Lemme get this straight, they say they had to balloon the price because it's an R rated movie?
Something that's never affected Neca, Hasbro, or any other manufacturer?
I’m afraid so. Hasbro and NECA aren’t making figures based on R-rated DC Comics movies.
Each IP holder gets to make their own rules for action figures, even if they’re dumb or don’t make sense.
I'm guessing they can't sell this at retail the way they can most of their stuff. In particular, note that this set has a gun which DC has otherwise usually told McFarlane they can't do. So McFarlane probably had to do a much lower MOQ to make this set, which is part of the jacked up price.
In a lot of people’s minds, toys are just for kids. And WB has lots of rules in place given that. Plus, have you seen this movie? So I could see them saying, “Okay Todd, we’ll let you make a Joker® toy, but you gotta price it out the wazoo so no kid could ever ever buy it with their allowance.”
What's frustrating is that a bunch of collectors all tripped over each other running to defend Mondo for their $100 Real Ghostbusters figures (meaning $800 for all 8), defending Mondo's pricing as a consequence of "licensor policy", yet when clearly the same thing is happening here, only complaints.
They probably can't sell this at retail like most McFarlane stuff, necessitating a lower MOQ and thus the higher price. DC/WB may also have flat-out policies that certain "mature" stuff has to have a higher price point.
Comments
Something that's never affected Neca, Hasbro, or any other manufacturer?
Each IP holder gets to make their own rules for action figures, even if they’re dumb or don’t make sense.
But if Todd knew that going in, why not add more to the offering?
Design a more fleshed out diorama… Include a studio camera accessory… Something that makes collectors feel better about the price of the package? 🤷♂️