That's okay. I bought it just for Winston. Now I am trying to unload the other three.

They seem to like to stick to that $15 price point for retail. Even WITH all the aforementioned extras, $60 would seem like an awful lot. I paid $60 plus an additional $10 TRU Mark-up for MP Grimlock, and I think that is a hell of a lot more toy than the four GB's. This is an easy pass for me. I will be attempting to pick up the Venkman with bonus NO SLIME next month, but after that, unless we get something like Viggo or Gozer, I'm out. I'm not going to support a line for the CHANCE of them producing a figure I'd actually want.

@Bill: They do! There's also a packaging variant that has the figures without the hats (the hats are placed between the figures' legs in the package) and has Slimer in the center.

Anyway, I agree that $60 seems pretty pricey, but I'll probably bite as I haven't been picking up the figures on Matty and the set has SLIMER. Plus it's the only GB purchase I'd be making until Matty makes Janine, so I can justify it on those grounds.

Some fans on the Matty forums are reporting a few quality control issue with this set:

Egon's glasses are silver instead of black; Ray uses the old squashed head instead of the improved "Ready To Believe You" version; and all 3 of the original Busters have much darker tanned skin tones.

Freaky… I too saw it at the Framingham TRU. I might have passed by Poe in person, never knowing it. Although I don't think anything would cause me to buy this. Maybe if it had the streams and was <$30. Too scene specific, and I have the MattyCollector figures of the busters. Unless something awesome is shown off, I don't think I'll be getting anything else.

$60?! Boo, Mattel… just boo. I'll wait for the clearance!

$60 is highway robbery. absolute highway robbery. i saw this set in person and i was tempted, but if i plan on paying off my credit card this month i can't afford to tack $60+tax onto my statement.

consider this: the GB2 set is 4 figures, all the same sculpt with different heads, pretty much all have been seen before, released individually, meaning mattel has certainly already made their money on these molds. toss in slimer, some proton packs and santa hats and price it at $60.

now consider NECA's reservoir dogs box set. i bought this set for $45 and you can still find it online today for around that price. it includes five figures, and there are three unique body sculpts (tall, short, and harvey keitel), all with unique heads. the set comes with guns, sunglasses, a cup and a gas tank, plus bases. these figures were released as a box set first, and individual figures either came later or at the same time, so this wasn't an afterthought release meant to milk more money out of the molds.

so i really don't understand how a set from a larger, mass market company can cost $15 more than a specialty market box set that has an extra figure, more unique sculpting, and bases. yes, the GB figures have more articulation, but companies constantly tell us that tooling is the most expensive part of creating a figure, and surely tooling three unique less articulated sculpts is comparable to tooling one well articulated sculpt.

then you have to factor in that mattel has already released this sculpt several times, in GB1 slimed and unslimed versions, so you'd think they're just banking profit on it by now.

you can try to say "well GBs off matty are $20 +shipping" but that's assuming you're okay with the ridiculously inflated prices on matty figures, which i'm not.

but the price is already much more than anything else on the market in terms of mass market 6" scale figures. hell, even specialty figures don't cost as much as mattel products.

other than MOTUC, there's really nothing else in that demographic of toys that costs as much as the ghostbusters figures. as i mentioned, you can get similar box sets of other licenses from other companies for far less money, with more original sculpting and more figures.

let's use another example: marvel legends 2-packs, like you find at TRU and wal-mart. they are usually exclusives, and they cost…what, $20? $25? that's for two figures, and while there's re-use involved, you usually get at least two uniquely sculpted figures for that price.

so i personally am not complaining about the repaint aspect. i'm saying the figures are too expensive from the get go, and that when a company only tools ONE body for almost the entire line, and then just add different heads, hands, and doodads, you definitely feel a little gouged when the figures cost more than anything comparable on the market.

i'm actually glad that mattel decided to release GB figures for retail to give people a chance who can't spend hours fighting with matty's website, and i was looking forward to having the chance to get them. however, it's just really hard to justify the price, even though they're cheaper than the ridiculous online prices.

