Arcadia YF-19 coming in 2014

[Mommar]

Its interesting that most of you like to take it up the rear and just accept this ridiculous price.

There is no reason why it should cost this much. Its just greed.

Maybe im wrong. Could someone can explain why the this should cost over $300?

I dont like to be raped of my money without a good reason.

I'm interested in why you think we're taking anything "up the rear?"

Can you explain why it shouldn't cost this much or how it's greed?

[skullmilitia]

Yeah, same here.. I'm seeing it as something VF-4 complex, but also including fast packs, missile sets, and two figures.

For only about 60$ more than the VF-4.

Plus as big of a deal this is, I'm betting a nice box maybe even

Tenjin artwork.

Plus until someone specifically says no stand,

There's still a chance for a stand.

[anime52k8]

So... 32,800 with 14% discount at AmiAmi (same discount as the VF-1J 30th and VF-1S) is 28,208 or about $285USD with current exchange rate. and if they'll ship it SAL you MIGHT be able to get it for around $300 even. Hmm... to keep it in perspective, when I bought my VF-19S when it first came out I payed retail price and used EMS shipping through HLJ it came to $295 shipped.

[wm cheng]

They're the only ones that have engineered it. There's no competition, they can really charge whatever they want - someone will buy it (maybe just not as many).

[Scyla]

Some men much wiser than me once said: "don't discuss economy on the interwebs!!!"

So it is a steep price but the YF-19 is a huge toy. has many gimmicks (swappable wings, missile compartments in the legs for swappable missiles), comes with a lot of accessories (how much has to be clarified at this point), is made out of high quality material, is detailed (hopefully) and has ingenious engineering. So I think it is justified to cost as much as it does.

And shipping costs and custom fees hurt me as much as the most of members on this message board but these are extra costs that Arcadia cannot factor in so talking about those when discussing the MSRP of toy is useless.

In the end only you can decide if the asked price is worth it. I think it is but your mileage may vary.

[VGMStudios]

Thanks for the info scyla.

Im just trying to understand why they are charging so much more then the others.

But i guess since it does come with a super pack the cost does go up.

Ill have to think realy hard if I can even afford one. Haha.

[VF5SS]

Well they did just go through a drastic change in their branding (going from Yamato to Arcadia) and we know they cleared out their old officers just to set up a new one somewhere else. I think it's a miracle they even came back at all after basically teetering on a knife's edge between selling expensive toys and making a profit.

They weren't like Hot Toys who constantly land high profile licenses like Iron Man and can charge about the same for multiple versions of the same character and consistently sell out.

[Mommar]

There's more to it than just that. We also know Yamato lost money, which is why the Arcadia VF-1's are more expensive. That means the 19 models will have to be more expensive as well. You're also not factoring in that it's a niche fan base who they are only legally allowed to sell to in Japan. There's no mass market to produce for, not in Japan where the show this comes from wasn't as popular, so say anything about being able to produce it for world wide fans. Then you add in the facts everyone else has stated. It's complex, and the end result is things have to be more expensive then we would like. I know it's more than I wish it could be, but I'm aware of the situation surrounding the market and am not willing to get angry at because it isn't what I hoped/wished/expected it should be.

[SuperSenpai]

I think it should also be considered that this is a new design, with a new mold, so the price is going to be more expensive up front to account for this. They have to recoup the development costs after all. The VF-1, even though it is more expensive than when branded as a Yamato toy, probably has much lower development costs since the design has already been completed. I don't pretend to know all the internals of toy development and manufacturing costs, but I'm assuming what it cost Arcadia to acquire the molds for the VF-1 were probably less than what it cost to originally engineer them.

[onnasake]

Wow.

Well, I won't be owning this.

This is only my opinion and I'm certainly not telling anyone what they can and can't do with their own money, so please don't flame me, but good god.....that's $350 for a plastic toy plane.

I LOVE toys. I'm 36 years old and I never grew out of them. I have them all over my room. I've spent some ridiculous amounts over the years. And I've even spent several hundred on a single piece more than once, so I DO understand the concept of high-end collectables. But I've just been priced out of this hobby. I'm going to have to stick to Hasbro, NECA, Mattel....and if I wanna go crazy I can splurge on Takara Masterpiece Transformers at around $120 for the big ones. But no more Hot Toys and certainly no Arcadia for me.

