>>10178152Go ask Paul Harding why, because no one here will ever know.
Simplest answer is simply: limited spots for exclusive contracts. There's tons of sculptors out there and only so many positions open at toy companies, because they have lifelong employees.
IF you go by his interviews, he seems most proud of his work with DC, so they might have the higher paying jobs. This also seems to be true for Dave Cortez.
Likeliest answer is that you can get paid more through contract work, which is a constant with most artistic jobs. Only Hollywood and the video game industry can offer better pay and stability, but even here, there's limited amount of positions and most spots offer shit pay.
>>10178198Japanese companies in general pay their employees less than the US.
Makes you wonder where your money really goes when paying 2-4x more for collector toys from Japan.