Actually, my point, which I admit got buried under the melodrama, was that there will always be someone worse off than you and someone still worse off than that person. Unless a person is willing to divorce themselves of all worldly possessions until such a point where all people are equally poor and destitute I personally think all their pompous pretentious moralizing is just a bunch of holier than thou hand waving.

[miriya]

Atlas Shrugged - anybody read that?

If they get people to buy at the price they set more power to them - even if its $800 bucks or more for this ship!

And if we're frustrated at all by that, all we have to do is come up with a product ourselves that people love so much they pay $800 a pop for.

We then make big bucks, can give away money to the needy, and easily afford a few SDFs for ourselves in the process.

And when we get there we'll understand how bizarre it is that folks squawk about our products or price, and that we can't do this and that when we've put all the blood, sweat and tears in and they haven't.

Make any sense?

Yes, and, Economic happiness for all by means of super capitalism leaves out two majorly important factors which make the whole theory deteriorate which are the limitations of resources and the deterioration of the environment. It is a cute theory but seriously flawed.

I've notified the NYC branch of the UN's International Food Fund to be expecting a multi-thousand dollar donation courtesy of a certain someone's soon-to-be-sold Macross collection. I'm sure he won't let us down. People need help out there!

Everyone should also probably stop selfishly wasting hundreds of hours per year on this discussion forum when we could be volunteering at a local homeless shelter or otherwise doing charitable work with that time.

I've personally stopped buying Macross toys. I can't justify the expense myself since my priorities have changed. I only wish my priorities had changed so selflessly as others here who are kind enough to share their epiphany and new-found moral clarity.

But, we can all at least sleep better knowing that the "valk money" from one of our more long-standing member's collection will soon be on the way to the needy where it will begin spreading hope and prosperity across the globe.

That is very kind. Good on you mate. And I agree about the time I have wasted on this forum and hobby which could have been used for a huge variety of more important things.

You know full well just because I've achieved sanctimonious holier than thou moral clarity that I'm not going to do anything about it.

Actually, my point, which I admit got buried under the melodrama, was that there will always be someone worse off than you and someone still worse off than that person. Unless a person is willing to divorce themselves of all worldly possessions until such a point where all people are equally poor and destitute I personally think all their pompous pretentious moralizing is just a bunch of holier than thou hand waving.

Sure, generosity CAN be poisoned by selfish motivations HOWEVER pure compassion does exist. I would give him the benefit of the doubt here.

[eugimon]

Why, he's bought 250 dollar toys, does that make him only half as immoral as someone who buys a 500 dollar toy? The whole argument is ridiculous beyond belief.

If someone sees a need and works to fill it, great for them. But once they start criticizing people for things they themselves do... well...

[Hurin]

That is very kind. Good on you mate. And I agree about the time I have wasted on this forum and hobby which could have been used for a huge variety of more important things

Don't thank me! I'm not the one doing it!

Edit: Either your sense of irony is more acute than mine and you're playing along, or the point of my post went entirely over your head.

Edited February 25, 2009 by Hurin

[EXO]

I think we're veering off topic here.

It's cool to mention the state of the economy and how it affects your toy buying ability, but let's not turn this into an Economics thread, I think there's already a thread for that anyway.

I don't think that economics should be a major part of the discussion anyways, even if the toy is expensive. If the economy is affecting you that greatly then buying a toy shouldn't be on your list of priorities. These toys are expensive, with or without the upcoming Macross. I'm sure Yamato has done studies as to what most of their customers can afford before even going to development stage.

toy prices have been getting out of hand for a while now and i'm over it.

i really don't understand how some of you guys are still on it?

i love macross as much as the next guy and it holds a special place in my heart but is this stuff really worth it?

not to get all hippy on you guys but you could feed a kenyan family of 5 for a year for $500, instead some of us choose to own a toy. it just seems ridiculous.

sorry for the rant.

Where was this sense of sense of wisdom when you were collecting tons and tons of other toys? Just because you went thru some sort of epiphany does that mean we all should wake up to the same sense of reason? I don't think that toy collecting is like ovulation where we begin to hit the same rhythms... I just haven't bled out yet in that case.

[505thAirborne]

If you guys want to discuss the economy or how your doing with affording things, for the time being we have this discussion thread at you disposal!!!

Feel free to vent! In the toy section, its one that says "The Economy and your collections."

Edited February 25, 2009 by 505thAirborne

[eriku]

It is a cute theory but seriously flawed.

Funny, that's how I would describe Ayn Rand herself. Minus the cute part of course.

I think toy companies should offer an option where the customer is welcome to go to the factory and assemble their own toy. Of course the plane tickets etc. would far outweigh the price of the toy, but you can't put a price on the pride that comes with being able to say you stood shoulder to shoulder with a crack legion of 13 year old Chinese girls and built a transforming space ship.

[eugimon]

Funny, that's how I would describe Ayn Rand herself. Minus the cute part of course.

agreed.

[EXO]

I don't see what the panic is all about, it's not like Yamato is shy about making the same toy in different scales.