I envy you guys that make enough money to buy even ONE of these let alone several! But I have to be completely honest....even if it was affordable, it's still not what I wanted. I had my heart set on a Hi-Metal version...smaller scale, more durable. A realy TOY, not a collectable. This thing looks freaking GORGEOUS....of course I would love to have it....but in reality, it's simply too big and my toy shelves are already crowded enough as it is.

Anyway, sorry for the rant here....just seeing this was kind of an eye-opener to me that for me, personally...this kind of spending simply has to stop!

(one last thing though....I can't believe some of you are justifying the outrageous mark-up due to things like "missiles" and "the extra pilot figure." Those are teeeeny tiny unarticulated pieces of plastic. They probably cost a fraction of a penny to produce. One more tiny little figure the size of your fingernail can't possibly justify charging $60 more than other releases)

Sorry. I know nobody asked for my opinion....but there it is anyway.

[Valkyrie addict]

It was me who said that if you ask to mark it as a gift one can avoid custom taxes (in some countries). I never read HLJ FAQ so I didn't know that they refused to do that, several stuff I've bought from them I asked and had no problem with custom tax, but I'd always used EMS, my last purchase from HLJ was a big box but I used Fedex and they did add the full value invoice so the custom tax was hideous. So I don't know if it's a Fedex thing or a new policy.

It is not illegal here to avoid custom taxes by using the gift option, it's just a loophole. What's illegal is to claim a much much lower item value (20 bucks for a 350 dollar item) and could also backfire with package insurance value if something happens midtransit.

[Gakken85]

Wow.

Well, I won't be owning this.

This is only my opinion and I'm certainly not telling anyone what they can and can't do with their own money, so please don't flame me, but good god.....that's $350 for a plastic toy plane.

I LOVE toys. I'm 36 years old and I never grew out of them. I have them all over my room. I've spent some ridiculous amounts over the years. And I've even spent several hundred on a single piece more than once, so I DO understand the concept of high-end collectables. But I've just been priced out of this hobby. I'm going to have to stick to Hasbro, NECA, Mattel....and if I wanna go crazy I can splurge on Takara Masterpiece Transformers at around $120 for the big ones. But no more Hot Toys and certainly no Arcadia for me.

I envy you guys that make enough money to buy even ONE of these let alone several! But I have to be completely honest....even if it was affordable, it's still not what I wanted. I had my heart set on a Hi-Metal version...smaller scale, more durable. A realy TOY, not a collectable. This thing looks freaking GORGEOUS....of course I would love to have it....but in reality, it's simply too big and my toy shelves are already crowded enough as it is.

Anyway, sorry for the rant here....just seeing this was kind of an eye-opener to me that for me, personally...this kind of spending simply has to stop!

(one last thing though....I can't believe some of you are justifying the outrageous mark-up due to things like "missiles" and "the extra pilot figure." Those are teeeeny tiny unarticulated pieces of plastic. They probably cost a fraction of a penny to produce. One more tiny little figure the size of your fingernail can't possibly justify charging $60 more than other releases)

Just think though.. if you hadn't bought all those tiny $50 dollar pieces you could buy one really nice collectible. I'm not telling you what to do with your money, but personally, I'd rather have a collection of really nice adult pieces, than a slew of tiny toys that take up space, you can't resell for anything, and are hard to display.

Also, it's not about how much the missiles cost for one person or one item... it's how much it costs to mass produce 3000 units + engineering the transformation + design work + ect. They have a team to pay who has to feed their family.

If they don't make a profit, they don't keep making Valks. It's just that simple.

When people poo-poo prices on a figure and think a company is being greedy, they are really just justifying not being able to spend the money. The price point is there for a reason.

If you have to save, or if you have the money at any point, it's just about what it's worth to you.

Edited September 24, 2013 by Gakken85

[VF5SS]

(one last thing though....I can't believe some of you are justifying the outrageous mark-up due to things like "missiles" and "the extra pilot figure." Those are teeeeny tiny unarticulated pieces of plastic. They probably cost a fraction of a penny to produce. One more tiny little figure the size of your fingernail can't possibly justify charging $60 more than other releases)

No it really doesn't cost a fraction of a penny to make tiny bits of plastic. It costs however much money you need to buy the steel to cut for the injection molded plastic and then have it cut and then have it tested and retested and then have it approved by someone in charge and then put together and assembled inside a box in China and then shipped to Japan.