…

ok, as i stated already, there really is nothing on the market that costs as much as mattel products, EXCEPT OTHER MATTEL PRODUCTS. you bring up the DCUC 2 packs, which is actually an even worse example of price gouging. these are typically simply straight repacks of figures that have already been released at retail, so they don't even have the repaint/online only precedent going for them. not to mention the DCUC 2 packs often feature figures that, when individually packed, pre-dated the last several price hikes, so you're paying $30 for straight repacks of figures that, if they'd been purchased individually on their initial release, would have been $20 or $25 total.

nobody else sees mattel's prices as a little bit ostentatious? their toys are right there on the pegs, sitting next to toys in a larger scale with far more detailed sculpts, from much smaller companies, that cost the same or less than mattel products. and everybody's just…ok with this?

For $60 I'd rather go to handsome boy modeling school. Father Guido sarducci says it's the best $60 he's ever spent.

@Kid Nicky:

For 60 bones I’m more than happy with the MiniMates I already have.

Bears repeating.

And, as I've noted before, Minimates actually have more individual sculpting than the Matty releases. Plus proton streams. And ghosts.

PrfktTear is right; Mattel's prices are simply too high, and their products aren't worth it. And their mascot looks like a smug jerk. So I don't buy anything from them anymore. And, no, they don't care that I'm gone, but eventually they'll manage to drive off enough people that they'll be able to blame the fans for their failures again.

Well dayraven, father Guido sarducci has been quite active far beyond his old school SNL schtick. I was specifically referring to his appearance on the somewhat obscure album by hip hop producers prince Paul and Automator, "so…how's your girl?" They called themselves handsome boy modeling school which was based on an episode from the classic chris Elliott sitcom "get a life" which I was a huge fan of. Hbms released two albums with tons of guest stars from lots of genres of music, and both albums feature interludes from don Novello in the Guido sarducci role.

And PrfkTear and Heli, both you guys seem to get it. Mattel has collectors by the balls, for two reasons: great sculpting and great licenses. However, their customer service model is disgusting, their QC problems are far too numerous to ignore, and their prices look laughable next to any comparable non-Mattel product. They do what they want because there are enough angry fans who still love the product enough to take it on the chin and buy it, no matter which new sadistic tactic mattel can dream up to make fans hate them. Then there are the flat out apologists who think Mattel can do no wrong, and those guys just boggle my mind. No toy company makes collecting as frustrated and difficult as mattel.

So you say don't but 'em. And by and large I don't. I really like the ghostbusters line, and I've wanted an optikk for years, but I can't justify giving in to mattel. As of now my matty purchases are limited to batman-related DCUC or movie masters, because I love batman, and I can actually buy the toys in a store rather than actively fight a website for hours during work time to have a chance to buy an overpriced figure. But I still don't like the price of the figures from mattel I DO buy, and they're really one retail price hike away from pricing me right out of their market.

I honestly believe someone high up in mattels corporate office gets some sadistic glee at seeing what new type of devirly they can get away with and still have a mindlessly dedicated fan base willing to follow them straight to hell with their wallets wide open. Star wars, transformers and gi Joe fans love to hate on hasbro, but hasbro is angelic when compared to matty.

Okay, for $60, you get four figures, all with the same sculpt, that are both smaller and with a crappier sculpt. Jesus, $60 is too much even if they stuck in a crapton of accessories. This boxset is a crappier deal then the DCUC 5-packs, and anything Hasbro or Neca has ever released (that contains more then 1 figure). The TMNT boxset was $40 when it came out, and the figures were a hellvua lot better sculpted then these things.

To clarify, Mattel makes mediocre to good product, but all of it is too expensive. For $40, $50 shipped, you get a 12-inch rotocast figure with terrible articulation. For $50 in stores, $60 shipped, Hasbro gets you a 19-inch figure with lights, sound, and a 3 3/4 figure.

We shall see if the price is too high. If these go on clearance then the price is too high. If they don't then they were priced perfectly. The market never lies.

Prfktear that's what I'm saying. Paying online you start to forget that other toys exist that are a far better value. Its shopping with blinders on. Once you see this pack on a shelf with tons of other figures from all different companies, it really puts it in perspective.

I've bought tons of stuff on clearance at TRU. Whenever something strikes me as particularly overpriced I skip it, knowing full well that it'll get clearanced later on. It almost always does…

I didn't even realize this when I bought this: my Venkman figure in this set has STANTZ on his coveralls.

You'd think for $60 they'd have gotten at least the effing NAMES right. I completely regret buying this four pack and am planning on returning as soon as possible.