Then, companies went bonkers about the cost of oil, which somehow effects toy production?
Much of our plastic is derived from petroleum, so the cost of oil directly effects the production costs for anything made of plastic - in addition to the increase in secondary costs for transportation, etc. There ARE plastics based on cellulose which have grown in popularity and are used now for a lot of packaging materials - but I think the figures themselves may still be reliant on petroleum based plastic.
The price of labor to manufacture these things also looks very different today than it did 20 or 30 years ago. And that's not a bad thing.
Yes, companies used to offload manufacturing to places like China because it was significantly cheaper than doing it in America (I was just watching the Blackberry movie and this comes up several times). But wages there have risen since then, so the gap isn’t as large as it was in the 90s and early 2000s.
The value of money is always decreasing as years go by, though the price of oil today compared with what it was in 2005 or so barely accounts for anything in regards to a Marvel Legends figure. If that were the only factor, an 8 dollar figure in 2005 wouldn't be much more than 10 bucks today. As others have pointed out, there's a myriad of factors at work, but I think the bottom-line is that Hasbro is a publicly traded company that seeks to always be returning a greater profit to its shareholders each year than it did the last. The action figure market, aside from a few blips here and there like we saw with the COVID lockdowns, isn't one that's experiencing much growth so when a company can't convince more people to buy toys it has to either cut costs or raise prices. Hasbro has done both in recent years. It would be nice if it could operate more like a boutique toy designer, one that is committed to making the very best product at an affordable price that returns a profit, but that just isn't going to happen. For us olds, we at least have stories of the good old days of the excitement of coming upon a fresh case on the pegs of a local TRU and the dilemma of choosing between a new video game or an entire wave of Legends.
But the fact is there's no other toy company that could a) afford the licenes and b) distribute it worldwide - except (arguably, Mattel) but they're broke and after what they did with DC, I wouldn't trust them to handle Marvel.
Mattel's Masterverse line is rather well done. In some ways even better than ML. Mattel at least figured out how to make functional thoracic articulation, which seems beyond a lot of toy manufacturers. So while I wouldn't want to start over with a Marvel line, I think a line of Marvel figures done to the Masterverse line standards would be rather cool. Masterverse are 7", so it would fill a different niche.
But Marvel and Hasbro aren't going to stop doing business anytime soon. This "fear" pops up almost every time the license is expiring.
And yes, licensing fees and two large companies wanting to please their shareholders by maximizing profits while cutting costs are why ML prices are where they're at.
The value of money is always decreasing as years go by, though the price of oil today compared with what it was in 2005 or so barely accounts for anything in regards to a Marvel Legends figure. If that were the only factor, an 8 dollar figure in 2005 wouldn't be much more than 10 bucks today. As others have pointed out, there's a myriad of factors at work, but I think the bottom-line is that Hasbro is a publicly traded company that seeks to always be returning a greater profit to its shareholders each year than it did the last. The action figure market, aside from a few blips here and there like we saw with the COVID lockdowns, isn't one that's experiencing much growth so when a company can't convince more people to buy toys it has to either cut costs or raise prices. Hasbro has done both in recent years. It would be nice if it could operate more like a boutique toy designer, one that is committed to making the very best product at an affordable price that returns a profit, but that just isn't going to happen. For us olds, we at least have stories of the good old days of the excitement of coming upon a fresh case on the pegs of a local TRU and the dilemma of choosing between a new video game or an entire wave of Legends.
Legends, you can always bootleg a video game. 😉
I remember when Hasbro first took over Marvel Legends and they went up from $6.99 to $9.99, I almost quit collecting. I was like "That's insane! I'm not paying that!". Now when I get a figure for $19.99, I'm like "Wow! What a great price!"
My how times have changed.
But the fact is there's no other toy company that could a) afford the licenes and b) distribute it worldwide - except (arguably, Mattel) but they're broke and after what they did with DC, I wouldn't trust them to handle Marvel.
Mattel's Masterverse line is rather well done. In some ways even better than ML. Mattel at least figured out how to make functional thoracic articulation, which seems beyond a lot of toy manufacturers. So while I wouldn't want to start over with a Marvel line, I think a line of Marvel figures done to the Masterverse line standards would be rather cool. Masterverse are 7", so it would fill a different niche.
But Marvel and Hasbro aren't going to stop doing business anytime soon. This "fear" pops up almost every time the license is expiring.
