Nope, I've been trying to view it all week, it's been down pretty much constantly. Not sure what's up with it.
So here's an update to the Stranger Factory show sales: they have posted on Facebook the pics of items for sale and instructions for ordering the through email. https://www.facebook.com/strangerfactory Some really fantastic marbled Kumons up there, but those prices put them off the radar for me
Yup. Would love to get one, but that's out of my range. That said, everyone of those pours is a winner. Especially the blue ones. Congrats on the show Rich and Dennis
Out of curiosity, you guys think 120 for a hand poured, multi marbled 1 off is too high ? What price do you think these should have been then ? Just so I can pass any info on to Dennis what's the majority opinion on what these should have been ? Remember gallery gets 50% so Dennis only gets 60 bucks each. If you ask me 120 is very reasonable for all the work invested in what Dennis does.
I think $120 makes complete sense from an economic perspective, but considering how much cheaper his regular releases are I think some may find it harder to justify. I imagine if they were $75-100 they would fly off the shelves. That said, I'll probably try to snag one
Blowing my mind that these did not all get purchased on opening night. However the price is spot on to be honest. But I also aggree with above said post. The releases are usually less pricey so people looking for this toy at that price might not be enthused but each of his marbled or painted are always one-offs and put a higher value. Each is unique and different and the price should not be an issue. A lot of people don't know that most gallery's will take a profit and the fact that they all had to be shipped out to the gallery for opening. All of these and the releases for the show were amazing. And I hope I get the email back on one of these as they are beautiful. I also want to thank you rich for promptly keeping up with the info getting out to all of us it was much appreciated during the meltdown last night. Patience is a vertue. Good luck everyone that sent an email.
My comment was more a reflection of being tapped out on funds at the moment. But a 50% gallery fee for these is bs IMO especially from a place whose website seems to be down all the time - just seems like a hype gallery but maybe those are standard gallery fees?! I didn't mean to insinuate that Dennis or any of the other artists deserved less money... on the contrary, I think Dennis could be charging a lot more for Kumon considering standard SB fight figure pieces, but I appreciate the fact that these are some of the most affordable figures meaning they reach more fans and are more fun to collect. I guess I was also thrown off some of the pieces at the show seeming to have only the eye painted and others with minimal paint compared to other releases. I certainly wouldn't suggest they be painted differently because I think they look great and want all of them but many of us have unpainted marbled Kumons acquired for much less $$. I don't really know anything about marbling so maybe the cost increases as colors/vinyl is added? Rich? A one off painted Kumon for $60? Sounds like a deal! Kumons seem to have no problems selling out with any release, so I guess the best advice for Dennis would be to have them shipped back and sell them on your site, and cut out the BS middleman
There really is no right answer. Fans have come to appreciate how affordable the piece is so a doubled price is pretty unexpected. At the same time it would be totally unfair for Dennis to take a big loss on his work just to keep the cost down. I think the only thing to really do is exactly what you've already done and explain it all. That way people know he isn't trying to make more money off anyone and that if they buy a piece from the gallery he actually just gets half of the money. So as fans we can either accept that and go after one if we want or just wait since the normal online releases are pretty frequent, not very difficult to acquire and priced rather nicely. As far as the 50% goes MonstaIslandCzar it's a fairly standard fee. It does make sense considering what the gallery has to do and it's cool for people who actually get to go see the show in person and maybe even meet the people behind the toys. It can be frustrating for people around the world who don't get to make it out for those things because for them it's literally just doubling the price of something they want with no added benefit. It would have been exactly the same for them if it was an online release or a gallery release so the price is the only difference.
Personally, I think $120 is just fine for these in a gallery setting, but I'm used to most galleries in Arizona being 60/40(artist/gallery). And I do know that more vinyl colors used means more expensive figures for the pours. Plus, Dennis is a madman with marbling, and I feel like marbled figures are all one offs in their own right, as not a one are the same. But I do agree that, if anything, Dennis could have 'em shipped back and sell them himself for his desired price tag, without the worry of a middleman(if that is at all an issue).
