Wow.

$17.99 for Titanium Man at TRU.

That’s $3 more than DCUC. Could this be a cataloging error? (It’s not.) If not, what does this mean for the relaunched Marvel Legends line next year?

I’m a bit surprised to see this from Hasbro–Mattel has been the one with price creep over the last few years, especially on their 6″ lines. I know the Hulk Legends line had a big price jump, but wasn’t that revealed to be an error later? Or am I remembering that wrong?

Update: As Valo487 points out in the comments, Green Lantern Classics figures are also $18 apiece. DCUC is still $15, though how long that lasts remains to be seen–future waves may see the new price.

The predicted price hike, due to rising production costs, seems to have happened. After decades of holding out against major price increases, the action figure industry has caught up–and then some. The question is quickly becoming, will these prices ever plateau? Without some decently cheap non-petroleum-derived plastics, I’m not sure. (I’m also not sure what the expense mix is between plastic costs and labor costs. It’s possible that the labor costs are what’s really pushing these hikes.)

Can action figure collecting, as a hobby, survive in a world where a single figure costs 1/3rd of the price of a videogame–which can, potentially, offer many hours of active enjoyment?