I thought I'd throw my .02 cents into this, speaking from the other side of the fence, ie, as a dealer for 26 or so years.
Some good points have already been made, but for what it's worth; yes, the prices on toy soldiers and just about everything else has gone up.
That said, so has the quality of toy soldiers; both the sculpts, paint jobs and packaging, something you can't say about the price increases on many other things.
Has the market/collector base shrunk over the years? Hard to really say; if you base it on this forum participation, there are many members who used to post here and no longer do, have they dropped out of the hobby? Also, pre COVID, the attendance was dropping at all the toy soldier shows I attended.
However; speaking only for myself, sales are still strong, last year despite COVID and all the challenges presented, I did very, very well, 2021 is starting off very strong, just had my best January in over 10 years, February is very strong as well about halfway through.
There are a number of other platforms out there; Facebook, Pinterest, Ebay, Etsy, etc, etc, that are all strong and robust, participation on some of the Facebook Toy Soldier/Modelling/Military Miniatures/Wargaming pages I am on is very strong.
The average cost of a figure today is about 45.00 give or take, some are less in the 40.00 to 43.00 range, others are more in the 47.00 to 49.00 range.
All I can say is if toy soldiers were sitting on manufacturer and retailer shelves collecting dust, the prices would obviously come down, but they are not.
That said, First Legion has been running a sale for close to a year, many bargains to be had, plus K & C reduces the prices on end of run figures as well.
The monthly releases from TGM and JJD get gobbled up month after month and production runs sell out quickly; again, if toy soldiers were overpriced, that would not be happening.
For the most part, again speaking only for myself, my customer base has absorbed any price increases and my long time, loyal customers keep buying month after month after month.
If W. Britain figures are being blown out on Ebay at 25% off as mentioned, that is on whatever dealer is doing it, if they are having trouble moving product, then order less, problem solved.
As consumers, everyone has the right to buy what they want when they want based on what they can afford. Many of my customers have a strict "toy soldier budget", many others do not, it is all up to each person.
If there are those who are fed up with price increases and "buy less/cut back/reduce the number of figures I am buying" then good for you, if you can only afford to spend "X" amount each month on toy soldiers and prices go up, then naturally you are going to buy less soldiers, but you are still spending the same amount of money; the only thing that changes is the number of figures you buy, not the amount you spend.
If the price of gas goes up, I don't drive less, I spend more at the pump; if the price of groceries goes up, I don't eat less, I pay more at the store.
Toy soldiers is totally different; it's a luxury, not a necessity. If the prices go up and you can only afford to spend "X" each month, you're still going to spend "X", but instead of 10 figures a month added to your collection, now there are 7 or 8.
I don't have a "toy soldier" budget; I buy what I want when I want, I love the hobby, love to collect and display, I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, I'm not going to deprive myself of something I enjoy. Prices for 20mm figures has gone up as well (as many of you know, that is what I collect), but that has not stopped me from collecting.
In the end, everyone is free to make their own choices based on their disposable income.
