FAT WALLET BOYS

[Renato]

Another thing to remember is that the toy price, espiceilly for Macross, is controlled by HK sellers. They know very well that Macross items can not be directly imported into US. Hence, they have advantage against biggest cunsumer mkt.

HK sellers can buy Macross items from gray market for fairly cheap and price it little under what retail yen price is and sell on Ebay and etc. (Of course with inflated shipping cost).

There are few other factors, but it can go on and on.

I am not talking about that. I was referring to the price that Yamato decides on, i.e. before it reaches retailers, much less overseas outlets.

[EXO]

FAT WALLET BOYS...

isn't that a Queen song?  

Yes and no, it's supposed to be "Fat bottomed girls" and the subtitle of this topic is the next line of the lyrics.

crap, that subtitle was making the song play in my head and I didn't even know it... I have no idea what the lyrics are.

[fansubs2000]

I know what you mean, everytime i read this thread that damn queen song is playing in my head!

Haven't heard the song in years, but in my head it's always playing.

[Wabbit]

Just face the fact that Macross is not as big as other series and why you see it in the price of these toys.

For a relatively limited amount of (sold) toys, you have to pay the sculpter, pay for the rights, the molds and other expenses.

It may be more than that, but that's how it is.

[Renato]

Well, I guess at the end of the day we are the buyers and we'll vote with our money.

The Queadluun Rau looks good and all, but I'm sorry, Yamato, there's plenty of other things I can be doing for the extortionate rates you're charging for that thing..

No Queadluun Rau or any more Yamatos for me. Until the VB-6, that is.

[Neova]

you want to hear the saddest thing ever? My wife surprised me on Father's Day (yep my first one, my boy is 3 months old) with a 40 gig IPod, and you know what I thought?  "Man, I could have gotten BOTH Minmay Guard Types customized in 1/48!  Maybe I'll return this Ipod for the cheap version, and still buy a VF-1J 1/48 for customizing into the Paris Moon Minmay..."

Knock some sense into me, folks.  Or am I preaching to the converted?

i'd keep the Ipod hands down.

i mean its your/planets entire music collection ready to go anywhere you go. bring a valk to play with on a road trip/flight is not the same as having some rocking tunes where ever you go, for the rest of your life. 40 gigs, thats how many songs? how many albums?

if you'd like, i literally just got a 1/48 Super 1J hikaru yesterday if you want to trade for the IPOD.

Yep i guess you are right. this thing is holding 1300+ songs of mine so far, and it only used up 2 gigs. what do i do with the rest of the 38 gigs? ugh!

Dude, I'd probably hand over at least 2 of my 1/48's before I let someone touch my 40GB Nomad (like iPod, only bigger and IMHO, better). Seriously, I don't think I could live without it anymore.

Of course I'm currently rocking about 250 albums, 5000 misc songs, and 10 audiobooks on mine. I don't think I could give mine up. Unless of course I upgraded to a 60GB sometime soon.

Of course you're talking to a musician and former music store manager with close 4000 CDs on his shelf. I'm not even going to go into all my old vinyl...

Personally,

I would have gotten the two Minmay Guard Valkyries done. More unique, rare, can appreciate in value but folks are right in that you can't lug you collection of MP3s and other digital media around. I just pop my HD out and sling it around if need be. My cell phone/mp3 player/camera takes care of those little media transportation needs.

All electronic items are commodity items nowadays and are outdated as soon as you get it. There is always something on the horizon every christmas. The same can't be said of Macross toys until recently in the past couple of years. I do hope the trend continues.

[eugimon]

Well, I guess at the end of the day we are the buyers and we'll vote with our money.

The Queadluun Rau looks good and all, but I'm sorry, Yamato, there's plenty of other things I can be doing for the extortionate rates you're charging for that thing..

No Queadluun Rau or any more Yamatos for me. Until the VB-6, that is.

that's what I like to hear, if you don't like it, don't buy it.

[do not disturb]

also, if you think you're buying thes toys as an investment, you're probably kidding yourself...

i couldn't agree more. i get mine to display/play with them. i really don't understand the folks that spend an arm and a leg on a toy, sometimes buying multiples, just so they can stare at them in a box?

well whatever floats your boat i guess. maybe they'll go up in price....like 20 years from now.

[phatslappy]

Not only do I think the prices are too high for toys these days, but I also don't think they are worth it. I find myself losing interest in these toys, so I think the prices are even more outrageous.

[JELEINEN]

Yeah. Bloody Tokyo. Bloody London.

Yeah, but to be fair, only the marginal "otaku" areas are really pumped up in price. I mean, check out the OAVs, they're Y4000 or Y5000 for 30 minutes of crap. DYRL is an unbelievable Y8000!! Meanwhile, regular MAINSTREAM movies will not be more than Y3000, often double-disc and with extras.

I suppose it boils down to the fact that we are dealing in the fanboy zone where people will pay whatever price they're asked, something that wouldn't normally occur in the mainstream.

You could argue that Macross shows its relative unpopularity by its unjustified prices. Slightly more recognisable brands such as TFs and Dragonball toys which are more affordable in contrast.

LDs were always about 7000 yen. Those one episode per disc OVAs got really expensive.

A quick perusal of CD Japan shows that 4000 yen is low average even for main stream films (and CD Japan usually charges at or slightly below MSRP). Not too far off from the prices for anime titles, really. The point is that people are complaining about prices that weren't even set for the economy they're living in.

[CID]

Another thing to remember is that the toy price, espiceilly for Macross, is controlled by HK sellers.  They know very well that Macross items can not be directly imported into US.  Hence, they have advantage against biggest cunsumer mkt. 

HK sellers can buy Macross items from gray market for fairly cheap and price it little under what retail yen price is and sell on Ebay and etc. (Of course with inflated shipping cost). 

There are few other factors, but it can go on and on.

I am not talking about that. I was referring to the price that Yamato decides on, i.e. before it reaches retailers, much less overseas outlets.

Well, the truth is Yamato can set their retail price high as they can (Just like the car manufacturers), it is the distributor that makes the ultimately makes the true cost to consumers.

Overseas???? If you don't know, HK is the area where majority of Macross and other anime toys sold to US. China-HK-US and rest of the world...

If you are going to dicuss about high price set by Yamato, then you have to look at the full spectume of sources, not just Yamato.