Quote:
Originally Posted by 79transam
I talk to some blokes from Australia quite regularly as well as the UK and they both seem to eminate the same tune as we do in Canada, that comparatively to the US, it's becoming increasingly expensive to play in this hobby.
It's been said that Japan is the driver in this field, yet it seems (at least to me) that the greenback is the financial model. I can't help but feel like the high prices the rest of the world pays (exchange rates aside, I mean hours worked per purchase) is essentially subsidizing the US buyers to get a better deal on goods.
I get frustrated when I see US collectors pay half a months rent for something like Toyworld devastator and it would cost me a full months rent. Seeing this is definitely playing a role in my forward collection thinking.
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Yeah I can see that side of it as well.
I will put forward another couple of "theories".
I think Transformers are now starting to get to the point of Star Wars. So much product, over so many lines, over so many decades, is leading to buyer fatigue. Much like with Star Wars, how many times can you buy essentially the same figure/character? I know that is part of my thought process more and more. As well, unless you have unlimited resources (money/space) the brand has long since left most of us behind in terms of how much product we can realistically buy.
Another aspect that is fairly unique to Transformers (though not exclusive) is third parties. I'm not talking about ko's, but rather the companies eating up a piece of the pie from Hasbro/Takara. Not only do we have to decide on official product, but we also get stretched by unofficial 3P product.
Finally, age is a factor. I'm in my 40's with a family, and while we are well off, I imagine many others are in the same boat. Meaning that time to dedicate to this hobby is getting smaller and smaller.
Basically my long rambling point is that many factors appear to be creating headwinds for collectors in our hobby. Granted I'm making some generalizations here, but from what most people have posted in this thread these are some of the assumptions I'm making.