And given the sheer number of differences between the previous VF-19 figures and this new YF-19, they probably had to create an entire new set of molds just to make this one toy. I honestly think what we're seeing is a massive shift in the market thanks to a lot of factors outside of Arcadia's control and I understand it's difficult to deal with but for toys of this quality something has to given. Even Hasbro and NECA won't be able to price fix forever.

[VGMStudios]

I am in the boat as you onnasake. I feel the same way. But after reading some of the pays here I can appreciate what they are doing. Doesnt mean I like the price point. Are these going to be a mass production or once they are sold out its gone?

Ill have to save to save big time if I decide to buy this one. But as you said the price point for these high end figures just keep going up. Not sure if I can keep up with it.

[grymg]

I figure after the Arcadia Roy releases in November, I don't have anymore valk purchases until this hits in April. Gives me 6 months to save a bit.

[technoblue]

I missed out on the VF-4G because I was in a situation where couldn't afford this stuff at the time. The YF-19 is one of my favorite designs and so I'm glad my situation is reversed this time around.

You get what you can and when you cannot, you admire the rest from afar.

Welcome to Valkyrie Users Anonymous. It is a mult-step program.

First, there is joy

Next, there is bitterness.

Then, there is fear.

Finally, there is acceptance.

Edited September 24, 2013 by technoblue

[SilentCrossHairs]

I missed out on the VF-4G because I was in a situation where couldn't afford this stuff at the time. The YF-19 is one of my favorite designs and so I'm glad my situation is reversed this time around.

You get what you can and when you cannot, you admire the rest from afar.

Welcome to Valkyrie Users Anonymous. It is a mult-step program.

First, there is joy

Next, there is bitterness.

Then, there is fear.

Finally, there is acceptance.

Yeah what he said..................

[EXO]

I hope it comes with Tenjin Box Art at least... make it pretty Arcadia!

[MacrossJunkie]

I hope it comes with Tenjin Box Art at least... make it pretty Arcadia!

Doesn't that just make it harder to throw out the box if you need to make room?

[Valkyrie addict]

Then I hope it's in a sleeve, keep the sleeve, throw out the box.

[Gakken85]

They should make all collectibles like this:

Give it some bends so you can fold it up into a flat shape for storage, and still keep it mint. I'm kind of amazed no company has figured this out yet. haha

[Matt Random]

A lot of boxes can collapse flat. The problem is the styrofoam or plastic tray.

I just hope it is smaller than the typical Yamato box. I much prefer the Bandai boxes.

[MacrossJunkie]

I'm actually the reverse. I preferred the Yamato ones. I hated the Bandai ones because they come with the styrofoam trays. Both boxes can be folded flat, but with the Bandai ones, it's pointless to since the styrofoam trays can't really be stacked in a way to save some space. With the Yamato plastic trays, you can still kind of stack them on top of each other and compress them so they take up less vertical space.

Edited September 24, 2013 by MacrossJunkie

[mechaninac]

Arcadia is walking a mighty fine line with their pricing strategy: Charge too little and they have to make and sell a lot of units to make a profit, but in doing so run the risk of flooding the market if the item does not prove a hit (VF-22s anyone?) which leads to diminished returns, and antagonizing retailers who later have to discount to move inventory; charge too much and they risk scaring away a sizable portion of their prospective customers, and losing sales due to pricing themselves out of the market, regardless of them being the only game in town. Have they hit the correct price point?... Only time will tell.

For me, the price is a hard one to accept as a consumer... it's a lot of money for a plastic toy! However, not being privy to Arcadia's overhead and target profit margin, I won't try to second guess them, but I will have to think long and hard if the MSRP they've settled on is something I can justify to myself in a world of so many other things that either offer far more bang for the buck, or take priority over frivolous collecting.

[Gakken85]

They could make the plastic trays fold up too. Somehow. haha. You'd think Japan of all nations would have this sorted.

