Integration

[Monkian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelgrave

Everybody knows the prices are way too high. Everybody knows inflation is just another word for greed. Everybody knows that toy collectors will pay any price because they have a disease, an addiction, no self control. And everybody knows toy collectors will make a million excuses to justify their out of control spending habits.

You'll never get an honest answer to this question. No matter the price, most "fans" will pay it & then try to convince themselves & everybody else that it was money well spent. But nobody is fooled.

What you are seeing is most definitely inflationary. I don't know that I would classify it as greed though. The increase in prices is derived from two primary components: 1) The cost of petroleum(this is where the plastic in these toys is derived from), which is determined by a) the value of the U.S. dollar b) supply and demand and c) speculation and 2) Wage increases in developing nations where these products are made, namely, at least in this instance, China. The dollar is being debased by increases in the supply of money, namely quantitative easing. Globally, demand for petroleum is up. Speculators speculate that this trend will continue, which fuels demand for petrol and further increases the price, and last, but not least, the standard of living is increasing in China because they've gotten a taste of what double digit GDP growth can bring and are sick of working for $2 a day with no bathroom breaks. This trend will continue, long term. As a result, we will see increases in all products, not just toys. The 80's were a long time ago, economically speaking, and we will not be revisiting them, save a turn of events that is catastrophic for emerging economies, any time soon. Get used to it boys. Just be thankful that you have the discretionary income to spend on such things. Some people can barely even scrape together enough money to get to work each day.. that's if they even have jobs. So, go grab a mojito and enjoy the party, things are just getting started.