>>10696791I think part of the problem is just the disconnect between what X was worth in say 2002 and what X is worth in 2023, or even 2017 or so. Once the Chinese factory workers rose up and demanded better wages and working conditions and paint app prices soared, it was pretty much going to lead to a massive downfall of the toy industry, either fast or slow.
It ended up being slow and is still ongoing. But I'm not sure how collecting new releases even persisted has long as it has beyond that. The only thing that has kept it afloat was just enough people with high disposable income who were able to justify paying $25 now for what would've been $9 earlier in their lifetime. Force of habit, nostalgia, strong feelings, but not unbreakable.
For a lot of luxury items, that kind of adaptation can't happen and people just stop paying and the market collapses or is forced to change. Now, it's still slowly happening, as the prices rise and paint apps disappear.
What will be the breaking point? Who knows. $30 for a basic figure? McFarlane is already trying to tread that line with his new "collector edition" that is basically only what you would've seen as a normal DC figure with a card stand. Hopefully it doesn't work or else Hasbro will be soon to follow and you'll see Marvel Legends base prices be $30 for a regular character and maybe 2 added accessories if that. And then eventually the number of accessories will drop to just an extra pair of hands and the baf part.
I will assure you though, there's no way for them to lower costs any further short of buying their own factories in Africa and training the staff themselves. And QC would be destroyed for years if they tried. Good cheap luxury products can only be produced on the backs of terrible pay and working conditions for someone. Someone has to lose for someone else to win in business.