>>8896708>>8896725The worst thing that can happen to a designer toy/Indie sofubi maker is for them to become popular and mainstream. And I know that sounds like peak hipsterism, but allow me to explain using three objective reasons.
1. Price
Independent or small sofubi makers have to sink a ton of money into their work before they get anything. Molds cost 10,000+, manufacturing costs hundreds, painting even more in both time and products. As such their capacity to manufacture is limited. They can't be like bandai and make 100,000 figures at 10 bucks each; they can make 50 figures at 250 dollars and barely break even. But mainstream sofubi/designer toy makers do not have this excuse. They have the backing of major companies, they have the capacity to manufacture as many figures as they think will sell. Kaws do not need to be any more expensive than a funko pop. But they intentionally limit their numbers and jack up their prices to artificially induce rarity and value. Often times their prices are higher than those of indie makers as well.
2. Consumer Base
People who buy indie sofubi are people who legitimately like the artist and their work. There is no clout to be had from buying something from a designer with 1000 followers. And collecting these things can be a time consuming, expensive, often frustrating hobby. However, once a brand surpasses a certain threshold of popularity the market shifts and the primary consumers become scalpers, mindless consumers, and clout chasers. The major consumer base becomes people buying the toy for reasons basically completely unrelated to that toy. They buy it to make a profit, to farm social media love, or because they associate the toy with popular people and thus try to emulate those people and their success via ownership of their products. This shift drives the price higher, creates greater scarcity, and decreases the likelihood any actual fans could get one.
