Casting and pricing

[starwarsgeek]

Here's something that I wonder a lot... what do you guys think is a fair price to pay for an unpainted cast head? Let's say:

1) a reproduction of a head from a figure that you can walk into TRU right now and buy for $10?

2) a reproduction of a head from a figure that's a few years old and goes for more than retail on the secondary market?

3) a reproduction of a head from a convention exclusive figure that goes for a lot more on the secondary market?

4) a modded/altered copy of a reproduction head?

5) an original sculpt?

I'm just curious. I sell most all of my pieces for $4 and I sometimes get people complaining about the price. So I'm trying to gauge what people think is a fair price for a head cast.

And just for the record - and I'm not talking about anyone in particular - I'm not talking about a cast that is poorly made or takes 5 months to arrive at your door. I'm talking about perfect, exact replicas of the original, shipped within 24 hours of placing your order.

Does that matter? Customer service/speedy shipping and top notch quality? Or are you happy to pay less money for inferior copies and wait 5 months to get them?

 

[Keenan]

Today, seeing some get $6, I think $4 is fair. And YES speed matters.

 

[Ridgeback]

I don't complain about 4 Bucks, but think 3 Bucks is a fair price.

 

[XOC2008]

Here's something that I wonder a lot... what do you guys think is a fair price to pay for an unpainted cast head? Let's say:

1) a reproduction of a head from a figure that you can walk into TRU right now and buy for $10?

2) a reproduction of a head from a figure that's a few years old and goes for more than retail on the secondary market?

3) a reproduction of a head from a convention exclusive figure that goes for a lot more on the secondary market?

4) a modded/altered copy of a reproduction head?

5) an original sculpt?

I'm just curious. I sell most all of my pieces for $4 and I sometimes get people complaining about the price. So I'm trying to gauge what people think is a fair price for a head cast.

And just for the record - and I'm not talking about anyone in particular - I'm not talking about a cast that is poorly made or takes 5 months to arrive at your door. I'm talking about perfect, exact replicas of the original, shipped within 24 hours of placing your order.

Does that matter? Customer service/speedy shipping and top notch quality? Or are you happy to pay less money for inferior copies and wait 5 months to get them?

I think $4 is pretty damn reasonable. Angelforge charges about $6, and most of those are generally custom sculpted and cast originals. For just a repro of something already available, I probably wouldn't want to pay more than $4, unless it's absolutely impossible to get otherwise.

 

[fogger1138]

I'm thinking no one would argue that original sculpts > a modded/altered copy of a reproduction head > a reproduction of a head from a convention exclusive figure that goes for a lot more on the secondary market > a reproduction of a head from a figure that's a few years old and goes for more than retail on the secondary market > a reproduction of a head from a figure that you can walk into TRU right now and buy for $10, right?

$4 seems very fair overall. I'd be willing to pay more for some and less for others, but that mostly depends on the individual sculpt.

 

[NSA]

$3-$4 seems fair for most of them.

Obviously needs to be material + labor + profit for you.

 

[Meddatron]

$3-$4 is good. I think every casting site needs to have a few tack on items that range from .75 to the $3 range. No matter how big they are to get that price. Like those silencers, viper vest grenades, maybe a small backpack, accessory stuff. The easy to lose stuff.

I tend to buy as I need. I don't really ever buy bulk amounts. So a one stop purchase for my needs is always a plus for me. If those little easy to lose items are there, I tend to buy them when I need a particular headsculpt whether I need them or not. Kinda like padding my bill to justify paying the shipping. lol. Odd, I know, but I bet others are that way too.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Shipping is a huge pet peeve of mine. I try to keep my shipping as low as I possibly can. 99% of my orders have a shipping cost between $2 and $3. If it goes over that, I usually refund the difference.

I once bought some DVD's on eBay, I bought 4 of them from the same seller. He was charging $4 shipping per disc. I asked him if he combined, he said no. I paid $16 for shipping for 4 DVD's which arrived in the same envelope, with $1.28 postage on it.

Yeah, he got a negative.

 

[K-Tiger]

$4 is about the top end of "fair" for a 1:18 head.

Beyond that it better have a couple of hair piece options or have been exceptionally difficult to reproduce.

I think the torsos are where the price should come down.

My beef with castings is the price adds up terribly fast.

 

[Mswi]

$4 is reasonable for a cast of a readily available sculpt. Originals, modded, exclusives, rare items, I would expect to pay a premium for those. Exactly what price point for those would depend on the sculpt itself.

