The quality of JLU is terrible!!!, only 3 molds to all the characters and all of them are done with cheap plastic that causes weak ankles and all the Super power figures had more points of articulation than JLU figures, JLU is a good example of a overpriced line

We can charge that much because people don’t know any better. If our product had a bigger label slapped on it (made by the same factory mind you) we could sell it for hundreds more.

I’ll buy MOTUC, 12 inch Hot Toys, POC GI Joes, and MS like the new Juggernaut all day long. Not inluding POC, these are all higher priced toy items in our little corner of the world. I’ll pay more because these items are great…make more great items and I’ll pay even more.

So, yes, there are factors that add to increased costs, but from a purely technological point of view, the whole manufacturing process probably costs Habro, et al. about one tenth today that it did in the 80s. So if the increased costs are reflected in price, so should the decreased costs.

The other side of the volume argument is the second factor. As Antonio mentioned there are far more retailers now than in the 80′s, so while each Walmart may only have 5 pegs of Joes, there are nearly 3700 Walmarts (discount stores, supercenters and neighborhood markets) in the US alone and 8500 world-wide: that’s a lot of peg hooks. Also, volume is not just on individual units, but the brand as a whole. We saw more Joe figures in the first full year of the 25th Anniversary than in almost the entire ARAH run.

Lastly, retailers are not in the business of losing money and they do not run these clearance sales just for the fun of it. The fact that TRU/Target/Walmart can regularly run sales at six bucks a figure means they are still making money at that price. Maybe not a lot, but they are. In the end, these price-hikes are not Hasbro’s fault. They’ve been paid by their retailers and that’s where their responsibility ends. The unfortunate reality comes when the big three all opt to double their prices on items and then base a line’s success on whether or not people will still pay the inflated prices.

And here’s something else everyone’s forgetting: the sculpting going into these new toys.

Face it, these days we get spoiled with sculpts for action figures that we’d be LUCKY to get 20-30 years ago. Hiring sculptors who do that kind of work COSTS MONEY.

As the Joker said it best in the Dark Knight “when you’re good at something, you DON’T do it for free”.

Another thing to consider is that back in the day, a lot of the toys released were unlicensed brands made BY the toy company. Today, unless it’s licensed, it doesn’t sell; and guess what? Licenses COST MONEY ‘:B-)

I think the bottom line is this — what does an action figure really cost to make? What do the raw materials cost? I’ve heard it said that a G.I. Joe figure from the 1980′s cost about 10-25 cents in raw materials. Let’s say that’s fifty cents now — generously. I realize that workers have to be paid and that the figures need to be transported, but let’s also remember that none of the toy companies are selling TO US — they’re selling their product first and foremost TO RETAILERS — to Target, to Walmart, to Toys “R” Us — and there’s so way the toy companies are charging the retailers anywhere near what we’re paying for them at the end.

Granted, we are at the end of a long chain of production, shipping, distribution, whatever. I still say we’re paying plenty, and there’s no way I would find paying more the least bit agreeable, even if by somebody’s twisted math it’s what “should” be the case.

Until we know all of these factors, many of which would never be released to the public, we can’t truly accurately predict what a figure “should” cost. But yes, I do agree that we’re ultimately spoiled with our sense of entitlement for buying non-essential goods.

When Mattel sells their crap (and they are crap because the QC is horrible, thank for al all those figures with stuck joints and two right arms!) for $16. I’m only buying 1-2 figures in a wave, period. If they realize that by lowing them to a more reasonable $13 then I’d probably buy 2-4 figures per wave or the entire set.

Bottom line, it’s still corporate greed and it’s not worth defending.

BUT.

What we perceive as the value of something is the only reason it even has a cost at all. The bottom line is that a product can only sell for what the market will bare. Wally World is smart for controlling the prices as you say they have. This is especially true in times likes these when “soccer moms” are deciding to buy a toy for Johnny or food for him to eat.

And JLU should not cost $10 per figure! You can’t compare them to Super Powers. Super Powers cost more to produce per figure because each had a unique sculpt and action feature. JLU often require one or two pieces of tooling on average and has LESS articulation. They are glorified McDonalds toys. The most they should sell for is $7. I still think the $5 price point is great for impulse purchases.

if you are suggesting that we are actually paying less than we should for toys taking into account factors like inflation, increased oil prices and manufacturing costs as well as shipping costs, the question is WHY aren’t we paying more? somewhere in this equation, something must also be good for the toy companies or they wouldn’t bother to keep making toys or they would charge more for them.