>>6640461>It's only in the past year or two where I buy shit full price then see it on discount a few months or so later.I'd say from 2015 on.
The Hasbro embargo is doing all kinds of stupid to domestic market toys.
Short term, it fosters rampant scalping that _used_ to be kept at bay by online shops. Now, it could be months. Alot of smaller players are dropping out because demand is fucking gone by the time they receive their orders. Less competition, with many parts of the country still afflicted by shit distribution, allows prices to rise. Or forces, depending on your perspective...if I can't count on selling through my inventory, I might make the judgement call that i need to wring the most out of every sale I _can_ make.
But it also spills over into the import market. You see all of those "Takara wins again!" people in the TF generals? They're not all buying for the better paint jobs or accessories or packaging or wacko comics. Every fandom has these people too. The Marvel and Star Wars folks are flocking to Figuarts due to being fed up with Legends and Black Series. That's pushing demand for Figuarts and that in turn is pushing prices.
It's got to reach a breaking point. I can't find Black Series and I can't keep up with Figuarts so I basically don't buy Star Wars. Similar situation with Marvel. Takara's not far from pricing me out of TransFormers either. My convention days are winding down too...haven't bought a case of anything for two years. None of this stuff is selling for enough, or in sufficient volume, for me to break even. And wholesale just keeps climbing.
