Prices?

[OHWceta]

I'm just curious.

Why are Shinki prices so harsh on wallets? I mean I've gotten figures just as well articulated for 20$
And even characters with interchangable armor for 10$ I can't get anything under 30$. Is it because they jack up the prices when sold to the U.S. Market? or is this part of the cost for the game? (since the game is free, it is kinda like buying downloadable content WITH a figure I guess, or is it just plastic costs?)

Is it just me, or does anyone else think prices are kinda high?

[Xehn]

Welcome to the world of quality Japanese toys, man. >.> And no, Japan pays the same prices we do.

[Chalkred]

With some hunting you may find lower prices on this or that model- I do however, agree that of late they've actually been raising? (increasing demand?)
(Amiami for one, signif. raised their fees, from a time they all trew em at 1500'ish yen each.)
Ebay's nuts high of late, and most other online stores today sell em for about the same- and sure plus the shipping costs it gets hefty.

I have a regular bis on the way- oddly i didnt expect to pay up what i did. even in SAL (was out of stock everywhere-weird.) most costly one yet (as i go).
And unless i may afford MK2's ,or few repaints in a distant future; a reg werks, a reg valona, a reg tranche and a reg bis sums up something close to a "collection" to me. Im done with it : )

[Hylian Pirate]

[...]Japan pays the same prices we do.

You know, minus overseas shipping charges... Yes, the newer sets are more expensive, but it seems they're also coming with more stuff. Even Light Armors are more heavily armed than the first few sets. (That is to say, Kohiru and Merienda come with more stuff than, say, Bright Feather and Harmony Grace.) And if Sharatang and Razz are any indication, new Shinki sets are taking the "gimmick" approach with features like LEDs and such. The electronics definitely drive up the overall costs.

On average, Japanese figures cost more than North American ones. There are more paint apps, - and the paint is higher quality - the sculpting is generally more detailed, and there's more production put into packaging. Yes, Busou Shinki and other lines (i.e.: Revoltech, Figma, Gundam, etc.) will put a dent in your wallet and savings account, but you really do get what you pay for.

[Benio]

...I do however, agree that of late they've actually been raising? (increasing demand?)
(Amiami for one, signif. raised their fees, from a time they all trew em at 1500'ish yen each.)
Ebay's nuts high of late, and most other online stores today sell em for about the same- and sure plus the shipping costs it gets hefty.

It is pretty much supply and demand plus a renewed interest in Busou Shinki since Konami is finally releasing new figures after about a year "off".
For Amiami, about six months ago, they had almost every one of the figures in stock and for ridiculously low prices too. Then either in Jan or Feb of this year, they were completely out of the older figures and only had pre-orders up. That lasted for about a month. Add to that the renewed interest of Busou Shinki because of the new figures coming out this year. My thinking is that the supply for the older figures has dwindled plus renewed interest in the toyline has created the higher prices.

As to why Japanese figures are generally more expensive than US figures is because Japanese toys are produced in smaller quantities than American ones and Japanese collectors demand a higher overall quality on the items they purchase.

[OHWceta]

On Quality I noticed.
I picked up a new Iron Man 2 Figure today (6-inch)
They packaged it with a messed up leg joint (fortunately it wasn't too bad, just twisted all wrong, took me 30 minutes to get the leg moving right)

And the Takara Transformers are SO much better painted than the Hasbro Versions. (Hasbro is notorious for bad painting)

[pyroko]

And the Takara Transformers are SO much better painted than the Hasbro Versions. (Hasbro is notorious for bad painting)

personally i think that Takara uses way too much chrome and shiny metallic paint apps. the new TFA toys are a perfect example of this.

[Polenicus]

And the Takara Transformers are SO much better painted than the Hasbro Versions. (Hasbro is notorious for bad painting)

personally i think that Takara uses way too much chrome and shiny metallic paint apps. the new TFA toys are a perfect example of this.

That's more of an issue of aesthetics than quality.

Used to be Takara beat Hasbro easily on both counts. Take Armada for instance... the faction symbols weren't even painted properly, they were just covered with a blob of red or purple paint. Corners were cut so hard squares became circles.

Over time, though, the gap closed, and the differences became more about aesthetics. In some cases, the Hasbro versions were even superior. This hit it's zenith with Classics 1.0, where we got a whole line that Japan had never even SEEN, that was made pretty much entirely to make the fans happy, and because they could. We also got stuff like the Premium releases of movie figures. Not all were winners, but some of them were really really worthwhile.

And then Animated came out. Engineering and design took another leap forward, and QC went down the toilet. Plastic quality degraded, and paint apps got terribly sloppy.

However, the aesthetic differences remain. NA releases tend towards flatter, more consistent colors and finishes, with a tendency towards 'dirt' and 'battle damage' type decos. Japanese decos are almost universally clean (Assuming that if fans want battle damage or dirt decos, they can add them themselves) and a lot more shiny stuff, chrome, and bright colors, which results in some inconsistency with areas of flat grey or black plastic. Ever since Henkei (The Japanese release of Classics 1.0... a few years after we got them) Takara seems to have been absolutely GONZO for chrome, insisting on cramming it in SOMEWHERE on the figure, even if it doesn't make sense.

[halconfenix]

... Takara seems to have been absolutely GONZO for chrome, insisting on cramming it in SOMEWHERE on the figure, even if it doesn't make sense.

*stares at his takara animated Starscream* yep... shiny indeed

but comparing takara to hasbro is almost like comparing both sides of the same coin.... sorta

now if we are talking about konami, bandai, max factory, kotobukiya, or even kaiyodo.... i mean, some or their toys and model kits are expensive, and some others are not exactly perfect.... but overall its better than most american toys, something really worth wasting money for!

[Caterwaul]

To be fair, a lot of those toys and model kits, while definitely of high quality, are made for adult collectors. Completely different audience and concerns then a Transformer, which is meant for kids. They need to be durable and stand up to wear and tear that a kid would put them through.