Hasbro Not Responsible for Star Wars and Super Hero Action Figure Price Jump
Action figure collectors across the country recently took to Facebook and Twitter to vent their frustration over the rising cost of action figures.
At Target, one of the three largest toy sellers in the US, action figure prices recently took a $3 jump. Hasbro’s Star Wars 3.75-inch Black Series figures as well as Hasbro’s 3.75-inch Marvel Infinite Series figures went from $9.99 to $12.99 at most Target locations, with some other stores going even as high as $15.29.
Collectors were worried that this price would soon be mirrored by other top toy sellers including Walmart and Toys ‘R’ Us.
We reached out to Hunter PR, the public relations firm which represents Hasbro, to ask about this price increase. When I asked if the Suggested Retail Price of the action figures was going up, the response was very clear: “The price change was instituded by the retailer and not at the manufacturer level.”
This was widely speculated to be the case as other action figures, including Mattel’s DC Multiverse line, had gone up in price as well. That being said, it is nice to have confirmation that the price of action figures, which has gone up 100% in the past 10 years, is not taking yet another manufacturer-instituted jump.
Now we can only wait and see if Target will reduce the price back to its previous level to stay competitive in the action figure market, or if the other toy retailers will raise prices to match Target’s newly increased profit margin.
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This is why collectors need to boycott buying figures at Target. To continue to buy from them only sends a message to ALL retailers that we’ll except a price jump
I am calling BS here. Target isn’t the only one raising prices and suppliers are paying more to get them from Hasbro. There is no justification for this unless they truly want to kill thes figures at retail and know a price hike will make them warm.