 

[starwarsgeek]

I charge $9 for a torso. The way I see it, it uses more rubber to produce a mold since it's 4 pieces, and at least as much plastic as 4 single head casts. Since $4 x 4 = $16 and I think that's an insane amount to pay for a torso, I stuck to $9. Not really sure where that number came from tho lol

 

[K-Tiger]

9 for a torso, 4 for a head, then however much arms and legs cost if they can't be traded for.



Though every once in a blue moon you find a caster that does trades. Like them fellas. Always prefer to swap something I don't need for something I do.

 

[fogger1138]

I've always wondered why there's so many cast torsos out there but so few arms and legs. Is it due to the size of the joints?

 

[starwarsgeek]

Well, like I just said to someone else, I can't really afford to do trades right now... this is my full time gig, and I can't pay my mortgage with toys. LOL

 

[K-Tiger]

Well I don't like fucking with paypal. Take cash or MO and problem solved.

 

[starwarsgeek]

I've always wondered why there's so many cast torsos out there but so few arms and legs. Is it due to the size of the joints?

I wouldn't say the size of the joints, just the fact that it's a giant pain in the ass to cast them. And the original would be ruined in the process, since the rings for the joints would need to be cut from the original to be cast separate.

 

[fogger1138]

I wouldn't say the size of the joints, just the fact that it's a giant pain in the ass to cast them. And the original would be ruined in the process, since the rings for the joints would need to be cut from the original to be cast separate.

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[K-Tiger]

Legs I don't imagine would be so bad. I guess engineering the peg and screw hole would be the big issue.

Arms and feet, though, I imagine would be far more headache than they're worth.

 

[WVMojo]

I'm thinking no one would argue that original sculpts > a modded/altered copy of a reproduction head > a reproduction of a head from a convention exclusive figure that goes for a lot more on the secondary market > a reproduction of a head from a figure that's a few years old and goes for more than retail on the secondary market > a reproduction of a head from a figure that you can walk into TRU right now and buy for $10

This is spot on.

I like the $4 price range for heads, and really like the smaller items for .50 - 2.00 as add on kind of items. I'm more likely to throw in a few of those pricing level items than I am to add a single gun for $3 or $4.

I understand some of those items are harder to cast than others, given the level of detail, but as a for instance from your website -

The Obi helmets and the HEL031 helmet -

I friggin love those and would love to buy 8-10 of them for a couple of squads. At $2.00 I'd throw down for those in a heartbeat, but I can't bring myself to pay $4.00 per helmet. I'm sure they are much harder to make than other items, but $20 to $25 is easier to justify than $35-$40+ just for helmets.

Like this Mouse helmet -

I debate dropping $4.00 for each helmet I want, or I go to Dorkside and buy the whole mouse figure for 12.00 and get the benefit of having all the extra fodder pieces (including the ridiculously awesome lower arms and hands).

 

[starwarsgeek]

Well... I already mentioned what a pain in the ass it is to cast arms and legs lol.

As for the helmets, I did put up a 'Make your own grab-bag' option, where the prices are a little better when you buy multiple pieces. 10 pcs @ 3.50 each or 25 pcs @ $3 each. Just an idea. You could order the grab-bag and just ask for 10 of the helmets...

 

[WVMojo]

That's true...and yeah I edited out my comments about the arms and hands immediately after I posted...I started that post before I went to pick my kids up and it sat there for 30 minutes (while you were answering all the other questions).

 

[starwarsgeek]

Like I said, it's not impossible, just a pain in the ass... and since pain in the ass = costly, they would probably not be worth it to purchase them. Using your example from before, would you want to spend, say... $8 for a the arms and $4 for the helmet when you can get the entire figure for $12? Or buy the whole box set for $20? I know I wouldn't. But I don't think I would sell a pair of arms for less than $8. Using the material comparison, it would take much more rubber - you would actually need two molds, one for the arms and parts and a second for the joint rings - and more plastic than a head uses.

Of course, if that were to turn into an eventual $40 figure, you might be able to justify the $12 for arms and helmet a little more...

 

[fogger1138]

Well... I already mentioned what a pain in the ass it is to cast arms and legs lol.

As for the helmets, I did put up a 'Make your own grab-bag' option, where the prices are a little better when you buy multiple pieces. 10 pcs @ 3.50 each or 25 pcs @ $3 each. Just an idea. You could order the grab-bag and just ask for 10 of the helmets...

I was considering that, but the description said it was for head casts only. Good to know that you can swap other stuff in there.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Yeah, I mean... I don't mind sending any of the stuff in the store in those grab-bags. Like I said, tho, I don't want people to think they can ask me for 10 items that are $8 - $10 each and get them for $35 lol. But any $4 item would be fine by me.

