>>7273368>when mp-10 was still less when it first came out.MP-10 came out in 2011, when the JPY was worth quite a different amount than it is today.
The JPY went a lot further then, meaning products were cheaper for a variety of reasons. They could get more bang for their buck, depending on where they manufactured their products. Though the exchange rate may negate that when buying a takara specific product, but if you're comparing it to the hasbro release, then that also creates complications, due to manufacturing and shipping costs, etc
But of course, at best all of that complicated economic figuring could only account for, at best, 35% of the price increase.
So where's the other 65%
Well, it's a whole new figure who's engineering is almost completely original. Whereas MP10 basically expands upon the core engineering of the original, the design process for 44 would have taken far, far longer. As would the assembly due to the multiple times more parts. It's likely heavier too, having more plastic, as well as paint (which adds to the time)
and lastly, there's the basic market forces.
If you wanted to go buy takara's MP-10 off ebay or something, you would be paying a fairly comparable amount. So spending an extra 30 and having a brand new figure (with more accessories, and far better posability) isn't a bad deal.
Personally, I would never spend more than a 10 hour shift would net me on a transformer.
So if you're an upper middle class american, pulling in 45 an hour (around 90k a year) then sure, splurge a little.
But for me, MP soundwave was the only triple digit TF I bought. My MP1 Optimus and Trypticon I both got with massive discounts.