But yeah Bandai knows how to pack a box. The problem with the Yamato is the sheer size. Lots of open space that isn't needed with the valks wings open.

[Sandman]

Sadly i also see myself being priced out of this hobby. I want to keep collecting but it getting harder and harder. At the rate we'll be seeing valks at $400 in the next year or so. I'm cringing on what the rumored v2 vf-0s are going to be priced at. Jeez i remember when valks broke the $200 barrier and thinking that was crazy. I've only been collecting for 5 years. Hate to see what prices are going to be in another 5 years. I wish my wages would increase this fast.

[Mommar]

To be honest I seriously doubt the VF-0 is going to cost what the 19 does. I'd suspect, still very high, somewhere between 22,000 - 25,000 yen. Possibly even less if they won't pack much else in.

[Gakken85]

Keep in mind that HLJ and AA will probably offer them slightly discounted when they first go up too. You could get it for right at 300 before shipping if you keep your eyes open.

[SuperSenpai]

If they figured out a way to make the boxes AND internal plastic trays fold flat, your $350 toy would probably cost $600.

[Valkyrie addict]

shhh!! don't give Arcadia any ideas!

[Chet]

Well I'm out for now. Way out of my price range.

[Loop]

I don't know why, but I am not really shocked at all with the pricing on this one, it's the first release from this mold and Arcadia seems like they want to make money. If they sell a ton of YF19's and do alternate schemes later, I could see the alternates going for less.

They could have made the accessories a separate release, but I think that is a lot harder to account for as far as production numbers go for.

I am pretty sure when the day comes I will add 2x to my cart. We have a bit of time to save our dollars for this release, so we should start saving if we really want it bad enough and don't have a surplus built up for toys.

I also do not really collect any of the non-adult collectibles so I don't see the harm in buying the high end toys. I am really only collecting the Bandai Renewals, All the Yamarcadia's and the Metal Build series from Bandai. I also have the Kaneda and Bike that was released a few years ago. All of these items really have a place in my heart so I buy them especially Macross toys (even the ugly ones lol). I tend to be pretty crazy about completing toy lines, so I limit what I choose to collect.

I am also going through closet hell right now! I have all of the Yamato v2's, the renewals and all the dupes I have of some variants. I already have to play a puzzle game to get to boxes I need to get to lol. Not as bad as that guy on that collectible show that had to play dig dug to get to his items though.

[Archer]

Called this (the price and the flame ). For me, a PS4/new iPad/college textbook/etc. takes precedence over this toy for me, so i'm gonna go fund another order. Have fun to all you guys buying this release, keep Arcadia afloat till that VF-0 drops!

[Mommar]

I don't know why, but I am not really shocked at all with the pricing on this one, it's the first release from this mold and Arcadia seems like they want to make money. If they sell a ton of YF19's and do alternate schemes later, I could see the alternates going for less.

They could have made the accessories a separate release, but I think that is a lot harder to account for as far as production numbers go for.

I am pretty sure when the day comes I will add 2x to my cart. We have a bit of time to save our dollars for this release, so we should start saving if we really want it bad enough and don't have a surplus built up for toys.

I also do not really collect any of the non-adult collectibles so I don't see the harm in buying the high end toys. I am really only collecting the Bandai Renewals, All the Yamarcadia's and the Metal Build series from Bandai. I also have the Kaneda and Bike that was released a few years ago. All of these items really have a place in my heart so I buy them especially Macross toys (even the ugly ones lol). I tend to be pretty crazy about completing toy lines, so I limit what I choose to collect.

I am also going through closet hell right now! I have all of the Yamato v2's, the renewals and all the dupes I have of some variants. I already have to play a puzzle game to get to boxes I need to get to lol. Not as bad as that guy on that collectible show that had to play dig dug to get to his items though.

I'm with you Loop, I only collect Macross toys (Bandai Renewals, and Yamcadia releases) so that frees up a lot of funds for me.

[Benbot]

This is basically my holy grail of Macross merchandise, as it was my love of Macross Plus that got me into it. I'm willing to pay just about any price for this, so ~$300 is a bargain. It's not a plastic toy, it's a piece of art that I'll cherish for a long time.

Edited September 25, 2013 by Benbot