Excitement then disappointment (1 Viewer)

[HAWKEYE]

I was so excited to see the french horse grenidiers come out. I have been clamoring for them for a couple of years. And they look great. I am not one to start a lot of threads but i am bummed out. I just saw the price of them. My god, $109 to $115 a piece. Is this a joke or am i dreaming. This isn't the secondary market where one is trying to pick up something retired. Andy and kc, you have to wake up. Too much is too much and this is too much. Sorry to be negative. Sorry if i have offended anyone but this is very didappointing to me

 

[larso]

I've been really looking forward to these too but my concern was more with the poses. I'm in a position where I can only get a few figures a month, so I buy very selectively and focus on a limited number of ranges. I've been picking the best 3 or 4 of each regiment and satisfying myself that these can represent the whole unit - as part of a larger dio. As such I'll only be getting three of the Grenadiers. I had been hoping for a charging group but I've decided they'll look ok as a second line/wave a bit behind my curraisairs. But while I can manage with it, I've been discussing the price with others and it is certainly daunting in terms of getting the lot. The thing I suppose to remember is that they'll be available for a few years and you can spread out getting them over quite a time. The real problem with the price rises we are seeing everywhere is that many collectors will be forced to focus on fewer ranges and fewer figs in each one. Or as I am seeing, shift across to the less expensive manufacterers.....

 

[waynepoo]

If you can find anything in this world that has not gone up in price good luck, it is just a case of buy it or not, of course we would want everything to be cheaper but alas that is not going to happen.
Wayne.

 

[uksubs]

If you can find anything in this world that has not gone up in price good luck, it is just a case of buy it or not, of course we would want everything to be cheaper but alas that is not going to happen.
Wayne.

You make some goods points but just think in general the hobby very expensive now

 

[Mitch]

I don't think anyone minds price increases (not in the sense that we like them or, praise them that would be bizarre!!!) as, its part of what you kind of expect. I think when people have raised it on here purely in terms of the hobbies products as anything else really does not compare they see prices going up month after month. They begin to ask is metal, freight, Chinese labour etc rising every month? That's what seems to be the main question raised on here from a variety of members.
Mitch

 

[Isandlwana]

Before this thread becomes a battleground, as are so many that involve the words 'price' and 'increase', it does create a culture ot elitism. Those that have disposable income to set aflame cannot fully understand the plight of the less affluent collector and this can sometimes be misinterpreted by some as arrogance, at least I hope it is being misinterpreted.

I would make the assumption that for many there is a particular period that interests them. Therefore if a company like K&C are the only ones making a range that interests them and the collector is being priced out of the market, then to whom should they turn? Is it just a case of doing nothing and losing your target market?

Is it acceptable to be coursing inexorably towards paying Russian prices for Hong Kong figures?

I'm rambling, I don't know what the answer is.

 

[Alex]

My point on this issue is
1) collectors will have no choice than reduce the number of figures that they will buy. And, at the same time, focus on better quality, even though they will have to pay a little bit more in doing so. SO that's where a mainstream manuf like KC may suffer in the long run.
2) many collectors of the past will stop collecting and toy soldiers will only be bought by the richest of our society.... Like it was decades and centuries ago before the arrival of made in china products.

i don't think that 100-125$ for a mounted figure is too much for a figure. i usually pay 3-4 times this amount for other mounted figures from another company. It's all about the perceived value of what you get for your money.

Alex

 

[HAWKEYE]

If you can find anything in this world that has not gone up in price good luck, it is just a case of buy it or not, of course we would want everything to be cheaper but alas that is not going to happen.
Wayne.

my salary

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

I've been priced out of K&C products for a while now. In the last batch of releases, I will only get the Custer figure.

My take on the price increases is that the collector base is shrinking and therefore, the manufacturers are feeling out different methods to keep a certain level of profit margin to keep the business going. There are still collectors with the resources to pay these prices and they have become the target audience. Everyone else, will need to look for alternative companies that still maintain affordable prices for metal figures, glossies, smaller scales or plastics. The other option is to be very selective in your purchases or move onto another hobby which is less expensive. So much for the "Golden Age" of toy soldier collecting... {eek3}

 

[PanzerAce1944]

I can understand the point made about prices going up and making some feel like they are being pushed out for
Cost reasons. From the beginning though this hobby represented those with spare funds/disposable income to
Purchase these figures and vehicles to add to their collections.Many choose to add to their collection versus putting
That same spare money in the bank,as I choose to do myself. When I look at my own collection proudly displayed
In full view at home It gives me a proud reminder of why I work 5 days a week. !
When a visitor comes over and sees my miniature WWII collection and casually asks what all of this costs and I tell them I could buy a new car with those same funds, they stand in awe, and respect for their quality,workmanship.
To top it all off I explain I would rather have my TS collection more than anything else. !

 

[Isandlwana]

It's all relative really. The original post legitimately bemoans the $109 dollar tag but if you want to acquire it here in the UK, it would set you back $171. I can only dream about the prices you pay in the US!

