Something I thought I'd open up for general discussion, after seeing the topic come up in this thread. By fan community standards, what do you consider 'fair' markup on figures that others might not have access to? For general retail releases, I've always gone with a policy of cost + shipping + maybe 5 or 10 or so to cover gas, depending on what the search was like. For stuff that requires getting to stores just as they open, or making multiple attempts thereof, like TRU MP Soundwave, I admit to having accepted higher gratuities from local collectors, but I've never demanded them. Convention exclusives on the other hand? Now that's a bit trickier. For stuff like BotCon, with explicitly laid out non-attendee options, and the box set figures, take a look at my 'At Cost' pricing principle, discussed here. This year, with such disparity between box set figures expected demand by the fans (as opposed to box sets such as Dawn of Future Past, SG, and Stunticons where there was more evenly distributed demand), we saw pricing for just the two larger figures drastically shoot up. In my case, I decided the markup wasn't worth it, and just settled for going for a non-attendee package, and rolling the dice on if I'd ever be able to unload the figures I was less interested in. As BotCon grows in popularity, even as FunPub does what I consider a great job with increasing production runs of items to meet demand, the window of opportunity when reg opens to get an attending or non-attending set does get smaller. Side note to Pete or any other club employees: Has there been any consideration of releasing attending registration in waves, similarly to registration for the big name comic conventions? This would allow for more fair distribution of limited options like Golden Ticket and the Customizing Class. On that note, thank you again for offering the in-class and out-of-class versions of that figure since last year. Back on main topic, what do you, the con-goer, spend on average to get a convention like BotCon or TFCon? Let's consider factors that increase the perceived value of an exclusive. 1. Rarity - This is the most subjective, and is usually factored into the base cost by the retailer, whether FunPub or any of the beloved 3P groups. 2. Travel - How much did you spend getting to the con's venue? (In my case, when I went to TFCon last year in Toronto, I was only coming from Schenectady, NY, so I only put a $50 gratuity (flat rate) on any exclusives I picked up for people.) 3. Attendance costs 3a. How much did it cost to register for the convention? 3b. How much did it cost for you to be there? Hotel? Food? 4. Time spent - This one may vary a little more, but it still merits consideration. For those without vacation time, or flexible schedules, did you have to lose time from work to attend? What kind of time did you have to spend lined up for admission to the dealer's room? For customizing figures, how much of the day did it take you? Please discuss politely.
Short answer: Whatever the market will bear. Personally, I would consider a 50% profit on something I was selling. If an exclusive cost me $100, I'd have no issue reselling it at $150. Depending on how exclusive it is, I might go slightly higher. I don't think that I could go much more than 100% profit.
I went to the botcon gitting the boxset 500 is what it cost me. I brougt 300 and I still couldn't buy all three exclusives. One set was 139 so I couldn't buy all three sets.
