I would assume that Greg meant standard retail store mark up. As a store you know you need to make X % on your goods to cover rent, payroll bills etc. As a gallery they must make a certain amount to stay afloat. That is a lot different than running a business out of your home or garage. Not saying you don't know these things Pike but I do think people often don't take it into consideration as much as they should. Anyone who has owned their own business has an understanding of this that no general consumer will ever quite grasp. Not because they are dumb or ignorant but when your entire livelihood is tied to a business it becomes a different beast. It's much easier just to work for someone. I agree with Greg except about posting a 200 price, pulling it then charging 500. That is somewhat lame and becomes even more so if fans showed up ready to buy then had it dropped on their heads after they won the lottery.

oh, well generally retail is 2 X wholesale. But Japanese vinyl is never sold that way, most of the manufactures recommend a 65-75% mark up (in lieu of 100% mark up)

They could of charged more and be totally justified in doing so

Correct.

I am not sure where it was said that it was going to be $200, does anyone have a link or source for this, because that was even LESS than what Shig was selling them for on his site, right?

Sean, also mentioned the price before anyone won, not sure why or why not they decided to to let people know the price. My friend Scien entered not knowing what was going on, but he was like, I thought it was gonna be $100 and maybe I would of bought it. These things are expensive, whether they are $250, $350, or $500

Ok. I hadn't thought about it that way, I guess I would have worded it differently. Thanks for clearing it up then.

Did I also forget the mention the shitty print we won was bent and folded to fit in the tube. Yeah that makes it worth it.

There is no way I would ever believe that CCM/Tara paid $250 each for these. Nice try though.

They took advantage of toy collectors knowing that at least 5 people would pay that. Plain and simple.

That's what almost all Japanese toy companies do. They charge the retail store the same they'd charge you or me if we bought direct. If you win a Nag lotto it's about $250 after shipping. Yen to dollar blows right now.

This is what happens. RxH in Japan from Mori - 3000-4000 Yen. From a US retailer $60-$75. That's how it's worked for years. I'm not defending anyone or their actions or saying those upset are unjustified, but I am defending this general truth of the sofubi world.

They paid more than $250 each. I saw the invoice.

Burn!

you must of been looking at the MSRP.

Why would Shig charge them more than what he sold them for in the lottery?

.

Our friend John Prolly took this shot when he was in my office a few weeks ago. Love the shot! You can check out more of his stuff on his http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnprolly

Uh, yea, that was it

How much did he sell them for in the lottery?

$258.48 converted. I also understand shipping would be a extra.

Plus shipping or including? I know he didnt sell them to them for any less than that

This is only what I have heard. I think the problem is that is was supposedly posted and taken down. I almost wonder if they were discussing a 200 dollar mark up and someone who does online stuff for them thought that was the asking price and posted it. I am not going to really take any sides on this one though since I never personally saw it posted. Still though, if it was I can understand peoples anger over it. $200 for a NAG would be just to damn cheap though. Although I'm sure his mold costs have been covered by now, it can't be cheap to have just 10 of a base color poured. Of course this lends to our usual argument of "please make more" but at the end of the day it is Shig's choice. I do think however it's sad this toy probably has more fans than owners. In vintage toys that is quite understandable but for something being produced now it could easily be changed. The risk would be losing some hype but I don't think Shig's skill need the hype to prosper. Que sera sera, I just have to hope to one day win a lotto, or that a board member will be nice and sell me one for less than eBay prices. cough... hint hint

I love this mind set, but its like telling an artist to just paint more paintings dammit and dont sell them in a gallery cause they are going to just jack them up and then you are going to get famous and the gallerys are going to want to charge more and a tube of paint only costs like $5 and that canvas cost nothing, and blick is having a 50% off sale on canvas so like you can by a hundred and paint them all and sell em all so everyone can afford one, and then yea, yea

so that was my first time winning the event lottery and it was for the nag -.-
im happy i gave the ticket to my friend but i still left that place feeling scammed.
the 2 free prints i got were damaged. had some foot prints in the back so that was a nice touch.
not sure if i want to go back there.

Kevin! (Home Alone Voice)

I saw the 200 dollar pricetag. I believe it was posted on CCM's blog, i saw it through a CCM facebook link. I remember clearly being shocked that they were being sold for less than Shig sold his at the lotto but figured it was the shipping factored into his final price along with the yen conversions. The price mark ups were not the main problem last night. It was more of the lack of info released and dropping the bomb. People had a certain amount of money for a reason. I wonder, was 500 bucks arbitrary or did they decide at a certain time prior to the event? Eitherways price info would have helped everyone out.

I certainly understand the time involvement and I don't know squat about Shig's life. I know all of us like to assume that it would be an easy matter for him to make more but how many of us know anything about it? When I see the paint on the Balls it's easy to see just how meticulous Shig gets with his painting. In the shot Greg posted above the Franken NNN is just stunning. Easily the best FR tribute paint I have ever seen. None the less I do hope he can find a way to put out more, what else would a fan without toy want?

The 250 markup is stright up fucking absurd. You think bringing new buiness and faces into your store would be good enough. Although I'm not experienced in the art hustle.

Excuses, excuses, excuses..... Art yuppies have killed this sculpt

you tell um.