 

[Mitch]

Iam not sure at all how much the artwork on the boxes costs per year for manufacturers but, as a way to at least cut costs why not just make plain boxes white cardboard nothing fancy? If it reduced the prices a little surely it would be better for all concerned. I mean they are nice but, they just get thrown in the loft or cellar or, recycled

Just a thought. Anyone think it would work?
Mitch

 

[uksubs]

Iam not sure at all how much the artwork on the boxes costs per year for manufacturers but, as a way to at least cut costs why not just make plain boxes white cardboard nothing fancy? If it reduced the prices a little surely it would be better for all concerned. I mean they are nice but, they just get thrown in the loft or cellar or, recycled

Just a thought. Anyone think it would work?
Mitch

Think it a great idea Mitch but can't see it happing

 

[nysoldiers]

I am becoming more selective with K&C, they have gone from about 75% of my hobby spending to less than 30%.
For Napoleonics specifically I am trying out Kronprinz, TCS and TG in matte style and going back to glossy with Little Legion and ATS.
I still think that $35 for infantry and $75 for cavalry is my upper limit......The exception would be for FL figures which are higher quality and more art than "toy soldier".
Ultimately the market will set the pricing and many collectors will either scale down their buying, find alternatives, paint their own or just switch to another hobby.

 

[Isandlwana]

Iam not sure at all how much the artwork on the boxes costs per year for manufacturers but, as a way to at least cut costs why not just make plain boxes white cardboard nothing fancy? If it reduced the prices a little surely it would be better for all concerned. I mean they are nice but, they just get thrown in the loft or cellar or, recycled

Just a thought. Anyone think it would work?
Mitch

I bought an item from an up and coming manufacturer in the US two weeks ago and it came through in a plain white box. I was exceptionally happy with the item and indeed felt that I got fantastic value. Was I disappointed that the packaging was non-descript? Not one bit. I don't put the box on display. I'm with your suggestion 100%.

It seems to me that packaging really only assists the secondary market. It's for the speculator. For those that never remove them.

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

I am becoming more selective with K&C, they have gone from about 75% of my hobby spending to less than 30%.
For Napoleonics specifically I am trying out Kronprinz, TCS and TG in matte style and going back to glossy with Little Legion and ATS.
I still think that $35 for infantry and $75 for cavalry is my upper limit......The exception would be for FL figures which are higher quality and more art than "toy soldier".
Ultimately the market will set the pricing and many collectors will either scale down their buying, find alternatives, paint their own or just switch to another hobby.

My K&C purchases are down to a select figure here and there in the ranges that I have with K&C. I think I purchased only 5 figures from them in the last year. My upper limit was $30 for a foot figure and $65 for mounted during the days that I was purchasing a lot more of them. Now we are way passed that pricing range and it is getting worse with each passing release! Yes, the market will ultimately set the correct pricing and the number of people that will continue collecting or switching to alternatives of various kinds...

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

I bought an item from an up and coming manufacturer in the US two weeks ago and it came through in a plain white box. I was exceptionally happy with the item and indeed felt that I got fantastic value. Was I disappointed that the packaging was non-descript? Not one bit. I don't put the box on display. I'm with your suggestion 100%.

It seems to me that packaging really only assists the secondary market. It's for the speculator. For those that never remove them.

That is one good idea and I also, agree 100%. Anything that would prevent costs from rising would help however, not sure if this is going to bring down prices much... More creative/practical measures will be needed.

For me the only thing that might be a nice to have on a box cover is the company name and a stock number for the figure which matches that found underneath the base of the actual figure.

 

[uksubs]

I bought an item from an up and coming manufacturer in the US two weeks ago and it came through in a plain white box. I was exceptionally happy with the item and indeed felt that I got fantastic value. Was I disappointed that the packaging was non-descript? Not one bit. I don't put the box on display. I'm with your suggestion 100%.

It seems to me that packaging really only assists the secondary market. It's for the speculator. For those that never remove them.

Problem with buying from the USA is the import tax , just got stopped for £70.00

 

[dspurlock]

Being a new collector since this past July, I have observed prices moving north in the short time I’ve been collecting. I have also heard all the arguments about higher material costs, higher labor rates and K&C’s motive to make a profit. The last comment I have to assume to be true, after all they are in this to make money, if they aren’t, wouldn’t they be communist? But the higher cost of K&C products will definitely change the amount of figures I will purchase and different ranges I plan to collect.

Since I started collecting toy soldiers these past few months, I’m been focusing on Berlin 38 range (I hope to be able to share some pictures in a month or so.) where the majority of figures are in the $29-$35 dollar range. There is no way I would be able to afford starting a large parade setting today with figures costing $45-$49, so it looks like I will not be doing anymore parade settings from K&C.

After finishing my Berlin range, I was thinking about collects Naps- but now its probably not going to happen. When a horse mounted figure cost $79, it was a little steep to deal with, but doable. At $109-$115, there will be no large calvary charges for me, nor will there be any large force repelling them either.

People talk about elitism, driving away existing/new collectors, etc. I don’t know or care about any of that, all I know these price increases have changed how I will collect K&C toy solders. I can only assume other collectors have also changed their collecting habits.

 

[cnq]

I've changed my collection direction and have not bought any items from K&C for over a year now. I only collect ww2 theater and still like K&C figures but not at the present price these figures are selling for. Now I ONLY buy items that I really like from a certain manufacturer. Now if that means I will never complete my collection so be it. My salary has not increased for the past two years yet these 'toy solders" keep increasing in price every month and with the same/less quality than before {eek3} .