I have noticed a worrying trend that’s slowly engulfing the action figure collector community; rising prices. I am not saying that prices have shot up for all Action Figure Collector lines, just a few. Well in this article two of whom I’m a big fan of.

Hasbro & NECA.

Hasbro are undoubtedly one of the biggest toy companies in the world, if not the biggest. They have the master license for their hottest properties Marvel and Star Wars. I love collecting both lines but I have two big problems with them. Lack of distribution and scalpers. For example Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2 has just hit here and the States. Have I been able to find the Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2 Marvel Legend’s wave on the shelves of Toys R Us and such like ? Nope, I haven’t seen any of them at all. I know that they would be selling them at the likes of Forbidden Planet and such like but they are few and far between. The ones that they sell in Toys R Us are from a few waves ago. Hell, they are still selling Marvel Legends from the Amazing Spiderman 2 wave. They are never up to date.

The same goes for the Black Series as well. I rarely ever find any figures from the latest wave. It’s a miracle to find a figure from the latest wave from either line. I’ve just had a look on the the Toys R Us UK site just now and found they are now stocking the Toys R Us Exclusive Groot Evolution figure pack which came out in February in the States. I don’t know what has happened to Toys R Us they used to get figures  in time for the films releases, I remember them having loads of Lord of The Rings figures when they came out.

But now they have really dropped the ball, what I don’t think has helped is the price of what collector figures cost now. They are charging £25.00 for a brand new Marvel Legends/Black Series figures. Sometimes they have the Black Series figures on sale, usually £10 off which is great. What doesn’t help is the online sellers charging different prices depending on what character it is. It’s not just scalpers either it’s all sellers now and it really annoys me. Star Lord ranges from £23-38 Drax about the same and Yondu fetches for about £30.

The Black Series figure are worse especially for the 40th anniversary wave. I haven’t seen a R2D2, Death Star character (sorry forgot the name) or Darth Vader. For the next wave of figures which aren’t the next 40th anniversary figures (they are coming in June apparently) Sellers are charging on average £50.00 a figure and they aren’t even out yet.

I’ve recently started collecting Mattel’s WWE figures because I am a fan of wrestling and some of the character in it. I can find them easily on the shelf and they are more affordable. I enjoy finding them as you never know which ones you get. There’s a thrill in the hunt finding and collecting them which I greatly enjoy.

Unfortunately the hunt and the thrill of the hunt has been sucked out of finding Marvel Legends and Black series here in the UK because of the lack of distribution and the online sellers. Tis a shame really as I love collecting the lines and those two factors really piss me off as I would love to have them but I don’t have much of a chance getting them without paying a premium price for them. Some people will pay those sort of prices because they really want the figures which encourages the sellers to keep selling them at those prices. Which makes it worse for other collectors. Of course there’s forums which are always handy.

It’s the same for NECA figures as well, except you can’t find them at big chain retailers. Some online sellers charge a reasonable price for figures then some are practically extortionate especially Predators which cost around £30-40 now. They were charging on average £23, I can’t understand why the prices have been hiked up. It’s the same for the Ultimate figures, well mostly the Terminator and Predator ones now.

I know that the UK is only a small little island compared to the USA which is the main market so I think I ever go to the USA again I should take a big empty suitcase and stock up on Marvel Legends Black Series and NECA figures there as they are cheaper there than they are here right now and there more wildly available. I just live in hope that things will improve which makes it easier for us UK collectors.