Jumbo alien, jumbo price

[Werewolf]

Wait til they do the Rancor.

Lol, yeah, can't wait for their $1400 Rancor and $600 Tauntaun.

Their price point on the Wampa cost them other sales from me. I cancelled my pre-order of Han Hoth and don't plan on getting any other of the Hoth related figures. Would have been fun to have Hoth Han and Luke standing by the Wampa. But, eh, I can do without at that price.

[samurainoir]

my apologies if my speculation around the boring ins and outs of factory, retail, distribution etc. wanders away from the general "we want cheap toys" chat, but I've always been fascinated about how things work behind the scenes.

How about we carve the turkey up and see how it splits?

Okay, let's say wholesale price from a distributer to retailer is $315-340. Shipping over to their physical brick and mortar store is absorbed into the retail cost of the $450 that the high end customer pays. Do we accuse the brick and mortar comic store owner of being greedy? S/He's been struggling the last few years... rent goes up, they carry a lot of in-store physical inventory. Digital is eating into their market share for individual comic books which only net them a buck or two a pop. I say let them pocket that $100 for their time and effort as small business owners trying to carve out their niche in the shadow of the Big Box retailers.

$315... from there we have the hard costs of manufacturing, and surely we don't begrudge a factory for making a bit of profit and paying their poor workers at least some peanuts right? Albeit in an odd communist way within the glopal capitalist marketplace. Shipping costs across the ocean and then shipping costs to the physical warehouses of the distribution channels. Add the costs of Warehouses and staff. Gentle Giant takes their cut (presumably?) the distributer takes their cut. They both have their overhead as well, unless we assume they have enslaved magical elves to do their bidding. Both Gentle Giant and some distributers have venues to sell direct to consumer as well let's assume. if they are dealing in limited editions of 500 to a few thousand, is that really huge comparative profits when you add it all up? Particularly if you are looking at the costs to grow and expand a company while selling luxury items during difficult economic times?

[Gorn Captain]

and not having any hard facts or real numbers to back up anything I'm saying, I'll be the first to admit that I could be completely wrong with my speculation, and that it's entirely within the realm of possibility that Gentle Giant's owners and staff are in fact laughing their asses off at the folly of collectors, and spending the afternoon swimming around in their giant bin of money.

My inside source told me that GG's CEO is nicknamed Smaug...

I think it's great that we can discuss this, and try to make some sense of the levels of prices that are being applied.
And I do appreciate being kept up to speed regarding new releases, so keep those images coming!

I'll make one more comparison.
A James Bond Astin Martin model is being released as a "build it yourself" package. Each week you get extra "snap fit" parts. The whole thing takes 85 weeks until you have all the parts. In the end you get a two foot long die cast car with all the trimmings, even working parts and lights, that weighs 20 pounds. That thing is massive and huge, and it's absolutely gorgeous in all its minute details.
It does cost you (weekly shipping included) $1500.
While I can't afford this, I do feel that the amount of detail and craftsmanship, the full diecast parts, etc, do justify the cost in this case. It will be the Holy Grail of Bond collectibles, something even people who don't collect toys and models will want to proudly display.
When I compare this with the quality of The Alien, I know where I would spend my money (if I had any)...

[samurainoir]

My inside source told me that GG's CEO is nicknamed Smaug...

[MegoMoe]

So what would an original in good condition, loose go for??? There is an almost mint unopened one on eBay right now that is approaching $800. GG's looks like a really nice piece, but I agree the price is ridiculous.

[mvanis]

Original in good condition, loose, working jaws + includes the dome is ~$250-400 generally. One with even a shoddy box is likely closer to 600, sealed mint box = big money.

[rche]

For fans of jumbo AND glow in the dark.... there is now a 24" gitd Alien as part of Gentle Giant's exclusive offerings for sdcc 2014.

http://www.gentlegiantltd.com/product_p/pgm80442.htm

[drquest]

I like it, but dang the price....

[rche]

I am a big fan of glow, but I am not sure that I am that big of a fan.

[Gorn Captain]

I am a big fan of glow, but I am not sure that I am that big of a fan.

Ideal for dark bedrooms, when you need to go to the toilet...

[cjefferys]

I am a big fan of glow, but I am not sure that I am that big of a fan.

This! A glow in the dark Alien might be $100 maybe $150 cool to me, but certainly not $500 cool!

[megofreak]

Nice form, a little too sterile-looking for me.

[SentientApe]

In space, no one can hear you scream at the utter outrageousness of these prices!

[Gorn Captain]

I'm getting a sharp pain in the chest from these prices...

[drquest]

I'm suffocating from the face hugging I'm getting from that price!