 

[fogger1138]

Cool, thanks.

 

[nacho]

It really depends on the sculpt. Like others have said, a readily available sculpt should be cheaper, or otherwise we'd just buy the real deal. I can justify paying a little more for exclusive or rare pieces, knowing that someone had to pay for the rare item to make the mold. But, if it's too high, then it defeats the purpose of buying a cast part. An extra dollar, yeah. Double the cost, not a chance.

For torsos, it's tougher. Many of us balk at $10 retail figures, so it's tough to justify an unpainted torso that costs nearly that much. On the other hand, if it's an original sculpt that's awesome and not available anywhere else, I could talk myself into it on occasion.

 

[K-Tiger]

For torsos, it's tougher. Many of us balk at $10 retail figures, so it's tough to justify an unpainted torso that costs nearly that much. On the other hand, if it's an original sculpt that's awesome and not available anywhere else, I could talk myself into it on occasion.

That's where I'm at.

 

[NSA]

What would you pay for some scale accurate M67 flak vests?!

 

[starwarsgeek]

And I get that, it's why I don't do repro Hasbro torsos. The only torsos I have in my store right now were sculpted by Stocos and when they are gone, they are gone. I had some left over when he took all his pieces back from SDS, but he allowed me to sell the ones that I had already made so as not to waste my materials. And in return, I promised not to make any more once I sold the stock I had left.... and I had a lot left. But they are slowly selling.

 

[fogger1138]

Out of curiosity, would you do a torso in a grab bag if it was considered two parts?

(Might help Ktig bite the bullet on that Rocketeer torso he wants )

 

[starwarsgeek]

Maybe.... maybe...

 

[K-Tiger]

Out of curiosity, would you do a torso in a grab bag if it was considered two parts?

(Might help Ktig bite the bullet on that Rocketeer torso he wants )

Actually I am FAR more interested in the stocos Lady Jaye torso than I am the female Rocketeer. I think the female CG you suggested would work better.

As for that M67 comment, maybe Hasbro should just get off its fat ass and release that Gung Ho, hmm?

 

[starwarsgeek]

I don't think I have that one from Stocos. Just the ones that I have in the store. And like I said, I only have what I have on hand, when they're gone, they're gone. Not trying to sound like a sales pitch or anything, lol

 

[Meddatron]

 

[K-Tiger]

I don't think I have that one from Stocos. Just the ones that I have in the store. And like I said, I only have what I have on hand, when they're gone, they're gone. Not trying to sound like a sales pitch or anything, lol

I call it the Lady Jay as that's the custom I saw it on. The one with the open blouse. It was on your site yesterday, anyhow.

 

[starwarsgeek]

This one?

http://starwarsgeek.ecrater.com/p/16785435/ft002

For some reason, I've always considered that a Baroness torso, lol

 

[K-Tiger]

Yeah, I goofed. It's a different torso that I was thinking of.

 

[Joerhyno]

I think it's fair to charge a little extra for convention or hard to find sculpts, or original and modded sculpts. I have a real hard time paying over $4 for something like others have said, I could go to the store and get a whole painted figure for a couple more bucks... and not have to paint the head, lol.

It's been brought up a couple of times in the new WWE Dollar General threads on a couple different boards. People are saying $6 is too much just for the head, and they hope that a couple casters can get them and put them in their stores and then others are saying, well, most casters charge $4-6 for a head anyway, and then shipping and then you're at $6, then you have to paint it.. so might as well get the DG one.

I see both sides, yeah, you're trying to make it into a business, but same with other stores. There are smaller mom & pop stores closing left and right because Walmart is right down the street and $2 cheaper.. so always remember, there will be someone cheaper and you might have to have sales or specials or do something new that others aren't doing to keep your customers(I wish someone would mod some torsos so they're not so many pieces, make them two pieces, the top soft plastic that can be boiled and arms popped into and then they can be popped onto the lower torso so I don't have to deal with all that glue... hint, hint).

 

[NSA]

yeah I forgot about the painting aspect.. I suck at painting heads, so that does add some value to store bought ones.

 

[K-Tiger]

yeah I forgot about the painting aspect.. I suck at painting heads, so that does add some value to store bought ones.

Customizing is a headache. If it isn't one thing it's another. Parts don't fit like you plan, or suddenly become scarce, or the paint won't go on like you want.


Sometimes I wonder why I bother to do them, then remember that I'm pretty good at it, and it's nice to have something unique.