60/40 is fairly common or 50/25/25 with the second 50 split between a curator and the gallery who hosts Also for reference TAG sold unpainted marble (micro?)run for $75 which i thought was high when i bought one compared to dennis usual $35/40 but then i remembered the gallerys cut...
Well here is the thing, the middle man thing. Just as you want to show respect to the artist, you want to show the same respect to the gallery. So everyone saying just wait is kinda rude. Regardless if you like Stranger Factory or not, they do their best to support and expose the artist that showcase there. Saying just wait, would be sort of like using them in a sense and a slap in the face. Now, with that said, they better do their ( any gallery not just SF) best to get each artist equal exposure and all the support that comes with the gallery fee. If they don't do that, than just don't work with them again. It's very common the 50/50 split, I just assumed everyone knew that at this point. Yes there are galleries that do a 60/40 split but is so small I could count them on one hand with a broken finger and still have digets left. My point is that in the end I feel that the artist list the price themselves, and it's always justified. My opinion on these Kumon is that that's a steal, so when I heard anyone saying it's high I needed to understand the reasoning. All in all it's only 20-40 over retail of a regular run, and it's a 1 off. I could see if it's hundreds over, but at 20-40 c'mon it feels like nickel and diming. Plus your helping an amazing artist get some exposure and helping support his brand so he can make more toys. It's nice Dennis sells them cheap, but you all must know that he is making almost nothing off them, esp in a gallery setting . Thankfully he pulls his own vinyl so he's saving a few bucks in materials, just not in time. Now, all this for a 20-40 price hike for a 1 off. Not bad if you ask me. Good discussion, carry on.
I saw this a little earlier and meant to post and see it has grown to more than I imagined. I want to thank Rich for posting the info he has, I dont go into pricing lighty, I know the added cost is hard for a lot of people and I try to keep it as low as I can without making so I wouldnt do shows at all due to costs. Im gonna think about what else I can do in the future. Also, sorry about the shipping fiasco, I just sent an email out to everyone explaining what happened and what I am going to do. That was all me pulling a boner.........again.
Doubling the artist price might work OK as an artist in need of galleries and the exposure they offer! As a consumer and collector not so much!
Good call on mutual shown respect to the artist and gallery, Rich. Definitely didn't think about that. All in all, I still stand by my original opinion that $120 for these isn't a bad price tag, regardless of gallery cuts. And I have my reasons for that opinion, also previously stated. If anything, because it was made into a legitimate discussion, I just threw my two cents in pertaining to options as far as the pricing, which actually what wasn't asked about. So that's my unnecessary throw in.
While I don't have a problem with the price tag of the figure, $20 domestic shipping seems a little insane...
The Kumons are beautiful, and my experience with Stranger Factory customer service has been beyond great.
Seeing as how I seem to have started this downward spiral discussion unintentionally, I wanted to reiterate that my original comment was out of frustration of my lack of funds, and as I have always contended, I hope Dennis and other artists get as much money as possible so that they can continue doing what they and we love. That being said, I have much more respect for the artist than the gallery/store/dealer for obvious reasons, and IF it were up to me I would see that reflected in what % of my money went to which parties. But I still see great value in brick and mortar galleries and understand their need to stay alive with the advent of sites like bigcartel And my advice about shipping them back to Dennis was in jest (hence the silly face - should have used purple) And sorry Dennis for this derail as I really had no intention of bringing negativity to this thread or show! As always great work - I'm just jealous and sad I wasted my funds elsewhere
That IS insane! Even a medium flat rate box is what $15?? I just shipped a bunch of toys and shipping has def gone up all recently but i shipped 3 full sized figures for $15
^ I think it's because they use FedEx as a shipping method due to the price of the figures (for security reasons), sometimes USPS leave packages even w insurance and signature confirmation on the label and if im not mistaken i think they have been ripped off in the past.
I think $ 125 is not a bad price for the oversea collectors, like me. When some US buyers feel that he could not accept the price, I'm glad I do not need to find toys in aftermarket this time.
They fudge the prices for shipping off the top of there head to make sure it covers it. Then they refund the difference when they ship. And they usually over shoot that fudged shipping prices by a lot. I never understood that but since they refund it no big deal I guess.
