User314 wrote:
> However, China is shipping hundreds of thousand
> of these die cast toys for under $10 at Walmart. I noticed that all
> of the James Bond dies cast collectables are from $15-$35 for
> similar product offerings. Maybe Carlton licenses fees are very
> high for some reason. Wonder what they made on the Corgi licenses
> in the 1970s.
Hi,
One of the main reasons these are more expensive is that they are not
being produced in the hundreds of thousands of pieces - the total run on
the UFO diecasts will probably amount to 10,000 pieces for each model.
Tooling for diecast models is pretty expensive, even in China - the cost
of the molds/tools has to be amortized over the total expected
production run. After the diecast parts are de-molded, they have to be
cleaned up, assembled and painted, then packaged (with all the costs
that entails - the PE boxes are nicely illustrated, and that costs
something as well), boxed into master cases and shipped from China.
Shipping is fairly expensive, even on a slow boat in a cargo container
when you're shipping only 10,000 pieces.
The manufacturer has to discount the price substantially to his
distributors, who also need to make some money on the items. The
specialty retailers (Wal Mart is never going to sell UFO diecasts) then
mark the piece up to the Manufacturer's suggested retail price, or in
some cases slightly less (or more).
All of the diecasts you mention above are smaller than the Product
Enterprise diecasts, by the way - Corgi's suggested retail on the FAB 1
is $39.95 and it's about 6 inches long. It's also aimed at specialty
retailers and not the mass market, unlike the Batmobiles Corgi is doing
at the moment.
> I guess another issue I have is that have kids, so as soon as they
> see these items, box goes in the garbage and all bets are off. I
> would not mind as much if these items were priced about US$39 or
> so. Anyone have a view?
These items are not manufactured for kids, they are models for adult
collectors. If you think *this* hobby is expensive, you should get into
Radio Controlled airplanes - talk about a money pit!
I know you weren't complaining about the prices, just looking for info -
truthfully, the Product Enterprise diecasts are a tremendous value for
Anderson collectors. They are certainly more accurate and detailed than
the Dinky toys, and even most of the model kits that have been released
over the years.
Are they pricier than we'd all like them to be? Sure. Are they worth it?
You bet.
Anthony Taylor
http://fabgearusa.com
Locked