And yes, licensing fees and two large companies wanting to please their shareholders by maximizing profits while cutting costs are why ML prices are where they're at.
Sure, Masterverse is well done. But that's a Mattel property so they don't have to pay a license. If they were paying a license the product would likely be either a) less well done (more limited articulation, fewer dedicated sculpts, less deco) or b) more expensive.
Mattel had a directive a few years ago to milk all their owned properties while they built up cash. Thdey'd just lost out on the Marvel (and maybe Star Wars) licenses to Hasbro (again, although thsi was the first time I think Mattel was really serious about chasing them). Then they had the movie of the year and blew it by not having product available. They just don't have their act together. And again, look at how they fumbled the DC line.
Ironically, Hasbro has had the reverse problem - they get the product into stores and then Marvel changes release dates of tie-in films / cartoons, and the stuff goes to clearance. Also, Disney's "puts", ie figures they insist be made to capitalize on their movie / tv programming are often unsaleable characters. For example, I love Owen Wilson in Loki, but c'mon, that's not a mass-market figure, even as an exclusive.
Sure, Masterverse is well done. But that's a Mattel property so they don't have to pay a license. If they were paying a license the product would likely be either a) less well done (more limited articulation, fewer dedicated sculpts, less deco) or b) more expensive.
How much does a licensing fee for Marvel set Hasbro back?
How much does it set back Diamond Select Toys? They too make Marvel figures. In fact, they make Marvel figures bigger, with more paint, with dedicated sculpt, with decent accessories and articulation. For a couple of dollars more than Hasbro. I can't be the only one that looks at a DTS gladiator Hulk or a Beta Ray Bill or an Apocalypse for $30 and a Hasbro buck on it 300th reuse with no accessories and no paint for $26 and wonder what the heck is going on.
I get licensing fees and shareholders exist. But they're used as scape goats for "charge whatever and get away with it" practices a lot of the time.
I don't know that licensing fees and shareholders are scapegoats so much as the reality of the situation. The general sentiment here seems to be that Hasbro's re-use is fine when it's appropriate for the character. I think we can all agree that the value varies by figure. It depends on the base body, whether it not the figure includes a BAF part, and the number of accessories.
Diamond's deal with Marvel/Disney is much different, too. They can only make so many figures per year (nine IIRC), and there are rumors that they have articulation limitations.
I remember when Hasbro first took over Marvel Legends and they went up from $6.99 to $9.99, I almost quit collecting. I was like "That's insane! I'm not paying that!". Now when I get a figure for $19.99, I'm like "Wow! What a great price!"
My how times have changed.
The one consistent thing about this place is sticker shock!
How much does a licensing fee for Marvel set Hasbro back?
It is a sizeable number for sure - as Hasbro has the master license for retail Marvel toys along a variety of sizes and form factors. I promise you it is not insignificant. That $3 price increase immediately when toys moved from Toy Biz (no licensing fee) to Hasbro was mostly due to the licensing costs
How much does it set back Diamond Select Toys? They too make Marvel figures.
There are a ton of factors that make the Diamond Select license agreement different than Hasbro's. Diamond's license is also for a number of items including mini-mates, Select figures, busts and statues. Diamond has also been the primary distributor for Marvel Comics to the direct market for the last two decades. Origiinally the Select line was a partnership between Toy Biz and Diamond to give comic shops their own line of figures not sold at toy stores and department stores. Originally the agreement for Select toys was only Ultimates and Marvel Knights characters. Development and production was actually handled by Toy Biz and Diamond was only responsible for distribution. Once Toy Biz folded Diamond took over production of the select line but the agreement has been continued with only slight modifications to allow access to the entire marvel library.
But as has been indicated the agreement for Diamond to make figures limits them to just 9 figures a year. So it's a vastly different product for a vastly different market and is not apples to apples with the Hasbro deal AT ALL.
Plus, is Diamond a publicly-traded company answering to shareholders?
Sure, Masterverse is well done. But that's a Mattel property so they don't have to pay a license. If they were paying a license the product would likely be either a) less well done (more limited articulation, fewer dedicated sculpts, less deco) or b) more expensive.
Yeah, a more fair comparison to masterverse would be GI Joe Classified, and I think Hasbro takes the win on that one.
Yeah... that's the thing. G.I. Joe Classified is a better product right now than Marvel Legends - same size figures basically and at the same price point, but because Hasbro isn't paying a license fee to another entity that budget goes a little farther per figure than with Legends
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